Optical Sound Film List

[Mark Williams]

Here’s a few more films released on optical sound.

Batman 1989 burnt in Japanese subs
Back to the Future Japanese Subs
The Hunt for Red October Japanese subs
Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home Jap subs
Lethal Weapon 2 Japanese subs
Family Plot Hitchcock
Masquerade Rob Lowe
Burglar Whoopi Goldberg
Charge of the Model T’s
Gung Ho Micheal Keaton
Stand & Deliver 1988
Saving Grace John Conti
A Fish called Wanda John Cleese

[Osi Osgood]

It is possible, Mike. The optical sound feature made its debut in 1967, so any films after that are a possibility. But some studios rereleased some films in the late sixties, due to Frank Sinatra's late 60's success. Therefore, Von Ryan's Express made it onto super 8 optical, but also the Sinatra war film Never So Few was also released, and that film was 59, so it is possible.

[Mike Newell]

Was Guns for San Sebastián ever issued as a optical feature?

I seem to remember it being on a dealer list. It did feature in The Sicilian as the airline movie from Paris to New York when they are hijacking the plane. Same Director Henri Verneuil

[Clive Casey]

I had forgotten I have Raise The Titanic on 2x1200 ft reels. How could I forget that with such a beautiful score, must be my age!

[Maurice Leakey]

"Steamboat Down The Nile" 200ft.
Derann release of a Pathe Pictorial.

[Maurice Leakey]

"World On Parade No.1" 400ft total including added second film. Items are:-

Kitchen On Wheels
Hotels Of France
Yankee Traders
WWII Fighter Planes
Nissan Drives Around The World

Plus:-
Ford Sierra XR 41 Sports Saloon
Hertz Rentacar
Bank Of America
Marlboro Cigarettes

This is a sort of international Pathe Pictorial. No doubt shown before a feature?

[Graham Ritchie]

Only optical was a airline print I have seen, well I think it was is "That's Entertainment" number one, on a Pan Am flight from London to Seattle, end of January 1975 To be honest I only really watched part of it, as back then, I was not interested that much in musicals.

[Douglas Meltzer]

High Anxiety (Mel Brooks)
Nate and Hayes (Tommy Lee Jones)
The Natural (Robert Redford)
Ultraman (edited TV episodes, Japanese audio)
Various Godzilla films (similar to long trailers, 100' reels, Japanese audio)

[Mike Newell]

Film length is shown as 110 minutes so looks like 10 minutes have been edited.

[Osi Osgood]

It's about one hour, 40 minutes, as, it fits onto three completely, to the brim, full 600ft reels and, optical sound film allows you to put 33 or more minutes per reel. ( Speaking of Lethal Weapon).

[Mike Newell]

[QUOTE=Mark Williams;n56476]Lethal Weapon is like watching a different movie as they actually re-filmed certain scenes like the opening suicide leap to omit any nudity or drug taking!

all of the profanity is dubbed over and Mel utters lines like ‘let’s get the flock oughta here! ‘ however a lot of the violence is left in but the electrical torture scene is heavily cut back.

it’s so great to have an alternative to the usual R rated version shown uncut these days.

Must be a short movie.🤪

[Osi Osgood]

Brian is right! I have both Knight for a Day and Trailer Horn, both optical sound, both extremely sharp. I also have "The Jaywalker" UPA cartoon as well. As mentioned by another member, I also have two of those British travelogue/travel 200ft reels, as well as a 600ft part 2 of Thunderball and a 400ft final reel from "Winterhawk".

[Mark Williams]

Lethal Weapon is like watching a different movie as they actually re-filmed certain scenes like the opening suicide leap to omit any nudity or drug taking!

all of the profanity is dubbed over and Mel utters lines like ‘let’s get the flock oughta here! ‘ however a lot of the violence is left in but the electrical torture scene is heavily cut back.

it’s so great to have an alternative to the usual R rated version shown uncut these days.

Shout at the Devil was heavily cut down as it’s the Roger Corman edited AIP version, most of the brief violence is cut including the death of the main villain Fleischer at the end so you don’t so him being shot by Barbara Parkin.

Again it’s interesting to see the shorter version as opposed to the restored complete version shown these days.

it’s all very un PC of course with both Ian Holm and Roger Moore appearing in blackface!

[Mike Newell]

Hi Osi , I know optical features were edited for airlines. The sex scene in Gorky Park would be mild to some other problems How did they show start Lethal Weapon? Never mind the violence and profanities. I think that’s why I avoided optical prints. Mind you I had Little Shop of Horrors new from Derann which I had striped and re recorded.

[Osi Osgood]

Mike, since optical sound, airline features, were to be shown to a wide audience of widely ranging audiences, children included, they would often be edited for language and most certainly, for nudity. However, foreign releases often left much of the nudity in. I had a UK letterboxed release of The Man Who Would be King, and it had the brief nudity of Connery, and at times, depending on the release, much of the cussing would be left on, as in the case of "Sudden Impact". Sometimes, as in the case of Lethal Weapon, sometimes the substitutions for the profanities are quite hilarious! Gorky's sex scene was edited out.