What 8mm films did I watch last night?

[Brian Fretwell]

After the BBC showed the film "What's up Doc" yesterday I just had to watch "Screwball Comedies, Remember Them?" the making of short. Now rather pink now, but very enjoyable, also showing a mistake that was left in the film (the waiter and the door he was supposed to slickly walk back through, but crashed into) that was left in as the mistake was funny.

[Osi Osgood]

We enjoyed some "Flicker Flashbacks" silent film releases. Graham! What a lovely print, that "Black Stallion"!

[Graham Ritchie]

Thought I would give yee old VP a miss tonight, and give the GS1200 a run instead. Its been a while since I ran "The Black Stallion" so that one was my choice tonight. The Feature is mounted on two Elmo 1200 feet reels and to date the print still looks really good. I have no idea how old this Super8 print is, but it must be getting on. It projects fine giving a nice steady image with good sound. The projector ran like a swiss watch, although in saying that the GS might be listening and throw a wobbly next time so better be careful what I say about it. I enclose a couple of previous screen shots, in saying that, since then I have replaced my external transformer with another one, which I found out the old one was not giving me the full 24 volts when the lamp was on, this one from a old and broken Leitz Pradovit slide projector, does give me the full 24 volts or 22 volts on low "with" the lamp running, which in turn is putting more light on the screen.

Well enough of that.

[Brian Fretwell]

Aftwr that last heatwave made me to lethargic to project the rain made it cool enough for me to show a couple last night.
Callan (Walton) with David Callan killing Dave Prowses charater with his bare hands!! The 400ft cut down with the 200ft "Counterchase spliced in, unfortunateley neither on low fade stock so rather brown looking, followed by a Collectors Club print of "Calling al Girls" on genuine B&W (3m) stock.

[Steve Klare]

Last Night:

Diesels Roar on the Pennsy (Blackhawk, S8) In the 1950s, Early diesel locomotives pull long, fast passenger and freight trains in the Mountains along the Pennsylvania Railroad. It’s a little special among early films of diesel locomotives for having a sound track. Most are silent. (Four diesels pulling a mile long coal train up a steep grade are very un-silent.)

Bach's Toccata and Fugue from Fantasia (Derann, S8). If there was any dust on my speakers, it's gone now!

Fishing in Florida (16mm) A very 1950s-looking family trailers their boat down to Florida and fishes the beautiful blue waters off both coasts. A lot of attention was paid to their Mercury Marine Inboard/Outboard engine, so I'd say Mercury paid for the Movie! This would be a great film for times when people are stuck in the house due to weather, so I'll try to remember it January/February.

If you are looking for any kind of theme here, please don't try too hard! I was away from home almost two weeks, so this was kind of Anything Goes! (Besides: Themes belong on Thursdays!)

-but I was so inspired by Toccata and Fugue that I had an encore of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, also from Fantasia (S8, Derann).

[Chip Gelmini]

July 13

BIRTH OF A NATION

400 foot times eight with musical score

[Oliver Feld]

🎼❤️Barbra…

[Oliver Feld]

Yesterday it was HELLO DOLLY in all its colourful scope glory and today THE LION KING, which is always an event on the big screen

[Graham Ritchie]

Tonight was a bit of a blast from the past, using my trusty ST1200 that I bought second hand in 1979. In recent times, I went through all the guides and fixed them so they cant scratch anymore First up tonight, was Star Wars, I used a blue filter that takes the edge of the red, second film which I enjoyed much more than Star Wars, was Oh Mr Porter, from Walton. This title was one of the first films I ever bought back in the 1970s, and to this day its a brilliant edit, a must for anybody who likes trains. The ST1200 ran like a swiss watch rock steady image and good sound, not bad for a projector "M" model that came out way back in 1973.

The screen shots are not that great much better on the screen than what is shown below.


a couple of screen shots taken tonight

[Ed Gordon]

Richard, there must be a better print in someone's collection. I read that this film was still being shown in theaters in the 1950's. There are stunning restorations of 35mm B&W nitrate films on Youtube, and since the upgrade of television to HD many new prints are showing up. I believe the B&W films shot on nitrate stock are superior, but that may just be a reflection of the skill of the cinematographers in that era.

Not everyone believes that nitrate is any better than acetate, and, surely a good acetate print will be better than a bad nitrate print. At the “Last Nitrate Picture Show” in June 2000, Dominique Päini, who was the Directeur du Développement Culturel at the Centre Georges Pompidou at the time, claimed to be “very perplexed by this sudden fetishisation of nitrate by certain historians and archivists, such as my friend Cherchi Usai. Because nothing allows us to think that we will not recover nitrate’s lost qualities in the same manner in which video projection today is reducing the gaps in quality compared with the projected film image.” In order to prove his point, he projected two images, side-by-side from Paris-Londres (France, 1927), directed by Jean Arroy, with one projector screening “the rediscovered vintage nitrate positive, while the other will show the newly preserved nitrate copy,” after which he defied “anyone to distinguish these two materials from this one screening, including those who are lovers of nitrate.”

Source: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2019/...ack-and-white/

[Richard Bock]

Thanks very much Ed, the print you've posted is really great. It does justice to the incredible black and white photography. It looks to me it came from a slightly better print, perhaps a 16mm one, however the imperfections like the 'snow' on the film stock are exactly the ones on my Blackhawk print. Whatever the case, much appreciate that you posted this.

[Ed Gordon]

That screen shot probably reflects the fact that the film was banned in the USSR soon after it's release. It does not appear to have ever been restored. I see it is available on Bluray, but the reviews don't include any screen shots. I did find the full movie on Youtube (below). The dance segment start at 46:00 into the film.

[Richard Bock]

As the man dances down the road which the director had 'paved' with a dust like powder every step is marked by the rising dust powder. The scene goes on for 2 or 3 minutes. One of the most beautiful dance scenes I've ever seen on film. From the 1930 Russian film Earth directed by Alexander Dovzhenko. Stunning photography throughout this feature film which depicts farm workers and machinery in Soviet Russia. Earth is commonly regarded as Dovzhenko's masterpiece and as one of the greatest films ever made. The film was voted number 10 on the prestigious Brussels 12 list at the 1958 World Expo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_(1930_film). This pic taken from my Blackhawk, Super 8mm print.

[Melvin England]

[QUOTE=Graham Ritchie;n117988]
Over the next few weeks I will be screening and going through all the Derann Disney animated films, one thing for certain I would never part with them.


The only Disney full length I have is "Sleeping Beauty" in cinemascope / stereo sound and, although is animation, it is a stunner, so I understand your sentiment, Graham.

[Graham Ritchie]

Last night I gave "Beauty and the Beast" a screening as well. I remember reading the review in FFTC and that prompted me to save up and buy a new copy from Derann at the time, this was way back in 1993-94. To this day "Beauty and the Beast" was and still is right up there as one of the best in both in picture and stereo sound, anyway I didn't see any point taking new screen shots, as the film print last night as those shown below are just the same.

Over the next few weeks I will be screening and going through all the Derann Disney animated films, one thing for certain I would never part with them