High Society

[Paul Adsett]

I previously reviewed this superb MGM/Derann Feature print way back in 2007
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/ubb/u...c;f=4;t=000195
(where have the years gone!).
I watched it again last night and the color is holding up very well, perhaps just a little warmer than I remembered it. Anyway I took the opportunity to get some screen shots from reel 3, which is my go to reel for this film as it is packed with the great songs Your Sensational with Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly, Samantha with Bing Crosby, You Has Jazz with Bing and the great Louis Armstrong, and finally the wonderful Well Did You Ever! with Frank and Bing having a few drinks in the house library.
I re-recorded the whole movie in stereo and, together with the great picture quality, its a reel 2 hour treat!

[Winbert Hutahaean]

..... its a reel 2 hour treat!

So this is a F/L, right? and I compared with the screen shots of Burton's in your old post, the color is definetely turning... is a this Derann print?

On what stock was it struck?

[Mike Newell]

That would be one of Derann’s MGM musicals releases around mid to late 1980s which just proves it wasn’t low fade stock.

[Paul Adsett]

compared with the screen shots of Burton's in your old post, the color is definetely turning... is a this Derann print?

I purchased this print new from Derann in 2006. I assume it is low fade stock. Burton lives in Canada which is a much cooler climate than Florida and probably beneficial to film preservation. This particular print still looks great IMO and, even if it has warmed up a bit, I actually prefer it to a very blue looking print.

[Osi Osgood]

Paul, can you please check as to what the film stock is? I looked at that earlier review, and the color looks just about the same, but the brightness of the lamp can affect color reproduction.

[Paul Adsett]

Osi, can you please educate me on how to identify the film stock - low fade or SP etc?

[Osi Osgood]

Simply take a lense and look at the sprocket area of the film. In most cases, the type of stock will be stated about every 10 feet or so. For low fade LPP, you will have "Eastman LPP", for Agfa, it will instead say, "1S" or "2S", and for Fuji or Kodak SP, it will say such. These markings are in a brownish orange color in lettering, and are in-between the actual sprockets, so this takes an actual perusal with the naked eye with the previously mentioned lense. Usually, your standard super 8 projector lense will work just fine.

[Graham Sinden]

Also bear in mind that some of the letters may be exactly where the sprocket holes are so LPP may be missing the last P for instance and just show LP but you will know what it is really.

[Paul Adsett]

Thanks for that information. My High Society feature length print from Derann has the following edge numbering between the sprocket holes:
A G 1 S
I assume it is a low fade Agfa print?

[Osi Osgood]

It is Agfa, but please bear in mind, Paul, that Agfa 1S has been known to start a very slow fade over time, where 2S tends to retain it's color better. I would suggest storing your print in the best of conditions, obviously a cool dry place is the best bet, but your print looks pretty good, and it might just be how bright it is projected for the screenshots. Any which way, it's a great film!

[Osi Osgood]

Besides, indoor scenes are the worst for good color tests. Could you perhaps put up some outdoor scene screenshots, if you have the chance, Paul?

[Paul Adsett]

I'll do that in the next few days Osi. My reel 2 has outdoor sequences where Dexter converses with Samantha around the pool.

[Paul Adsett]

Here are a few more screen shots from my Derann feature length print, now identified as on Agfa S1 stock, including outdoor scenes as suggested by Osi:

[Osi Osgood]

I still say that it doesn't look bad to me. What kind of lamp do you have there, Paul? I was talking with another collector recently, and he was bemoaning, ever so slightly, his lamp conversion to a modern video projector lamp, as it gives everything a bluish caste to the color.

[Paul Adsett]

The projector was a GS1200 with Elmo f1.0 lens and converted to the 24v 250w ELC halogen lamp. Yes the reported bluish/green cast of the the high intensity lamps is something I know I would not like (although I should add that I have not personally seen these lamps in action), prefer the warmer look of the traditional halogen lamps, which are just fine for home use.
This particular print of High Society was I thought emphasiszng blue when I purchased it new from Derann in 2006. I believe the blue has faded somewhat to a (presently) warmer and more pleasing palette. I believe that hedge behind Grace Kelly and Louis Calhern ( previous picture) used to be green.
Apparently we are now in fall!