HISTORY:
My "world" is 'the arts' and more specifically, music, artwork and hand crafted/decorated chinaware's.
I am not a film enthusiast but an associate has asked me to find new owners for THEIR large collection of photographic and film items ... this is one of those items.
While the world of 8mm/Super 8mm is not my area of expertise, I am doing my best to establish the condition of each item that I am listing.
I tend to be quite detailed in my item descriptions, please READ all the details to decide if this item may interest you.
Now I am starting to work through some "exciting" canisters, why exciting? Because I am not sure what is on the film and the descriptions can be a bit vague. This tri-canister (a single can which holds 3x 400' reels) is a VERY OLD KODAK EASTMAN from USA. Funny because I have had so many ask about just this can, the film inside doesn't seem to matter to some folk!
Now, on with the description ...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
MGM Pictures
Super 8 Film
Title: Where Eagles Dare (1968 although the can says 1969)
Catalogue: unknown
3x 400 Feet
Colour
Sound (Mono)
Run time: approximately 50 minutes total
Follows a Special Ops team, their mission is to rescue an American General however events do not turn out quite as expected ...
Supplied in the original tri-reel can used by the owner, a very old KODAK EASTMAN (ROCHESTER N.Y. USA) type 2350 metal two section can. I have decided to seal all three reels individually inside the can and the outer can in an attempt to protect the contents as much as possible. In this particular case I have NOT added satchels of Silica Gel because then the reels will not fit into the can! The light Grey plastic reels appear to be made for KODAK, the manufacturer (stamped into the reel) is TAYLOREEL ROCHESTER N.Y.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Light "rust" oxidisation can be seen to the external top and sides but its not too bad. Inside the can is very clean and does NOT have any oxidisation! Initially I was concerned with the "look" of the outer canister and how the film may have been affected but I suspect this film "lived" in another case and was transferred to this can for some reason - the film looks great and has no smells or "mildew spots"!
Film stock and the reels are undamaged
Film clips are fitted to each reel
Each film has a White leader
NO physical damage (knocks/dents) to the KODAK EASTMAN can, externally or internally
NO strange smells from the film although I "think" I can smell a very light vinegar odour
NO personal names on the can or reels, just the identification of the can contents and each reel has also been labelled.
TESTING:
Test projector is the ELMO 1200 that I have on hand at the moment.
Each reel has been examined and test played individually ...
Film looks to be clean and in good condition, sprocket holes are not damaged.
REEL 1
No film clip fitted
The short White leader film was crushed and i could not feed the film properly. I have cut away the leader completely so the film begins in the Black space (before the 10-9-8 countdown) of the film itself and no content is lost. I only ran the film for the first five minutes or so to observe the picture and sound, this means that I cannot give a complete description of the contents but what I viewed was definitely shifted to the Red end of the spectrum although some Blues,Browns, Green can be seen. Looks as though the Blue dye has substantially but not completely failed.
Sound is good and clean and it is easy to understand the dialogue (not muffled)
REEL 2
Film clip fitted
The short White leader film is in good condition. I only ran the film for the first five minutes or so to observe the picture and sound, this means that I cannot give a complete description of the contents but what I viewed was definitely shifted to the Red end of the spectrum and my impression is that the loss of Blues was more severe than Reel 1 - barely any signs of colour other than Pink/Reds and White.
Sound is good and clean and it is easy to understand the dialogue (not muffled)
REEL 3
Film clip fitted
The short White leader film is in good condition. I only ran the film for the first five minutes or so to observe the picture and sound, this means that I cannot give a complete description of the contents but what I viewed was definitely shifted to the Red end of the spectrum and my impression is that the loss of Blues was more severe than Reel 1 - barely any signs of colour other than Pink/Reds and White.
Sound is good and clean and it is easy to understand the dialogue (not muffled)
SPECIAL NOTE:
I always include a couple of "off screen" snapshots of each reel as it is played ... now my digital camera is antiquated (colour balance? what's that - like I said, this is one very OLD camera that I currently use) and it's limitations are definitely showing up in these sample photographs.
I take the screen shot in very low light levels, the camera flash is turned off (otherwise the picture is flooded with White) and the camera shutter speed is very slow.
This means I have trouble getting sharp photographs, especially when there is movement on the screen and I have noticed that after viewing quite a few films now, that my poor OLD digital camera is tending to shift images towards the Red or Yellow end of town, - in real life the on-screen picture is not as Red as recorded in the photographs
In my opinion, after this very brief test, I am happy that the film is as stated on the can label and reels and that the film stock appears to be in reasonable technical condition considering it's age.
I am very fastidious and careful with these films (I am afterall doing this on behalf of another person) and I have decided to repack the film with a little extra care ... I have placed each reel into a sealed clear plastic pack but WITHOUT the Silica Gel (otherwise it would not fit into the tri-can properly) I have also added a sealed clear plastic packaging to the outer tri-can, this should keep any humidity effects to a minimum.
