HISTORY:
I am not a 'film buff' and my "world" is 'the arts' and more specifically, music, artwork and hand crafted/decorated chinaware's.
An extremely unwell associate has asked me to find new owners for THEIR large collection of photographic and film items ... this is one of those items. I am often asked "THE QUESTION"
So how many films do you have, Russ?
My response is ... boxes and boxes of them, perhaps 500+
I have been honoured with the trust and care of these films, to the owner they are an important part of his life and I respect that. Each film is VERY SLOWLY (I have a lot of other things to do as well!) being evaluated, run through the projector (currently an ELMO ST1200D) and if needed, addition packing added to protect the film more.
ALL film stock is safely away in my storage units, nice n cool and out of harms way while I look (and smell!) each film ... NO ONE can just casually "browse" the collection. My associate wouldn't like that and neither do I.
Due to my previous working life in technical fields, I tend to be quite detailed in my item descriptions, please READ all the details to decide if this item may interest you.
Vinegar Syndrome: my nose came up NEGATIVE on this reel ...however, keep the following in mind
From time to time I have noticed a "vinegar smell" coming off some films that I have been checking. I have been contacted by a learned ex film professional who has provided some pointers about this vinegar smell. Thank you kind Sir!
It seems that the presence of this odour indicates a chemical reaction is underway which will affect the base material of the film - over time. Most of these films are already around 50 years old, how much longer will they "survive" I wonder? No-one can provide a definitive answer to that one ... it's a bit like "the earth WILL be hit by a comet, one day, but no-one knows when"
This chemical reaction which is indicated by the Vinegar odour can (over time) affect both colour and black & white films equally, gradually becoming worse as time passes although I could not find a reliable guide as to how much time we are talking about - months? years? No-one seems confident enough to commit to a time frame.
If you "click" on the CAVEAT EMPTOR (Buyer Beware) in Red above, buried there is a link will take you to the esteemed National Film And Sound Archive Of Australia page which talks about this Vinegar Syndrome problem. These people at NFSA know their stuff ... the most disturbing aspect which jumped out at me is the possible effects of this chemical reaction on HUMAN health. Be careful when handling one of the "vinegar beasties", even just breathing the vapours is apparently not a good idea for sustained periods!
Having said all of this, I will ALWAYS indicate film stock that is producing this Vinegar odour in my description - although "aged", my nose still works (sort of!). I will still run the film through the projector for "testing" but have no way of knowing how advanced the chemical reaction may already be - unless the film stock crumbles in my hands! Hmmm ... not a good sign!
I still have a ton of films to investigate (the owner of these films was a BIG film buff in the 1960's ~ 1980's) and so far only a small percentage have proven to have the air of Vinegar about them ...
I have also been advised that even if NO smells are being produced, chemical reactions may still be underway but as yet undetectable by the human nose.
It really comes down to ... these films are OLD, probably they were never intended to be viewed up to 60 years later ... everything eventually fails
Please be realistic and keep all of this in mind.
Now, on with the description ...
ANDERSON TAPES - Super 8 Film
Columbia Home Movies release (selected scenes)
Catalogue # Unknown
ANDERSON TAPES (Sean Connery) 1971
One of the first films exploring the world of electronic surveillance. Anderson, played by Sean Connery, is released from prison and planning his next big heist (as you do). Unbeknown to Anderson, his every move is being monitored by various Government agencies. The heist takes place but of course is foiled and it doesn't end well for Anderson and his cohorts.
Very basic labelling has been applied to the single sheet of Red cardboard inside the case, no markings on the reel at all.
White 400' reel, Unbranded (marked as Made In Italy)
Housed in a thick, plain clear plastic, hinged case
Leader film fitted although this is pretty short in my opinion.
Colour
Sound
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Film stock and the reel are undamaged
The clear perspex plastic case top & bottom section do have some light scuff/scratch marks from handling & storage over the years but there are NO broken pieces.
NO unusual smells detected coming off the film i.e NO VINEGAR ODOURS!
NO personal names on the case or the film reel
TESTING:
Test projector is the ELMO 1200 that I have on hand at the moment.
Film looks to be clean and in good condition, sprocket holes are not damaged.
I ran the film for about the first 5 minutes or so ...
It is obvious that dye failure is present, the picture is dominated by a soft Pink (not a heavy Red as I have found with other films. I can see faint "signs" of Greens but not a lot and the Blues ... well lets just say they have gone on a picnic, absolutely no sign of them here! Still very watchable but the colours are obviously "off"
SPECIAL NOTE: I felt I needed to add this little note ... whilst viewing the film on the screen, it actually looks "reasonable" although obviously Pinkish ... it has become apparent to me that my antiquated digital camera (very old, one of the very first 'point n shoot' models!) just isn't up to the task in regard to colour representation nor the ability to portray contrast properly. The screen shots I take are while the film is running too, that doesn't help provide a good image. The photographs are only a very rough guide for what to expect but in reality the film is not as bad as in the photographs. I work with what equipment I have, room lighting etc ... if anything, at least you can see that the films have actually been run through the projector and any special points (such as the film aspect ratio) can be seen. In my humble opinion, the colour rendition remains watchable, but certainly not brilliant.
Sound quality is very good, levels are fine and it is easy to understand the dialogue - such a fine speaking voice from Sean!
In my opinion, after this quite brief test viewing, I am happy that the film is as stated on the case and it looks to be in reasonably good "technical" condition albeit with the obvious dye failures.
I am very fastidious and careful with these films, they are after all the property of another, and I have now packed the reel back into the clear case after adding a couple of Silica Gel packs and sealing the reel in clear plastic. I have then also sealed the outer case in clear plastic - Yes, the dyes have already undergone failure but I do this in an effort to stabilize or at least slow down this chemical process.
