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 POSITIVE on this reel ... 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 ...
LOGAN'S RUN - Super 8 Colour With Sound
Catalogue: M7
Housed in the original polystyrene packaging
MGM Home Movie (Selected Scenes)
(1976) LOGAN'S RUN
Science fiction set in the 23rd century, where the world is "perfect" until ...
Grey plastic PLiO MAGiC (Made In USA) 7" 400' capacity reel
Leader film fitted but no film clip
Colour
Sound
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Original MGM polystyrene hinged case is in very good condition.
The Grey PLiO MAGiC 400' reel (Made In USA) has no labelling at all.
Film stock appears to be undamaged nor is the reel.
NO personal writing anywhere on the polystyrene hinged case or the reel
A slight, low level (but unmistakable) vinegar odour is coming from this reel - BEWARE!
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.
A White leader film is fitted but without a film clip.
I ran the film through the projector for my standard 5 minutes or so for this test.
Oh yes ... my world is Red, very Red at least in the beginning. No signs of Blues or Greens and then "out of the darkness" I can see Greens - funny that some of the scenes, where there are large groups of young people in different coloured tunics, looks a little like a Christmas tree! Lots of Red but then a Green tunic over there, and there ... so Green is present but is suppressed - I cannot say the same for Blues, they have definitely left the picture.
Audio is fine, clean and clear, so this side of things is not an issue
In my opinion, after this brief test, I am satisfied that the contents of the box are as marked although the film stock is definitely undergoing dye chemical breakdown (that "sweet n sour" smell of vinegar, although not strong it is there)
Perhaps this particular copy or print may be of most interest to Enthusiasts who are looking for the M7 Logan's Run outer packaging in good condition or even just the PLiO MAGiC reel - I don't know if keeping the film is such a good idea though, based upon what I have been told and learned since starting out in this world of "Super 8 home movies", this chemical reaction is only going to get worse and is not reversible.
As these are only being offered on behalf of another person, I treat his property with respect even when the product is a bit below par and I am very fastidious and careful with these films that have been given into my care.
I have replaced the reel back into the packaging and then sealed the whole package in clear plastic to at least maintain the current condition as much as possible or prevent this film affecting others nearby!
