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 ...
Regardless of this, please 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 information in mind.
Now, on with the description ...
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
MGM Home Movies (Selected Scenes)
Title: Doctor Zhivago (1950)
Catalogue # M-1
I have discovered TWO copies of this release
Copy 1: 400 Feet Black unbranded (marked as made in USA) reel
Copy 2: 400 Feet Dark Grey PLiO MAGiC (USA) reel
Leaders are fitted
Colour
Sound (Mono)
Run time: approximately 16 minutes
The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Both of the original polystyrene cases are in very good condition, no discolouration, no damage
NO personal writing on either the outer case or the film reel but Copy 1 (the Black reel) does have a label applied to the reel.
Both films appear to be undamaged, with a leader films fitted but no film clips.
TESTING:
Test machine: ELMO 1200ST
The projector film path has been completely cleaned prior to running this film through the machine. I now have a "running sheet", my maintenance schedule if you like - I record when each maintenance is performed because I am running a lot of films through the machine.
Both films look to be clean and in good condition, sprocket holes are not damaged.
I ran both of the films through the projector for approximately the first five minutes, to observe the picture and check that the sound quality.
COPY 1:
Pretty similar colouring to many other films I have been test viewing lately, Reds dominate but there is some pale Greens showing but the Blues are nowhere to be seen.
COPY 2:
Not a lot of difference with this copy, perhaps more Greens so the Browns are more obvious and in fact sometimes the film looked "Sephia tone" like!
In both cases the Blues have taken a break and are nowhere to be seen ...
SPECIAL NOTE: I felt I needed to add this little note ... whilst viewing the film on the screen, it actually looks "reasonable" but 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.
Fortunately, with both reels the audio is fine and at a good level - no issues here.
I am satisfied that both reels do contain the content indicated by the packaging.
I am very fastidious and careful with these films, they are after all the property of another, and I have now packed each film back into it's polystyrene case, added a couple of Silica Gel packets and then sealed the reel(s) in clear plastic, then another sealed clear plastic packaging has been added around the outer case(s).
Both of these films are now stored in a cool, low humidity environment while they await a new projector to live with.
Although either copy is very similar from a colour perspective, you can choose either copy in the selection box on this page OR if you select both films, a substantial discount is offered on the asking price.
