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 an OLD KODAK EASTMAN from USA.
Now, on with the description ...
BEN HUR
MGM Pictures
Super 8 Film
Title: Ben Hur (1959 Charlton Heston & Stephen Boyd)
Catalogue: unknown
3x 400 Feet PLiO MAGIC Blue reels (USA)
Colour
Sound (Mono)
Epic drama about an aristocratic Jew living in Judaea who incurs the wrath of a childhood friend, now a Roman tribune. Although forced into slavery on a galley and compelled to witness the cruel persecution of his family, he survives, harbouring dreams of vengeance.
The trailer is just to give you an idea, of course this film is not 70mm nor is it in Stereo!
Supplied in the original tri-reel can used by the owner, a very old KODAK EASTMAN metal two section can. I have decided to seal all three reels individually inside the can and also the outer can itself in an attempt to protect the contents as much as possible.
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 "mildew spots"!
Film stock and the reels are undamaged
Film clips are fitted to each reel Dismiss
Each film has a White leader
NO physical damage (knocks/dents) to the KODAK EASTMAN can, externally or internally
Chemical breakdown update (13th January 2026)
While sealing and packing these reels I kept getting low level "whiffs" of the vinegar smell, primarily (I think) Reel 3 but as these were all packed together, I must now assume all are showing signs of some chemical breakdown ... the status of the vinegar Syndrome has been updated (and the asking price adjusted accordingly)
ALERT!
VERY SLIGHT Vinegar odours coming from one or more of the reels that my "not so sensitive" smell detector could pickup (my nose!) At first I didn't notice any smell but there is "something" happening with these reels.
NO personal names on the can or reels, just the identification of the can contents on the side and each reel has simply Reel 1, Reel 2 etc hand written on it (no title)
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
The colour is quite "Reddish" indicating a significant loss of Blue in particular, Greens (and Browns) can still be seen so the Green is not entirely gone.
Sound is good and clean and it is easy to understand the dialogue (not muffled)
REEL 2
The colour has changed slightly with this reel, it is more Yellow in tone although the Reds are there, they are reduced and Pinkish overall. The Greens still remain so there is some Browns and the sky looks Greenish at times - no sign of Blues though. This reel begins with a "normal" countdown from 10 and the title plus credits are repeated before Part 2 plays
No issues with the sound, good level and clean which makes it is easy to understand the dialogue (not muffled)
REEL 3
The colour is quite similar to that on Reel 2 except I had the impression that the Greens were more obvious, resulting in deeper Green sky scenes and the Browns of the tunics/uniforms (they should be Blue I think) - there are no signs of Blues unfortunately. Again, this reel begins with a "normal" countdown from 10 and the title plus credits are repeated before Part 3 plays
No issues at all with the sound, good level and clean which makes 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 shots in very low light levels with the camera flash turned off (otherwise the picture is flooded with White) and the camera shutter speed is therefore 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 or washed out as recorded in the photographs.
In my opinion, after this relatively brief test viewing, I am happy that the film is as stated on the can label and reels and that the film stock all appears to be in fairly reasonable technical condition considering it's age - although some chemical reaction on the film looks to be taking place.
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, added some Silica Gel packets and then I have also sealed in clear plastic packaging, the outer tri-can ... this should keep any humidity effects to a minimum.
