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 ...
GUNS FOR SAN SEBASTIAN
MGM Pictures
Super 8 Film
Title: Guns For San Sebastian (1967 Charles Bronson & Anthony Quinn)
NOTE: I am taking the year of release from the side can label, online references indicate this was a 1968 release!
Catalogue: unknown
3x 400 Feet PLiO MAGIC Blue reels (USA)
Colour
Sound (Mono)
Western about outlaw Leon Alastray (played by Anthony Quinn) who, after receiving sanctuary from a priest, ends up disguised as a priest in the deserted village of San Sebastian. He must then rally the cowardly villagers, terrorised by Yaqui Indians and bandits (including a treacherous half-breed played by Charles Bronson), to defend themselves, inspiring them to fight back and build defences. The film blends action, comedy, and religious themes as the rogue discovers a conscience and leads the community to defend their home.
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
Each film has a White leader
NO physical damage (knocks/dents) to the KODAK EASTMAN can, externally or internally
While sealing and packing these reels I kept getting low level "whiffs" of the vinegar smell, even though the smell is of a very low level I must now assume all are showing signs of some chemical breakdown ...
ALERT!
VERY SLIGHT Vinegar odours coming from one or more of the reels that my "not so sensitive" smell detector could pickup (my nose!)
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 "Pinkish" and not heavily Red in colouring, indicating a significant loss of Blue in particular. I can see some semblance of Greens (and resulting Browns) but overall the colouring is very much in the Pink realm.
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 perhaps slightly less Pink and with a more consistent Green colouring although far from being "normal" some of the scenes are quite strange with the Pink ground level and a Greenish sky!
NOTE: I have no idea why but the opening countdown (10-9-8-7 etc is followed by the film title and credits but these are in a totally different font and layout compared to Reel 1
No issues with the sound, good level and clean which makes it is easy to understand the dialogue (not muffled)
REEL 3
This reel is also very much like Reel 2 and the same comments re the opening titles and credits applies.
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.
