I manage a second run theatre and am often appalled at the condition our prints arrive in. Even a print that has had a short-lived life in a first-run house will usually arrive looking like it has been dragged behind a car on its way here.

Today I recieved my copy of The Thomas Crown Affair and was greatly impressed in its quality. I first thought it was a green print because the cardboard censor bands were in mint condition. When I open it up, all the reels were in the proper order, heads out, with the heads/tails single spliced on with yellow banded mylar tape. The reels were neat and had all heads/tails marked with masking tape for easy identification. The trailers had even been removed. The print was obviously broken down with great care.

I was even more impressed with the image quality. There was not a scratch or piece of dust to be seen on the print and the only indication that a splice was coming up was the reel-change mark. Not even one noticeable fingerprint. Outstanding.

This print came from Victoria Film Distribution in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is numbered ON 2, print 14. If anyone knows who had this last, please let me know so I can thank him/her myself for doing such a professional job. You have restored my faith that I am not the only one who cares they treat their prints.