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Author
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Topic: Pressing new prints of older movies
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James R. Hammonds, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 931
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 06-18-2001 01:19 AM
Do studios do this often for movies that theatre might want to use for midnight shows or other special engagements?I went Saturday night to see a midnight show of The Goonies and what I saw appeared to be a new or recent print.
There were a few lab defects such as those clear lines that look like scratches and white speckles here and there, not to mention sound that seemed to fade here and there due to a soundtrack that should be remastered.
There were a few emultion side film scratchesat the beginning and some horizontal emultion side scratches toward the end of what i think was reel 2 (i wasnt counting, but given how long the movie had been on, thats where i think it was). Also, was this movie originally recorded in mono?
And if it was has it ever been remixed for stereo?
I couldnt tell at times if it was in mono being played in stereo with the sound bleeding into the left and right or if it was actually a bad stereo track. I also ducked in during a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show once and saw what seemed tobe a good print also, but since that is probably the biggest and most often run midnight show ever, then i could see how a new print might be pressed every so often. Next week, I plan on seeing Gremlins and the week after Ferris Beuller's Day Off.
I saw Ferris at an employee night just before the opening of a Houston megaplex that was scratched to no end.
I wonder how these prints will turn out.
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Christopher Duvall
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 500
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 06-18-2001 03:52 AM
Hopefully somebody out there may know more that I do on this, however, for a good portion of DVD releases, the studios go back and make new masters to make said DVDs. Some studios, such as WB, has gone back to the original sound stems and negatives and cleaned them up, repaired and what-not to make such new masters. Superman and The Exoricist come to mind right and they made new 35mm prints for these movies. Right now, Columbia (SONY) has gone back to do this to Monty Python and the Holy Grail and currently have a new 35mm struck print touring the nation. I know that not all studio catalog titles get this treament when the DVD is prepped for release, however, if a catalog title gets an anamorphic transfer to disc, there is a good chance that that title has a new master print made. That master print could be used to make new 35mm prints. Please don't quote any of this as gospel. This is just info I have filtered from MANY DVD sites I go to. Hell, I could be totally wrong, I am just a theatre GM. However, there should be somebody here that has the inside studio scoop because I am interested in running older movies as well for midnight shows if I can convince my bookers and DM that we can make some money on it...  ------------------
Chris Duvall
General Manager
Regal Cinemas Colonnade14
Las Vegas, NV
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 06-18-2001 08:44 AM
I ran Goonies a couple of years ago. It was an original print from KPF. Condition was surprisingly good (for a KPF print...), but it wasn't as good as described here. Sound was Dolby A. The sound problems described above "might" be the result of playing an A-type print in format 05 (SR); this usually sounds pretty nasty.
As far as I know, Ferris Bueller hasn't been reprinted. Anyone who books this should try to get print 665 from the ETS depot in Landover, MD. I've run this print twice and it's been in decent (not great, but very watchable) shape. It's an original from 1986 on Eastman LPP stock. Sound is Dolby A, of course, although the shipping container says "SR-Digital" for reasons unknown.
As for reprintings: some distributors are better than others. I have a lot of respect for Warner Bros. Classics, and have never received a bad print from them. They even send out inspection reports with their prints (I'll send one to Brad to scan...). Note that the film elements used for video transfers are almost always interpositives and low-contrast prints, neither of which are suitable for theatrical projection, although new prints can be struck from the elements used to create them. Video transfers don't use optical tracks, either...they use mag film interlocked to the picture or a digital format like DA-88.
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 06-21-2001 12:45 PM
Scott said: "Note that the film elements used for video transfers are almost always interpositives and low-contrast prints, neither of which are suitable for theatrical projection, although new prints can be struck from the elements used to create them."Correct. Projection-contrast prints are rarely used for modern video transfers. With recent advances like the Kodak/Philips "Spirit" telecine, the quality of film-to-video transfers has increased dramatically over the last decade:
Philips DataCine
Kodak and Philips Win Emmy for Spirit DataCine
Camera Guild Article ------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!
Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 06-25-2001 07:08 PM
IIRC Goonies, and many other prints of the day were still being released dual inventory of both mono and stereo 35mm prints. If it was an original print, it could have been either way. Mono prints run in 'stereo' mode on most cinema processors usually sound really harsh and bright...I am not certain, but was Goonies reprinted as part of the WB 75th promotion? If so, those new (1998) prints should be in good to fair condition...
I only wish that they made the restored prints of 'Wonka' in IB Tech (the original release prints were IB) I have seen a privately owned restoration print and it looked fantastic, but in IB it would have been eye-poppingly good 
Aaron
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Horrid print, original from 1991. The print was so brittle I could tear it with my bare hands with no muscle involvement. The print was terrible! They should make a new one, just for me because it seems I will be running it every summer for quite some time...
Let's hope that they correct this shameful situation soon. In the meantime, some theatres have been booking the film through Warners (to keep things legal) but running collectors' prints of the restored version.
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