100+ year old nitrate film restored and scanned by a YouTuber

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Stumbled across this video, and since it involves a recovery of a very old nitrate 35mm print, I think it belongs here in this forum. If not, mods feel free to move it...

This was a screen test done by MGM around 1920. The uploader is trying to figure out who the actress is, (and no I didn't search the whole comments section to find out.)

This video is a good mix of cringe in the early handling of the roll, with a table saw involved, some flammability tests that are super scary, but the end result of his hand restoration and scanning produce some stunning results. He does not pass himself off as a true archivist, and his rather rough handling of the film bears that out.

BUT, the end result is indeed stunning, and shows how nitrate was bar none the best image stock ever invented for its clarity, contrast ratios, and overall depth of image. (This video includes some great shots of the raw footage hanging up to dry after cleaning that show what I mean.)

Well enough from me, just watch and enjoy:

[Leo Enticknap]

The bit with the circular saw is certainly not a technique that is taught in film archiving school! I'd have been worried that a spark could have ignited the outer part of the film pack that had decomposed to at least stage 4 (and therefore is basically nitroglycerin, as in The Wages of Fear), but maybe I'm just a wuss. BH perforations, so 1920 is viable (KS perforations for projection prints started to become widespread in 1923-24).

[David Ferguson]

Ah yes, I saw this video when it was first published. My initial reaction was "oh no, he's destroying the film", but after seeing the scanned results, I'm happy he did it. Sure, a professional archive could have done it faster and better, but for small films like this that likely aren't of major interest to big archives, a DIY job is great. It's wonderful to watch those images come back to life.