This is topic Do you collect films or what and why? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 10-29-1999, 06:26 PM:
I started managing a theatre in a small new resort town, Telluride, CO, in 1972. It had been a mining town for 100 years and since hard-rock mining was dead, it was time for something else for the town to do to continue to exist.My boss renovated a "quaint" 250 seat horseshoe-balcony theatre and put in a Brenkert BX-60 booth with ORC-1000s for light. For self-defense I learned to run the booth since I quickly found I was not only the staff therapist, but had to deal with projectionists' broken legs, alcohol overdoses and lapses of memory and reason. I found I liked handling the acetate.
Then, in 1980, a friend offered me a print of "The Wanderers" for $150. Little did I know that that one "toke" would lead me to a lifelong addiction, an empty wallet and strange looks from people who knew of my problem.
Do you collect movies? How about equipment? Or what do you collect and why?
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-29-1999, 07:23 PM:
You can see my setup in the picture warehouse. I use it for cleaning prints for studios as well as personal use and of course, testing the different mixes of FilmGuard over the years.Generally I don't get odd looks from people once they sit down for a movie. At that point, there's always the discussion of "how much would it cost me..." that follows the show. Video will never compare to film and if it weren't for the many collectors out there, many titles would be lost since the studios don't seem too concerned on preserving them. Hell, Fox almost lost Star Wars 2 years back due to poor storage! Many restorations could not be possible if some collector didn't have a mint condition print which becomes the new negative! Also, many prints have had sound pulled off of a 4 track magnetic print for a digital restoration where the original tapes were lost.
Perhaps one day, I'll have something in my collection I can donate to the cause when the studio vault gets flooded and many titles are lost forever, except on VHS and DVD at Blockbuster!
Jim, send us pics of your setup for the warehouse!
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-29-1999, 07:54 PM:
The preservation point is a good one, and the usefulness of prints to film restorers and producers extends beyond the rare "lab-mint" examples that end up being the best surviving elements of a production.
For example, I happen to own a 35mm print of a reel 2 of a two-reel short. This is the only known existing 35mm IB Tech element of that title (I have a few feet of R1, but the rest of that reel has not been located). That reel is currently in an LA-area film vault on loan for a film restoration effort. Evidently, 35mm IB Tech material is more useful than 16mm IB material for color and contrast reference when restorers attempt to work with faded original negative elements to create new prints which resemble the original prints as closely as possible.
Aside from that 35mm IB reel and a quantity of 16mm IB prints, all other elements of this title have faded. The whole film preservation situation is pretty sad, really, and the rate of deterioration of magnetic tape (video and audio) is even faster than the rate of film deterioration.
I'm quite happy to have been able to contribute (in a small way, at least) to this sort of effort, and I would encourage all other collectors who have rare items to do the same.
Take care of everything...who would have thought that a beat-up old odd IB reel would be useful to anyone?
Posted by Chris Erwin (Member # 176) on 10-29-1999, 09:37 PM:
What do I collect? Old 16mm,some 35mm,even some 8mm, and the equipment to run it on. Why? Because,in this digital age,someone has to hold the key to the past. If (God Forbid) the digital projector replaces film,I want to show my kids and grandkids what a reel (real) movie looks like. The theater business got in my blood,much as it has most on Film-Tech. We are projectionists, collectors, movie buffs, etc. and as long as we're at it, we'll carry the proud history of cinema through the years.Long live film.
--Chris
Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 10-29-1999, 11:41 PM:
This may seem a little pedestrian, but I collect 35mm trailers. I know, I know ... cheeeeeepo! But I love good, well-edited trailers. I have five VERY full 2000 ft. reels worth. All are now protected by FilmGuard 
I edit my own "trailers" on video sometimes. There's something so fun about a two hour story told in just a couple minutes. Even the worst movies can have good trailers.
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-30-1999, 03:04 AM:
To answer BF's question:No, I do not collect film.
Why?
I dunno.
Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 10-30-1999, 03:54 AM:
I collect 35mm Corporate Policy Trailers - old, new - whatever.Even my best theatre friends (Except Aaron)think I'm weird...
I'm a Policy Trailer junkee.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-30-1999, 12:00 PM:
Erika--a female film-collector and projectionist! Wow! Too bad you're in Denver...we should meet sometime. I have at least 60 reels of trailers going back to about 1989, and including almost every major-studio release since 1996. I prefer features, but I get the trailers for free from a local theatre and can't bring myself to toss them.
Does anyone collect non-film movie stuff? I have a few posters, but that's about it. I seem to be accumulating a lot of old 35mm equipment and parts, too; I know that some people like to collect 16mm projectors, although the 35mm stuff looks much classier (esp. the silent-era Simplex machines!) and is easier to work on. One of the nice things about 35mm is that all the equipment has nice, big, easy-to-handle parts, particularly when compared with 16mm projectors, which require small hands to rebuild.
Posted by Stefan Scholz (Member # 147) on 10-30-1999, 02:11 PM:
Ye's I collect film. 35 mm and 70 mm. I do own about 14 titles in 70 mm mag, mostly in acceptable color, with some fading, but that's Eastman. The sound is still overwhelming.
And I still collect projectors, but had to stop doing so after owning about 60 35 mm projectors. I had to give away many, and sell some, but have managed to keep a few nicew examples, and my 70 mm projectors. They are somewhat rare, and in a few years all old theatres will have ceased, and noone will remember the ingenious engineering on some types (electronic controlled watercooled 255 Amp Ventarc lamps, w 22" mirrors, for example).
And of course, you need correct reproduction in a real theatre for 70 mm. To see a movie on our 65 ft curved screen, sitting only 30 ft away makes a difference. Most people in my age, mid 30s, say, they have seen for example Lawrence of Arabia for a few times, on their 22" TV, 157 min. long.
Having showed the 6 track on 65 ft in 222 minutes, all revoked their opinion, nobydy had ever seen the movie.
This is why I collect film. Digital will never rear the quality of film, it will always look dead.
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 10-30-1999, 06:27 PM:
I collect film as well, have had two nice collections ( before the first one was stolen in 1986 and I had to start again) I collect mostly 'older' and 'unusual' things, Older trailers (especially T&A and exploitation films from the 60s and 70s), older commercials ( although there are a few commercials from the 90's i had chucked in to see what they were when projected), daters, anything Drive-In, and the like: I have a single 35mm print and a bunch of odd reels for many things... I am always looking for Music Motions 35mm music videos from 1982-87 and any of the other stuff in the collection above The kids at the local plexes do seem to get a kick of seeing what we 'used to run' at the older theatres... Aaron
Posted by Stephen Winner (Member # 8) on 10-31-1999, 07:26 PM:
I have started collecting film after starting out as a stereo geek as a teenater, then getting onto the sound board at church, then stepping up to a projection booth. By the time I made it to the booth, I about had it with the trashy picture quality of NTSC!
I started poking around, and have started off simple: 16mm and 8mm. I don't have a big house, so 35mm is out of the question right now, my living room is only about the size of my booth! With a hole in the wall from my office to throw the picture from an educational grade Bell & Howell 1552.
I definitely agree with the opinions on the old simplec gear, it is quite classy looking. I like the etched glass "peerless magnarc logo's above the lamphouses! The first thing that came to mind when I saw the booth here is that it looked like an old silent horror flick...with large buzzing panels with big levers, whirring motors, those eerie looking carbon arc's (there's fire in there!) Not to mention the single dome light fixture with the incandescant bulb in it for booth lighting.I just want to have a carbon-arc lamphouse, not even a full projector, these things are just totally intriguing to me! (I could put searchlight beams in the air, or run it on my 16mm!)
Posted by Stephen Winner (Member # 8) on 10-31-1999, 07:29 PM:
...besides friends and family like watching movies MUCH better than TV when you have them over! So pop up some popcorn, thread the projector, dim the lights, and have fun!!!!
Posted by Johanna Innes (Member # 228) on 11-21-1999, 08:07 PM:
This collecting thing is an addiction. I've got a pile of trailers (35mm), more posters than I know what to do with, old reels from when my theater was running changeovers (before my time, I'm afraid), and if my manager decides to get rid of the 70mm attachments for our Vic, I'm taking them home. They're of no use, but I'll take them anyway...
Posted by Tyler Skinner (Member # 229) on 11-21-1999, 08:20 PM:
I've got a small growing collection of 16mm rareties, mostly 70's educationals with the guy in a cheesy voice showing you how to operate a rotary phone.oh yes, if anyone has a prestine poster for the thin red line, I would really like to get one framed. I'll gladly pay.
Posted by Martin Frandsen (Member # 74) on 01-22-2000, 10:51 AM:
I have a freind who collects dvd and when he see's the stunning quality that 35mm has opposit dvd he just gets blown away when the picture hits the screen. Thats why i collect 35mm films and trailers because of the amazing picture quality.I also have a large collection of laserdisc, good for reference when building up a 35mm print.
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 01-22-2000, 10:58 PM:
I was a big 35mm collector several years ago. Had a nice Century SAW, Super Lumex and AW-3 in my basement, when I lived in Illinois. My main interest in collecting lies in B-Westerns, of which you can't find too many in 35. After moving a couple times, I sold the equipment and most of the prints, opting to concentrate on 16mm, as it was easier to store, and titles were more available.Well, since the quality of 16 varied between good originals and terrible dupes, the money per-picture was around $100, and I still needed space for the prints, I said to heck with it and concentrated on a video collection. It's pretty much all the titles I could ever want, at about $3 or $4 apiece at K-Mart or Walmart, et al, (for B-Westerns), with a big savings in storage space. I love film, but it's no longer practical for me, as much as I hate to say that.
Now, I'm selling the rest of my stuff off, as I've moved to smaller (and more affordable) quarters (check my ebay auctions under the seller name hycandescent, if you're interested-there's more to come).
Film was fun while it lasted (as a collector, that is). But I also have family considerations, too. It just made sense for me to get out of it.
Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 01-23-2000, 09:56 AM:
I saw my first 35 mm machine in 1959. It was a Super Simplex with a Brenkert Arc lamp. I got hopelessly hooked on the machinery. Did some projectionist work back in the arc lamp/ reel change days of the '60's. Never thought I'd own my own machine until I ran across this website last summer, saw an ad, and though "what the hell"?I'm having a blast!
All I have is a few 2000' reels of trailers, but the quality of the image blows you away. Since I'm new in this endevor, I'm just looking for new, different, and inexpensive stuff to project.
Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 01-23-2000, 04:34 PM:
I collected 16mm from 1972-1999. I discovered the internet, HIAC, Film-Tech, where to get a Holmes 35 portable, and the rest kind-of happened.Within the last year, I have gone from zero 35mm to 19 features, one TV show, 3 cartoons, and a bunch of '80's trailers!
This is soooo fun.
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-23-2000, 05:38 PM:
I set up a pair of Motiogrph AAA with C70 arc and Mirrorphonic optical and mag in the basement with a 18' screen and a CP100
I have been debating installing the pair of Westrex5000 instead that I have in rentals so i could show 70mm prints aswell. Also have a Manleys Aristocrate popper Ticket chopper and a Cohn organ for silents
Posted by Ari Nordström (Member # 288) on 01-23-2000, 07:40 PM:
I have a Zeiss Favorit70 and a rebuilt CP50 with add-ons for mag sound for 35/70 (there's still some installing to do, though). I've bought a couple of 35mm features, and I have a couple of hours of trailers, a few of them in 70mm. It's more fun than collecting DVDs, even though I do that, too. And then, of course, there's all kinds of movie theatre memorabilia from closed-down theatres, from Cinerama reels to uniforms.It beats the hell out of collecting stamps, that much is for sure.
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 01-23-2000, 07:43 PM:
I collect.
I enjoy the presentation and enjoy the whole cinematic event. A friend once described a theater as "a big dark room, where people go and have a collective dream". I think this is an excellent deffinition. Film if done correctly can be a very "hot" medium. Unlike video or DVD etc. there's no lights no phones ringing no distractions (hopefully). It allows you (like the dream) to lose youself in an alternative reality for a while. I enjoy having the ability to not only do this for myself, but my friends as well. It's just plain fun. Then there's the quality of presentation that film lends itself to. The big picture the great sound. I also get a real charge out of monkeying around with the hardware.
Posted by timothy johnson (Member # 83) on 01-24-2000, 12:15 PM:
I was an addicted gambler before becoming a film collector five years ago, I now put that gambling money into my 35mm collection, so of course that type-A personality has me swimming in more than 4 million feet of film in my air-conditioned - dehumidified basement of my house. I just can not stop until I have enough film to stretch spliced end to end from Battery Park to the Golden Gate Park, that is my performance art dream I will acomplish in my retirement. But in the meantime I will have movie parties and crank up the best looking picture possible, oh, by the way, you got to try out those Clark Synthesis Sub sonic Transducers, they really ROCK!!! I swear by them, it will be the best thing you have added to your movie experience besides 35mm and digital sound. I have had friends actually get scared when a super low freq. below hearing sound effect kicks in on the seat shaker, they jump ! especially if it's a scary film with extreme low end.
Posted by Reeve Byrne (Member # 295) on 01-24-2000, 11:43 PM:
I collect posters, banners, standies, and 35mm trailers. I don't have a huge collection, but it's growing.
Posted by Masao Garcia (Member # 184) on 01-25-2000, 02:24 AM:
Okay, okay, this may sound strange, but I collect bits of burnt film from "brain" wraps. I've just started, so I only have two. It all started with the opening night of Star Wars Episode I. One of the prints (which I didn't build) had static and "brain" wrapped around the 5th or 6th reel. I was in the audience of the other show with a walkie talkie in case something went wrong, and sure enough, something did and I missed the whole light saber battle at the end. We even had an Usher-B up there keeping an eye on the two prints. Anyway, I took the burnt piece of film home and now I'm suddenly wanting to collect burnt film strips. Why?
I don't know....
BTW, I only have the SWEI piece and the piece of the Hurricane which I mentioned had "brain" wrapped in the static thread.
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 01-25-2000, 04:10 AM:
Collecting mangled brainwraps is indeed a sick hobby heheheh However I have a portion of "Waterboy" that had wrapped, torn apart, then hooked itself to the upper feed roller of a Century SA, and proceeeded to spin itself into several feet of nitfy Estar rope!! Its amazing it didnt knock the platter over or rip the brain out of it! I keep it around as a conversation piece to show off 'The Mother Of All brain Wraps'
Aaron
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-26-2000, 11:56 PM:
I keep clips of film from the prints I get in that have to be repaired. There's crummy lab splices, busted sprocket holes, roped & spiked film and various other bad examples. I put them on the wall above the projector. (Next to my 8X10 picture of "Alfredo") I call it "The Hall of Shame"... An example to trainees of what NOT to do!
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-27-2000, 09:22 AM:
Yes, I collected clips of damaged film. (un)Fortunately, these were all from damage that occurred at previous theatres and not at mine. I attached them to the wall behind the rewind bench with tape and labelled each with the title of the film. It got to be kind of an interesting collection of images, which I wish that I'd kept; they're probably still sitting there attached to the wall.
Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 01-27-2000, 11:52 AM:
I recently removed most of my bad splice collection that was taped all around the wall over my bench. A friend commented that it looked like a "Surrey With the Fringe On Top."I really need to get some new friends.
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 02-03-2000, 09:31 PM:
Scott reminded me of something. There used to be a handful of people who would randomly slice frames out of movie prints, and then try to sell them in the BIG REEL as 'film clips'.
Posted by Charles Lubner (Member # 157) on 02-03-2000, 11:40 PM:
I had a friend a few years ago that took the Star Wars Special Edition trailers, cut them up into 4 frame lengths, and sold them for $5.00 apiece. He made a few hundred dollars before being caught by the theatre manager. It's amazing what highschool kids will pay for!
Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 02-04-2000, 10:24 AM:
Everyday there are dozens of "cels" offered on eBay from clips cut from trailers. Now if there was ever needed an argument for keeping the death penalty..........
Posted by Martin Frandsen (Member # 74) on 02-04-2000, 10:35 AM:
I have a classic family musical in my collection and everytime there is a closeup or dancing parts in the film someone has cut out a frame for his personal viewing in a slide projector, why else are there splices in all the favorit parts of the movie? 
Posted by Rob Oakley (Member # 293) on 02-04-2000, 10:38 PM:
I collect films,16mm and 35mm because I always enjoyed going to the movies, and this kind of like going to the movies - without leaving the house. I collect cartoons - especially Pink Panther cartoons, tv shows, and adult films. Don't have any features, but thats only because I've never seen titles that I like - for a price that won't break my bank account.
Posted by Chris Wootten (Member # 283) on 02-05-2000, 08:54 AM:
Been collecting trailers, good ads , posters, press sheets and bits and pieces ever since getting involved in the cinema scene over twelve years ago....collected 3 16MM projectors too. that were being thrown out to the tip...with long play attachment too.
I think its something we all do at some time in our lives.......you get hooked on something, so you want to keep a bit of it with you. Mt wife would like to see my collection gone though....it takes up alot of space..........Ha Ha....Chris
Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 02-05-2000, 12:54 PM:
quote:
I have a classic family musical in my collection and everytime there is a closeup or dancing parts in the film someone has cut out a frame for his personal viewing in a slide projector, why else are there splices in all the favorit parts of the movie?
I've run into this a lot with classic films. It's pretty obvious that it's some projectionists picking out souvenirs of the famous parts of films that are unlucky enough to come their way.
Posted by David Koegel (Member # 25) on 02-05-2000, 08:11 PM:
Okay, Jim. I've been quiet enough on this one, but after seeing Timothy's reply recently, I guess it's time. My film collecting, at least 35mm, starting when some coworker showed me eBay. From there I discovered trailers. "Cool", I thought, "Real images from the movies." Well, that lead to discovering HIAC. Then I saw YOUR posting for Features for Sale, of which I bought all that you hadn't sold yet. And I was hooked. Took me a good part of a year to get a well-priced projector (Super Simplex with ORC 1000). And I've been buying features and trailers ever since. I bought out 3 collector's libraries then they moved onto video, not wanting to lift 30+ pound reels anymore. I just did a little back-of-the-envelope calculation to convert my collecton size using units that Timothy used in his 1/24/2000 post:
Features: 9,600,000 feet
Odd Reels: 2,800,000 feet
trailers: 1,500,000 feet
TOTAL: 13,900,000 feet of film, or approx 2632 miles. I'm very close to 2740 miles, which is from my house to greater LA, which is appropriate as a huge part of my collection originated there. Heck, I might very well be there by now, as these estimates are conservative...
Why do I collect? Addictive personality
What else do I collect? Before, laser discs and DVDs, but not much of that any more. And I've got a second Simplex and a Century SA on it's way. If I'd slow down on the film buying, I'd have more for a decent sound system, like DTS. But the film part has me hooked.
And just think: I can blame it all on you and that "for sale" posting on HIAC 