Hi! Probably, you know me as one half of the team doing an upcoming restoration of Godzilla 1985 in 4K from a 35mm print. While that is on the way, we also have found a cult classic. A popular internet meme you might remember from back in the day was a series of songs called “Guy on a Buffalo,” which gained millions of YouTube hits. These were based on a 1977 indie film called “Buffalo Rider.” For the longest time, the only way to watch the inspiration for the meme was VHS or Beta, or bootlegs, taken from VHS tapes. However, we have found on ebay a 35mm print of reels 1-3 of Buffalo Rider on 35mm in great condition, and the seller says they were most likely never even played, increasing the chances of it being in great condition!
I know a lot of people are familiar with the popular songs, and maybe even the cult classic film. So, me and RedMenace are wanting to see if we can raise some donations to cover the cost of print purchase, and complete a 4K restoration of Buffalo Rider, bringing this cult classic to high definition for the first time ever!
The print of reels 1-3 is $700, which is actually quite good for a 35mm print. As for reels 4 and 5, we don’t know of a source for those reels, but any collectors who do know of a 35mm print of reels 4 and 5, that information would help us out a lot in a restoration.
If you wanna see a cult classic brought back in 4K in a full restoration for the first time, please consider donating to wtoffutt@gmail.com on PayPal to help us out and bring the film back. Note, if you donate, please leave a note saying “Buffalo Rider” to make sure RedMenace and I don’t get confused lol. Help us save this film and bring it back to life!
A quick update! We have some more information on the print. For one, the seller was able to find reel four, which helps. Also, it seems to be an Eastmancolor film print, with some fading, but that can easily be corrected digitally. Again, if you want to help out, donate to wtoffutt@gmail.com and leave the note “Buffalo Rider.”
If I may chip in my two cents, that seems like a mighty steep price to me for an incomplete fading print of a movie that doesn’t seem to have much going for it aside from being an obscure meme with 370 ratings on imdb that average out at 4.6/10. I might be wrong, but I doubt this would go away for more than 100 bucks on ebay.
If I may chip in my two cents, that seems like a mighty steep price to me for an incomplete fading print of a movie that doesn’t seem to have much going for it aside from being an obscure meme with 370 ratings on imdb that average out at 4.6/10. I might be wrong, but I doubt this would go away for more than 100 bucks on ebay.
Accumulated rating scores on a catalogue website means nothing, really. It literally is what it is. If anyone wants to see this movie enough they’ll make it happen.
Update: I decided to buy a 35mm trailer and scan frame to see what the quality in 4k will look like. The original scan was very red, as the trailer print was on Eastman stock, but this can be corrected, as you can see in the scan. A restoration of the film will yield even better results than this, as the feature film can be scanned wetgate and is a closer generation than this trailer.
Original Raw Frame:
Color Corrected:
