Info: TITANIC * 35MM POLY SCOPE PRINT - for sale on ebay!

There’s a 35mm anamorphic squeeze print of the 1997 James Cameron film up for sale at ebay -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TITANIC-35MM-POLY-SCOPE-PRINT-EXCELLENT-COND-1997-LEONARDO-DiCAPRIO-/201554255587?hash=item2eed91dee3:g:ouYAAOSwbwlXAUPX

Current bid:
US $361.00

Time left: 7 days

Print Located in United States.

One of the reasons I would like to see Titanic restored is because none of the Home video versions (including the Blu-ray) restore the original gold/purple toned color timing of the cinema release.

Also, the open matte version is cropped in the VFX shots, most noticeable when the ship leaves port. I compared the vertical height of this 35mm print to the open matte version and I found that in a lot of VFX shots, the print not only gains substantially at the sides, but the top height is almost the same).

The Print should be restored for archival purposes as well, I think. I would like to contribute if others are willing. Then somebody with the proper equipment can get it scanned, color corrected to match the projected print and judder-stabilised.

If anyone is interested to contribute and preserve it,
sound off with comments below!

P.S: Let me know if this is not the right section to make such posts.

Yes, thank you! It is! Just need more interested people so that we can contribute the sum to get the print, which looks great. But only 7 days remain.

I’m in on this one, if others are game. I saw this print myself and considered bidding on it when the end rolls around. Glad I saw this thread first. I narrowly missed another one about 2 weeks ago. It listed and sold for about $1,900 on a Buy it Now within a few hours of it being listed. The one time I didn’t check my eBay 😦

I’m no expert on film restoration, but I do know some people with access to professional film equipment and might could help line up some help if it is needed.

It’s not possible for me to get the film scanned and restored by myself. Such services are not exactly available for common people here. The best thing would be for someone to buy the print to their location using the contributed funds from other members. So, he/she can get it scanned and take the following steps. I can send funds, who else is with me? I got two interested parties already. We need more people. Let’s spread the word folks!
Maybe Poita can help. Someone should ask him and tell him there are members willing to contribute funds.
Also, the climate of where I live is too humid and hot. It’s not good for the print. Someone from US or other cold and dry nations can get the print shipped to their location.

cpalmer2k said:

I’m in on this one, if others are game. I saw this print myself and considered bidding on it when the end rolls around. Glad I saw this thread first. I narrowly missed another one about 2 weeks ago. It listed and sold for about $1,900 on a Buy it Now within a few hours of it being listed. The one time I didn’t check my eBay 😦

I’m no expert on film restoration, but I do know some people with access to professional film equipment and might could help line up some help if it is needed.

If you know people then it’s great. We just need more members to contribute that’s all. Try and spread the word in the forums, please.

P.S: Only 6 days left before bidding ends…

I just realised that how fitting it is that a Titanic 35mm print goes up for auction at during early April, when the real R.M.S. Titanic liner made her maiden and final voyage across the Atlantic in 1912.

Anyway,
Time Left: 6 Days 1 hour (before bidding ends).

Bidding price now at US $547.00.

It seems to have died down some. I don’t have a problem bidding on it and trying to win it (I had considered it before I saw the post here, this movie has been on my bucket list for awhile now) but it’d be nice to have some backing from others. The last one went for about $1,900 several weeks ago. I did send the guy a question asking if this was the original 1997 version, or the re-released version just to make certain it is the real McCoy. I know there were some film copies of the re-released version floating, and since this one looks so good I thought the question had to be asked.

Another “project” I have in mind for Titanic is making a good DVD transfer of the original “Academy Award” screener of the film that hit the bootleg circuits back in 1997. I remember Titanic very well because it was the first “bootleg” movie I ever watched. I was in high school at the time, and we went on a school trip to NYC. You could buy a VHS filmed with a camcorder off the streets for $20 on VHS. The quality was good, but then ET and others started reporting about the copies from the Academy screener. I never found one of those at the time, but years later bought two original academy screener sets off eBay. They’re protected by macrovision though, so I can’t transfer them using my DVD recorder.

FrankT said:

Have you tried?

Yes, the Macrovision stops it in its tracks. I need to find someone with a Grex or one of the other video stabilizers that can defeat it to do the transfer. Both Academy sets are in good condition, I found them on eBay a year or so ago.

I would also like to find an HDTV recording of the original 1997 version of the film. Now all the stations only air the “Remastered” Titanic 3D released version.

cpalmer2k said:

FrankT said:

Have you tried?

Yes, the Macrovision stops it in its tracks. I need to find someone with a Grex or one of the other video stabilizers that can defeat it to do the transfer. Both Academy sets are in good condition, I found them on eBay a year or so ago.

I would also like to find an HDTV recording of the original 1997 version of the film. Now all the stations only air the “Remastered” Titanic 3D released version.

What’s the difference between the remastered and 1997?

In George Lucas style they made some changes to the original 1997 film when they released the “Titanic 3D” edition a few years back. They redid the sky in the night scenes because an astronomer said the stars weren’t the way they would have been in 1912, and they made several digital corrections/alterations to remove equipment, bloopers, etc that had made it into the original.

Anybody bidding on the film should, I think, bid on the very last 1/2 hour so as to avoid further bids. Also, I will contribute financially if someone buys it. It’s not an astronomical amount if even five or six people with jobs can contribute. Somebody has to get it shipped to their location and scanned. cpalmer2k can do it. I cannot buy it or get it scanned because I live in India and do not know anyone who scans motion picture reels. Plus India’s warm tropical climate is not ideal for preservation. Also, this is not the 2013 altered version. It’s the 1997 original version.

I can offer $ 75 USD, will that do, or do you think I should contribute more? My question is to all who are interested in contributing. In this way we’ll only need 7 people. We can do it guys.

Fortunately the price has remained stable over the past several days. Let’s hope people get busy this weekend and forget about it ending Sunday night 😃. I typically do “snipe” bids in the last few seconds and am very successful. I can only remember losing a handful of eBay auctions in my life, and those were instances where the prices just climbed higher than I was willing to pay. (And yes, I have my iPad or phone setup as well as a PC in case the internet dies during the final seconds lol).

cpalmer2k said:

Fortunately the price has remained stable over the past several days. Let’s hope people get busy this weekend and forget about it ending Sunday night 😃. I typically do “snipe” bids in the last few seconds and am very successful. I can only remember losing a handful of eBay auctions in my life, and those were instances where the prices just climbed higher than I was willing to pay. (And yes, I have my iPad or phone setup as well as a PC in case the internet dies during the final seconds lol).

Thanks for keeping tab on it!

cpalmer2k said:

… They redid the sky in the night scenes because an astronomer said the stars weren’t the way they would have been in 1912, …

It was Neil deGrasse Tyson. He was also in the camp that wanted to demote Pluto’s planetary status to dwarf planet.

That guy is nothing but trouble :p

The auction just entered the final 24 hours. I have a dollar amount in mind that I’m willing to invest in this, so if it stays within that I plan on bidding on/buying the film. Once (or if I should say) that is successful I’ll be talking to more of you with interest in the project on a plan to move forward with it.