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Idea: original film - get a copy of the original film reels from the Library of Congress?

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Question: would it be possible to get hold of a copy of the original film reels from something like the Library of Congress? If so, couldn’t someone do a high-resolution digital transfer of that and then restore the transfer? I know it’d take forever, but if you had a private company or something that’s already in the business of doing that, maybe it’d work. Then again it sounds like a pipe dream. But still, is there any way to get hold of a copy of the original film?

Rockin'!
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i dont think the LOC would just loan out a copy of the original film reel. (do they actually have one, i wasnt clear on that from other discussions). but even if they did, im pretty sure there would be legality issues as far as restoring the film and all that stuff without the permission of Lucasfilm et.al.

so yeah, probably pipe dream

-Darth Simon
Why Anakin really turned to the dark side:
"Anakin, You're father I am" - Yoda
"No. No. That's not true! That's impossible!" - Anakin

0100111001101001011011100110101001100001

*touchy people disclaimer*
some or all of the above comments are partially exaggerated to convey a point, none of the comments are meant as personal attacks on anyone mentioned or reference in the above post
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Even with film in hand, try finding a "private company or something that's already in the business" of doing telecine/film scanning work to touch it. If they want to continue to be in the business, they won't.

I'm tempted to build my own telecine.
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I mean if you had your own little company set up already, and that doesn't have to be anything that makes any money in film restoration. All you really need is the capture device, then a powerful graphics and video computer and some really patient staff. So the main thing is getting the capture device in that area. You could get one from the Library of Congress if they have it, you'd just have to register as a researcher, and it might be a thing where they don't let you take it out, that you're only allowed to work with it in the building under guard. They do that if the stuff is old or rare enough. But I expect they even have the facilities for that, or at least for viewing, which you could adapt to capture if you could convince them to let you bring in your equipment. I think the main issue would be the legality of it all. You could easily do the actual restoration in obscurity, but the capture itself would have to be known to the LOC unless they actually allowed you to take out the film, which I doubt they would. So yeah.
Rockin'!
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Hopefully, one of those guys who blow $2k on a 16mm print sold on Ebay will do *something* with them.
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Where were you in '77?

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What really pisses me off most are all the times when these kinds of people (who obviously have far too much money to burn) pay huge amounts of money for items like this 16mm print... AND THEN THEY SIT ON THEM.

I've been outbid (by a huge margin!) on things on eBay that I wanted to share with the world via one of my websites. And after it got too rich for my blood and the auction was over, I have written to some of these guys and said "hey, this would be really useful for the website... could you possibly scan/copy/transcribe/tell me some details about this particular item?" 9 times out of 10 they just blow me off, and don't even bother responding.

Folks, if you've got something cool and historically interesting... share it!! Don't just sit on it.

I know I'm preaching to the converted here, though, because so many of you are involved in preservation projects that benefit the whole world...

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Here's another take, adopting the perspective of those with film:

Why would one pay several grand for a film, spend what it takes (time, frustration and money) to scan it, and then give it away to somebody who's spent nothing (time, frustration nor money)?

Any of you who figure you're just about done once you've bought film are dreaming. Once you've bought film, all you have is approximately 200,000 small photos on a strip of plastic approximately a mile long. You don't have a telecine or scanner, you don't have a projector, you don't have clearances -- you don't have anything, really. Except an exceedingly empty wallet, and perhaps an irate spouse.

I think if any of you were to do all the (inexpensive but time-consuming) legwork in finding a post house that will definitely transfer film to a decent digital format (e.g. DV or better) using a decent process (e.g. not putting up a bedsheet and videotaping it), you may find some people out there who have film and might be willing to help out. But I suspect the chances of you doing any better than those people who have film already and have actively tried to find a way to transfer it are rather slim indeed.

If you find anything, please post some technical details here...

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There are plenty of theaters that specialize in showing classic movies. Shouldn't some of those have a copy of the original OT on film? Who supplies those type of theaters with their classic movies anyway? That might be an even better place to look. If you found a theater that had a copy, maybe they would be willing to rent it out? Maybe whoever supplies them with their movies rents or leases them to the theaters in the first place?

As far as the transfer goes; don't colleges and universities often have film departments that might have the resources to do such a thing, such as a telecine machine? If they have a broadcasting school then I would think they would need to have a telecine machine, since it is the only way to show film content over the air (NTSC broadcast). I'm just throwing random thoughts out here as I don't know much about it but it seems like it would be easier to get the cooperation of students at a college than it would be from an official transfer house; considering the legal issues involved. And, if copies of the original films could be rented or otherwise temporarily obtained it should be a lot cheaper than trying to buy them.
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re: Classic movie houses

I've looked into renting films, but all the lists I've ever looked at only ever have the SE versions for rent. You'd have to find some original film someplace else, I suspect. Which, as we've discussed, is pretty tricky.

re: University/College telecines

That's not a bad idea! Go to the places where Napster, KaZaa, BT, et al flourish, and the common currency is a case of beer -- brilliant!
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Hey Karyudo,

Didn't mean to sound like I was harshing on you in particular (since obviously you have just obtained an original film print)... looking back I noticed that it looked a bit that way. My ire is directed more specifically towards winners of recent auctions I've lost out on where the winning bidder obviously just wanted the material possession, while I just wanted the information (which was nearly priceless to me, but not apparently as priceless as bragging rights were to them), but they refused to share anything at all. In fact, in most cases they refused to even contact me back. I hope they enjoy their little treasure hoards.

I understand your point about someone putting down a lot of money for, say, an original film print, then putting lots of time, legwork and money into getting it telecine transferred, and then not feeling like everyone else should be able to get it for free. But I don't look at it that way. In fact, I feel like that person ought to feel compelled to share it with the rest of the true fans who weren't so fortunate (or wealthy enough) to have been able to own the item themselves. Maybe that makes me a pinko or something.

And just to show I'm putting my money where my mouth is, I myself have just paid a large amount of cash for another Star Wars-related film print, also incidentally on 16mm. But I am already making plans to share it with the world: I have located a professional transfer place that will do a very nice digital master for me (additional expense, of course), and I will then put more of my time into placing onto a DVD which I will torrent for anyone to be able to see for free. Of course, I'll still have the bragging rights of having the original item in my possession (and this even happens to be an extremely rare one-of-a-kind item)... but really that's nothing compared to the warm fuzzy I get from being able to make it possible for others to see it. More on this project later...

I'm really eager to hear more about your particular find, though. What version is the print? Could it benefit the ongoing preservation projects?

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Originally posted by: SKot
I have located a professional transfer place that will do a very nice digital master for me (additional expense, of course)


Well, now, that's interesting news. I think there's some room in my PM box for any information you might be able to send my way... please?

As for owning film, I'm just playing devil's advocate. I know of some friends with film, and I'm interested in getting a copy of whatever can be digitized, so I know how both sides of the argument feel.