posted on June 13, 2005 11:10:04 PM new
Years ago I found this one reel (only) of a Golden Harvest
movie titled "Water is Money". They're the people who did all the Bruce Lee movies. It's the first reel so it has the credits and the first part of the movie only. Can looks rough, but the film inside is in a bag, in good shape, and fills the can.
Searched the web up and down but couldn't find any reference to this title; I suppose it might have been re-titled as something else at some point.
Carefully (I hope) unwound a few yards and saw that the credits are in chinese characters. It seems to start with a few arab types exiting a limo in a courtyard.
Anybody know about martial art movies and whether something like this would be worthwhile trying to ebay?
[ edited by bcpostcards on Jun 13, 2005 11:11 PM ]
posted on June 14, 2005 05:53:41 AM new
well...I can tell you one thing-it case you missed it=this was made in Hong Kong.Hey, no need to thank me, just here to help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on June 14, 2005 07:13:53 AM new
Seems to me this is a perfect eBay item, where you're looking for a specific buyer for a very specific item. The more obscure, the better. And presumably, this is "roadkill" -- an item in which you have no investment or very little money.
One word of caution: You need to smell it. If it's vinegary, it's no good. Or so I was told many years ago -- perhaps someone else can confirm?
posted on June 14, 2005 08:10:47 AM new
Birgittaw: LOVE the "roadkill" reference. You've added a new use for an old word in my vocabulary. Almost everything I sell on Ebay can be called roadkill; much of it is old family "stuff" no one wants. And I get books for no more than 50 cents, collectibles for no more than $5 (and that has to be a White-House type gorgeous item--most are a dollar or two, if that. Roadkill it is, from now on. ~Adele
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[ edited by Roadsmith on Jun 14, 2005 08:11 AM ]
posted on June 14, 2005 11:37:37 AM new
bcpostcards,
If you try listing the film on eBay... your listing might get removed. 35mm movie films are prohibited from sale on eBay, unless you can prove ownership (see the following link):
posted on June 14, 2005 01:44:18 PM new
classic: thanks for that? Should I now be asking "why don't you tell me what you really think"?
birgittaw Roadsmith: You are both right, "roadkill it is". One fine day years ago I heard a rumour that a chinese theater (already closed for a few years) was in the process of tossing what seemed to be an entire backroom. Stampeded to the scene and sure enough one chinese worker after another was tossing armloads of material into a construction type bin. They kindly allowed me (and several others who had heard the same info) to take whatever we wanted, long as we didn't make a mess. I came away with the one reel, some bruce lee posters and lobby cards and a boxful of unfamiliar 70's-80's chinese posters/lobby cards/photos. I didn't have or know how to use a computer at the time, and arranged for a fellow collector to list most of the bruce lee items for me. Back then many collectibles were still getting super prices, so even after subtracting his 25% I felt I did very well indeed. It would be another story nowadays. Kept the reel then as it was a one-of item.
eauctionmgnt: yikes! Unhappy news, but a huge thank you for that. Even though the reel is around 30 years old, I can now imagine how it could still be protected by copyright somehow/somewhere. I couldn't bear to see it tossed then and still can't. So back into storage it goes for now.
Never Explain, friends do not need it and someone else will not believe you anyway
- Elbert Hubbard
[ edited by bcpostcards on Jun 14, 2005 01:44 PM ]
posted on June 14, 2005 03:53:27 PM new
Hello,
If It were me I would NOT return this film to long term storage. The film will decay even in the can. If it is brittle and breaks when bent it is to late now.
If were me I would sniff around ebay and talk to sellers who are selling 35 mm gear etc and would google it etc for leads and learn about it.
If you sell it you are NOT selling the movie just a a partial "copy" of one.
There even might be Bruce Lee web site?Remember some of the 35mm are very flammable while the 16 mm was safety film.
posted on June 14, 2005 04:00:47 PM new
Dacreason makes a very good point. Film will not improve with age like wine does. It will deteoriate. There may be a reason the film was retained by the theater. It could be a copy that was recalled and never shown because of a lawsuit, copyright dispute, contract breach, etc. Admittedly, a very rare and unlikely possibility, it has happened before. If this were the case, you might have to quote shipping charges via Brinks.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on June 14, 2005 06:21:04 PM new
birgittaw's advice about smelling the film for a "vinegary" odor is good for films made before 1950 but if this one is from the 70s it should not be on nitrate base. That said I don't know if Hong Kong would be different. Cellulose nitrate film that has deteriorated can burst into flame if it gets hot.
The same advice should be followed for film negatives although still film changed to safety film earlier. Pre-40 still camera negatives that smell of vinegar or are buckled and soft should be copied and discarded. A few years ago I was shocked to discover negatives in a drawer at my mother's house that had the tell-tale smell.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on June 14, 2005 06:34:30 PM new
If I remember correctly, cellulose nitrate is a kissing cousin to nitrocellulose, which is the basis for the manufacture of smokeless gunpowder. Definitely don't light a cigarette while near that film.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on June 14, 2005 07:11:34 PM new
Great idea. Just be sure to make that call from a Chinese restaurant. You may need to shanghai a busboy or waiter to interpret for you.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on June 14, 2005 11:29:56 PM new
Everyone, thank you for all your ideas. Thinking about it there's probably hundreds of years of seasoned tiquing experience on tap in the EO (not that anyone here is ancient)
Many of you have mentioned the vinegary smell present if the film is/already has deteriorated. I do seem to recall a light chemical/vinegar smell from when I examined the first several yards recently. At the time I just attributed the odor to the emulsion on the film, not the film itself. What photosensitive said might back that up.
The first bits didn't seem brittle at all and weren't warped, but this may yet come about so maybe I should try to move the reel, before there isn't something to move anymore. I'm thinking a private deal may be the way to go on this one as dacreson suggests, I'll start putting out feelers and see what happens but won't try putting the reel on ebay as I'm sure it'll just push someone's buttons.
sparkz: a nice thought about the film possibly being recalled, it might be, but somehow I think we can rule the brink truck out. If by any chance I ever did win that particular lottery, you can bet there'd be a nice bottle of glenfiddich headed your way (hope your not with aa)
By the way I did manage a couple of half-azz pics of some of the credits at the start, None of us prolly can read chinese characters but I'll post one or both pics later on for the heck of it. There's plenty of chinese folks where I am, so maybe I could find someone to translate those credits to see if they name actors. I'm also going to ask around to see if someone I am acquainted with might have a 35mm home projector I could borrow. Might be fun to watch the darn thing, if'n it wouldn't fall apart in the process
[ edited by bcpostcards on Jun 15, 2005 12:08 AM ]
posted on June 14, 2005 11:53:24 PM new
Stop should be able to tell you what the credits say - just call him into action in a thread title. the great thing about these boards is not just the wide range of antique and collectible knowledge but also languages.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
No, I'm saying -- I'm merely -- I'm saying what I'm saying. I don't know why I'm always having people say, are you trying to say -- you know what you can do if you want to know what I'm saying is listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what I said ...
posted on June 15, 2005 04:20:34 AM new
If, by chance, it is nitrate film (although the dates would suggest not) keep in mind that cellulose nitrate film can not be mailed.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on June 15, 2005 12:35:53 PM new
Here's the arabs exiting a limo, the opening sequence. It might just be me but it looks like everything's height is stretched, much like I seem to recall in some old sphagetti westerns.
The next scene, some kind of action sequence in an intersection. Sorry about fuzzy photo -hand shake and low light. I also just noticed one film edge here reads "safety film", so I guess it won't spontaneously burst into flame?
[ edited by bcpostcards on Jun 15, 2005 12:37 PM ]
[ edited by bcpostcards on Jun 15, 2005 12:37 PM ]
posted on June 15, 2005 02:04:24 PM new
Glad it is Safety Film. Seemed likely if it was if it was made in the 70s. If it smells "vinegary" maybe the projectionist was eating fish and chips during the screening.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on June 15, 2005 03:19:38 PM new
thanks photo, whew, that's one less worry. But now you're making me hungry. and I've haven't had fish & chips in years. Yum!
