Once in a while you come across a commercial print on Kodachrome. 1stly, as this is a reversal film, would a positive print be used to make the copy, and 2ndly, as Kodachrome and Technicolor were both complicated processes, would there have been anything to be gained financially by printing on Kodachrome.

I don't believe I have or have ever seen any prints on Kodachrome Robert, not aside from those I made myself. No commercial films anyhow.

Is it only applicable to 16mm films?

That copy of 'The Red Beret' is Kodachrome; Pathe made a feature film of the Coronation 1953, the library prints, plus 400ft extract for sale was on Kodachrome, and I believe that David sold a cartoon last year that was on Kodachrome. Eastman was brought out as a cheap alternative to Technicolor, but I wondered if it was any cheaper to make prints on Kodachrome. Some of the Standard 8mm library prints were Kodachrome as well.

Maybe cheaper than IB Tech Robert, but I doubt cheaper than any other.

All the titles you mentioned are all 16mm ones. Have you ever seen a Super 8mm package film on Kodachrome Robert?

I don't believe I have.

I have had and maybe still have commercial prints on Kodachrome. I believe this was used mostly for smaller quantities. Any lab could make these copies and send the film to Kodak for processing. IB tech prints could only be printed by the Techicolor labs. I have never seen 8 mm prints on Kodachrome

Hugh Scott told me that some of the films he got from Derann when they closed their hire library were Kodachrome, I don't know if this was Super 8 as well as Regular 8. I've got a Peak Film that I bought in 1967 and that is on reversal film with the colour just the same as when new.

Mats is right about Kodachromes' use for small quantity printing.

Technicolor prints were complex to produce hence very expensive, but when very many prints were struck the costs then became competitive. Technicolor imbibition matrix process is similar to the rotary photogravure printing process that was used to produce hundreds of thousands of Sunday newspaper suplements.

The worst problem with Kodachrome prints is loss of shadow detail since the stock is designed for camera original use - not duplicate prints. I had 'Genevieve' in 16mm Kodachrome which I thought the shadows lacked information that was not there. I upgraded finally to a grey track IB Technicolor print. Guess what? The shadow detail also to my eye is insufficient. Looking closely to laboratory information on the leader it was also struck from duplicate source material. A very popular film that was re released so less likely to find an IB Technicolor print struck from the camera original.

Ian

Ian, you must have been lucky to find not one but two unfaded prints of Genevieve. I've only ever seen later faded prints of this title on 16. I currently have the Derann super 8 but I'd love to trade up to a 16.

The colour must surely still be superb on your Derann feature print is it not Stuart?

It is a gorgeous print Andrew, no doubt about it! But with all things being equal I'd rather have an IB-Tech title on 16mm, there's just something about the colour saturation that I find very attractive, even if they can suffer from fringing and a slight loss of absolute pin-sharpness. Some are worse than others, for instance my Goal print is very good, but others that have passed through my hands have had the registration so far off that it made the image look psychedelic!

I must admit Stuart, any IB tech SS's I've ever seen look stunning. So very beautifully saturated for colour despite some extra watch outs.

Yes, Stuart I was lucky to come across 'Genevieve' in Kodachrome and again in IB Tech. The 1950''s Kodachrome print was gorgeous colour and comparable with the Tech version I finally progressed to.

I have had three prints of 'Henry V' over many years starting with a faded-to-pink Eastman print from Budget Films and then upgrading to an excellent LPP colour print from Ken Durbin out of Dalas. Finally an original British IB Tech print without the hideous damage and out of sych sound of the previous Eastman releases from the Rank labs 1970's dupe. These have the dedication to the troops title card at the begining, a torn frame when Harcourt Williams as the French king crawls around his palace floor. Worst of all is the mutilated sound track - (a finger caught on the sound roll?) during the rousing Agincourt song near the end. You can hear a momentary wow and flutter at this point and then the soundtrack goes miles out of sych then silent during the reprised overhead model shot of mediaeval London to the end credit. This seems to be the USA version that somehow came back via the BFI and I have watched same botched version in 35mm in a regional film theatre. I can only guess that this flawed version was hurriedly done for wartime USA release for propoganda at the time of D-Day?

Having watched my two Eastman prints and in the cinema it was a delightful shock when I ran my IB Tech Henry. Watching in anxious anticipation for the familiar flaws that do not occur on my print. No added dedication title, no torn frame, and the music running as it obviously should to the end title.

It seems that through our film hobby, owning various 16mm prints and being observant, we can uncover changes to important films that national archives have missed or choose to ignore?

Ian

You had an Agfa print as well Ian; how was that for sound?