One of the very best prints I have ever seen or owned on super 8mm, is the 1994 action packed adventure release staring Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock...SPEED!
Without any shadow of doubt, I don't believe a better live action print could be found than the one I was lucky to find of this. It is a simply stunning print and the colour is fantastic too, none of those blue tinges often associated with many of the Derann later prints.
I was lucky enough to obtain both the feature and the separate trailer for this excellent release from the same seller. It is to HIS credit that both have been preserved in their outstanding original condition throughout. I thank him for this!




Here is the original review of the film from the legendary Keith Wilton for FFTC at the time of release.

SPEED 4x600ft colour sound scope Available from Derann

A psychotic ex-cop (wet[ played by Dennis Hopper), having been thwarted out of a ransom by SWAT teamsters Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and Harry (Jeff Daniels), takes his revenge by arming a bus so that if it's speed falls below 50 mph, a bomb planted aboard will explode. Jack and Harry once again attempt to outwit him.

A bus traveling at 50 mph is perhaps not much on which to hang a 116 minute plot. The trick of course is what can happen to impede the bus, cause it to explode and kill it's passengers. Full marks then to Graham Yost for a screenplay that takes it step beyond being overwhelmed by a barrage of special effects, though of course these do figure prominently.

A directorial debut par-excellence for former cameraman Jan De Bont too. Impressive opening titles and near non-stop action without some of the mindless comic asides that mar so many similar releases. Oh it's not perfect. The plot is so full of holes that the cast could fall through it but it's skillfully executed that one tends not to be too critical, even if one is aware of the occasional slight-of-hand like the bus not moving much, or even at all at times (easily spotted if you turn off the sound and just observe the picture). Never mind, this and other aspects must have kept the editor, John Wright on his toes.

Interwoven into the frantic and peril-strewn journey of the doomed bus is the hunt for Howard Payne, the ex-cop turned bomber who has a nasty habit of concocting booby traps that are only too effective - this of course keeps the audience totally engrossed, with much wear and tear on the collective nerves. You certainty think twice about bus journeys after this film even if you don't use your brain much during it.

This will probably be one of Derann's best-ever 'Scope releases. The action-packed content is backed by a pin-sharp print that also has good sound. Certainly the three sequences I screened at the BFCC looked very good indeed, among the best available on 8mrn and with considerable screen impact. Very highly recommended - consider taking a part-time job to get it.

Print A/A* Sound A Keith Wilton


Here are some screenshots from the trailer reel to begin with. The strange thing about this particular release is the feature is in scope but the trailer reel is flat.
The trailer reel equally, does not have quite the exact same very high print quality standards that the actual feature has. Also the trailer reel does at times have a hint of those blue hues spoken about earlier while the actual feature does not.

Andrew great print,beautiful sharp pics,one very good action movie.Very nice indeed.📽📽📽

I will post just a few here from each reel of the actual feature now, beginning with
REEL 1

I wish I had a print like that :-)

Sounds great Andrew, another scope feature to look out for, Die Hard on a bus was it's original take and it was certainly better than the second one. Look forward to the screen shots mate

It very much does follow in the footsteps of Die Hard Del, albeit this time on a bus ha ha.
I reckon Sandra Bullock (Annie)is a little better to look at on screen also than Bonnie Bedelia (Holly Genaro).

From mine at least, Speed is of far superior print quality and colour rendition than either of the Die Hard prints I have.

Keith Wilton above concludes much the same with his final verdict on this one.

Ooooh not too sure with that one Andrew, Bonnie Bedelia was pretty hot in Die Hard , will be now looking out for a print of Speed as well as a print of Die Hard 1 & 2

She was Del, but Sandra here is more my type of thing! Ha ha ha.
Yeah....I wish!
Dream on old man!

Andrew, I might be old (ish) now but in 1989 when Die Hard came out I was only 26 and she was still hot hot hot

Looks a little too much like my ex wife for my liking Del! . All that 80's big hair and that.

The old man comment was note to self btw Del.

mate I'm older than you , those things are in the past and you have a much better life now, Bonnie is hotter though

Nice. Thank whomever it isn't Speed 2 :-)

I've never seen it Vidar, but I believe your conclusion is highly accurate. Aside from Toy story and Die Hard,Saw and just a few others, I don't believe sequels bring about much to the table personally. Though having thought a few seconds longer...there are some more good sequels I can instantly think of.. IJ, JP, BTTF etc etc.

Best sequel must be The Empire Strikes Back for me, better than the film it followed.

Reel Two...

Andrew...How do you achieve such fantastic screenshots? That print looks gorgeous by the way and I've always been a fan of that movie.

On the sequel front, I think that Terminator 2 ranks very high. Some prefer it over the original, but I still like the first one the best.

T2 was a good sequel, but nowhere near Terminator. I think for me, the only one that surpasses the first film, is The Empire Strikes Back, which is the best in the series by far. Aliens is also a nice sequel, but Alien beats it for the atmosphere and suspense

The only way I can capture anything that stays even remotely sharp on these fast paced action packed movies Douglas, is to capture them as movies on camera and then slow them right down to capture just what we want to see as stills. Often on films like this, you get only a five frame window to capture the exact moment you're after.
On movies like this, it's very slow process indeed but our regular viewers and posters here are well worth the effort here imho.

It's very true to say with all of these type of prints, where sharpness and grain are concerned the screenshots simply never do the print any justice though.
If you think the screenshots look ok, you really should see the actual print in run my friend !

Same way I do it. My Nikon D3200 set to record at 24fps gives decent results, but as Andrew correctly states, it's nowhere near the quality on screen. Then again, most of us know this, so we can visualize it like it should be :-)

You may be interested to know that it was me that supplied Derek the 35mm trailer so he could bring out the super 8 version, he phoned me one day to say that he had got permission to do the full feature of Speed but wanted to do the trailer as well, Fox had no objections, Derek knew I was very friendly with my local cinema and in particular the chief projectionist, so I had a trip down their asked if they had a trailer, which they did and I was given it, as they say the rest is history.

Well done on your purchase Andrew; it's great when we can get hold of a film we want that is in the same condition as if we had bought it new ourselves. Really great screen shots. I appreciate your efforts to show us the pics, I know how hard it can be. Have you had the opportunity to screen 'Raise the Titanic' yet?

A big big thank you then here goes of course to Dave and his fantastic efforts to get the trailer to print by him and Derek.

To Robert, I have still have two reels to look through. I will do full review of it next time i'm off.

Reel 3...

Hi Guys,

i also have a copy of this great film and the trailer