Nothing new about this well known and big selling release. originally on 2 x 400ft from universal 8 this is actually quite a reasonable edited version of what is still one of the biggest profit making films in history. Here is a synopsis with the help of wiki,
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film from Universal Pictures, produced by Ivan Reitman and Matty Simmons, directed by John Landis, and starring John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hulce, and Donald Sutherland. (not in the 8mm release). The film is about a misfit group of fraternity members who challenge the authority of the dean of Faber College.
The stories were based on Ramis's experience in the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as Miller's experience in the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth College, and producer Ivan Reitman's experiences at Delta Upsilon at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Of the younger lead actors, only John Belushi was an established star, but even he had not yet appeared in a film, having gained fame mainly from his Saturday Night Live television appearances. Several of the actors who were cast as college students, including Karen Allen, Tom Hulce, and Kevin Bacon, were just beginning their film careers, although Tim Matheson had recently appeared as one of the vigilante motorcycle cops in the second Dirty Harry film, Magnum Force.
Upon its initial release, Animal House received generally mixed reviews from critics, but Time and Roger Ebert proclaimed it one of the year's best. Filmed for $2.8 million, it is one of the most profitable movies in history, garnering an estimated gross of more than $141 million in the form of theatrical rentals and home video, not including merchandising.
The film, along with 1977's The Kentucky Fried Movie, also directed by Landis, was largely responsible for defining and launching the gross-out genre of films, which became one of Hollywood's staples.[4] It is also now considered one of the greatest comedy films ever made by many fans and critics. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed Animal House "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. It was No. 1 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". It was No. 36 on AFI's "100 Years... 100 Laughs" list of the 100 best American comedies. In 2008 Empire magazine selected it as one of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time."

The copy we have has been in my collection for around 30 years now and as you can see it has held it's colour very well with part one being of slightly better contrast. What is unusual for any 8mm release from anyone is the way universal 8 decided to blank out the names on the main titles of those who are not in this version. The sound as usual with U8 is very good and the image Average/good. I was expecting this to have faded but once again, (fortunately), i was pleasantly surprised.Another one of those titles that simply raises a loud smile and always good for half hour of fun.

Love this film ... Got this 2x400' and also the 16mm feature. Great fun ... Oh boy, is this great

Great write up there Tom and you're film is very well preserved indeed for a U8 release! Still loads of colour in this and to be honest, when I had the 400ft cut down from Derann in the 90's, it didn't look much different then and it came from them new and sealed off their shelves back then when they had a spate of selling off these U8 releases. The edition I had featured the infamous Toga Party scene.

As for it's profitability, to my mind, this film was in the right place at the right time so to speak. Not a massive box office hit like your Star Wars, Grease or Jaws, but at the dawn of the VCR era, a hugely popular rental film it would seem.

Nice review Tom!

i think your right there Andy, any Saturday night back with the lads with some beers and pizza or kfc, an ideal film to rent for that era. Great days. No fights,no drugs just an evening out on a pub crawl ending in vhs or in many cases films,cine films.

Man after my own heart Tom!!

Ps.. Don't forget the Ladies, or was that Friday nights!

Very nice Tom! :-) Thank you for posting the screenshots. You MUST give me your secret for preserving your films!

Devon & Cornwall, best sea air in the world eh Tom? 😂😂

Nice cool basement storage will help also. Especially if you have thick stone walls and no damp.

Is it just me, or does Super 8 seem to keep its color better and for a longer period of time than 16? Although, to be fair, I don't have near as much in Super 8 as I do in 16......

No idea Michael, I've never owned a 16mm film in my life and probably never will.

If its Eastman, it's Eastman no matter whether it's 16mm or 8mm. I think Tom's films are a particularly good example of how well our films can be preserved in ideal conditions.

Hugh's were always the same. I guess having a nice dry cool environment to keep them all in, always helps.
I am hoping my temperature controlled lock up does likewise for me over the years!

There are others that can answer much better on this than me, but for those films I have, there are a much greater percentage of 16mm that are red than Super 8. But I don't have that many so the statistical base is too small to say.

Thanks chaps, (ere, Andy, the Girlfriends were for when everyone else went home, hehe, those long drives out to Dartmoor in the middle of the night, jeepers).
Anyway, yes!
Errr, i am fortunate to have a dedicated room which is windowless so completely dark, until i open up the garage doors in the next room, also the temperature is always nice n cool throughout the year. Believe me it comes in handy during very very hot summers, its a great place to cool down.