are there cinema enthusiasts who run movie projectors at home?

[ruben]

The world seems to be brimming with audiophiles who prefer vinyl records and reel-to-reel tapes for reasons of authenticity and sound.


Are there similar enthusiasts out there for film?
I'd think there has to be, I rather prefer the fuzzy picture and warm color you get at the theater to the too-crisp blue-ray remaster of a film that's 30 years old.


You'd have thought the show-off factor alone would have made this happen already, no mater how cool your Sketches of Spain, and rare japanesse whatever pressings are 6 giant tins of Vivre sa vie would be that much more impressive to show off to your friends/blog readers.

 

[otc]

Where are you going to get the films? Aren't even old films incredibly expensive?

Also, who wants to be their own projectionist?

 

[Harold falcon]

I did this with some friends for a while in college. But it's an expensive enthusiasm (bulbs are frickin' $$) and we eventually gave up on it.

There used to be a good supply of films that could be traded and sold for relatively little cash. Don't know if the market has changed in the last decade.

 

[cmd06]

Wow that would be incredibly expensive to buy and maintain.

For my personal home theater, I just have a simple non-film movie projector with digital storage and a home theater PC.

 

[mordecai]

we got a 16mm projector recently but haven't used it yet. there are still some developers for that and 8mm here i believe.

 

[GQgeek]

Meh. Seems like it would be a huge pain **********. I have a 1080P projector, and I love it. Buying an old-school projector just to show off would be idiotic unless you had lots of source material that you could only get on that format. Now that I'm used to blu-rays, i can barely tolerate lower resolution.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I hate movies.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by iammatt

I hate movies.

<30>?

 

[Dewey]

Originally Posted by ruben

Are there similar enthusiasts out there for film?
Yes. People collect films, and still make them in some cases, and people collect projectors, and some of these people have movie nights in their home or loft, inviting friends over, or they project the films onto the side of a building, or a sheet/screen outside, and invite lots of friends. I don't know how rare these people are, but I know some. P.S. Iammatt would hate their parties.

 

[tagutcow]

Do studios still rent out prints to consumers? Was there ever a consumer market for buying prints? I mean, if they sold you a 35MM print, it would basically be a license for you to show it to others without the studio getting any profits.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by tagutcow

Do studios still rent out prints to consumers? Was there ever a consumer market for buying prints? I mean, if they sold you a 35MM print, it would basically be a license for you to show it to others without the studio getting any profits.
No studios would ever do such a thing.

Most of the hollywood movie prints I've seen were either bootleg transfers, or screener/dailies/directors cuts that got passed down, bought at a yard sale, written off as damaged, or whatever. I've never heard of a studio SELLING a print to anyone. I actually have collected about 20 35mm trailers. The studios don't usually ask for those back, so instead of destroying them, I just kept them. Technically, that's considered theft, I suppose.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by tagutcow

I mean, if they sold you a 35MM print, it would basically be a license for you to show it to others without the studio getting any profits.
Oh, that is most unlikely. Copyright is separate from the medium in which you purchase a work. Selling a 35mm would not grant a license anymore than selling a DVD does: when you purchase a copy of a movie or a song you do not purchase the copyright to the work, you purchase your copy. Even though you made that purchase it is not a grant of all the rights of copyright -- and one right you do NOT get just by purchasing the physical piece of medium -- regardless of what the medium is -- is the right of "Public Performance" which is in the Copyright act at Section 106(4). ~ H