I know that many American films that were often presumed lost sometimes are re-discovered. It’s obvious they are likely to be in signs of decay and warrant digital restoration. My question is this: anyone of a lost film that was re-discovered and the condition was like new? That is, while the film canister might be ratty, the film reel itself had basically no defects to it. That is, after transferring onto a DVD or playing it at a local theater, the film is 100% the same as it was when it premiered.
Even if the film is in ideal condition, I wouldn’t suggest taking it to the local theater for a showing. They might not have the right type of projector, you wouldn’t want to damage the film, and really old movies were on nitrate film stock which is quite flammable.
Film deteriorates over time, even if kept in ideal conditions. And if a film is lost, it won’t be kept in ideal conditions because no one would have realized its value (otherwise it wouldn’t be lost). I’d be surprised if any lost film was found undamaged and even if it was, projecting it without restoring it would almost certainly damage it.