How can an individual get 35mm movie prints?

[rabbitroom]

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I’ve lately been trying to figure out how I might be able to get 35mm movie prints, either to buy and keep for myself (and the occasional theatre rental/birthday party/etc.) or to rent out for events. I haven’t been able to find much in the way of information online besides how multiplexes do their booking, which is pretty much complete insanity. I have found some information on distributors that rent out prints for showings, but no information on purchasing a full 35mm print.

Any help and pointers on how to approach and deal with a distributor would be greatly appreciated!

[commasense]

The first question I have is, Why 35mm? Do you own a projector and theater? How and where do you expect to show these prints, and for whom? Why 35mm instead of DVD? What kind of films are you looking for?

I believe there is a small community of collectors of 35mm prints (hell, there are collectors of everything you can possibly imagine), so you might try to connect with them, although I have no advice as to how to do so.

But I believe that, technically speaking, it is probably not possible for an individual to legally own a 35mm print of any film that is not in the public domain. And the number of major Hollywood films in the public domain is very small in relation to the number that aren’t.

Prints made for theatrical exhibition are leased (not sold) to theaters. After appearing in first- and second-run theaters in North America, most are shipped off to theaters overseas. I don’t know what actually happens to them at the end of their lives, but I’m pretty sure that the official line is that they are destroyed. Even if you were able somehow to cadge a print from some Asian theater, it would be in pretty bad shape by that point. But the point is that prints always remain the property of the distributor, and AFAIK are never sold outright. So your Asian print would be stolen property.

Mainstream distributors have no process to deal with individuals, because the number of individuals who own 35mm projectors is vanishingly small. I’d be very surprised if you find any distributors that are willing to talk to you. And they just won’t sell you a print outright.

(BTW, if they did, the price for a new, two-hour 35mm print would be about $2,500.)

However, it is possible to rent films legally for non-theatrical exhibition. Swank Motion Pictures is the top non-theatrical distributor of films, making DVDs, 16mm, and 35mm prints available to colleges, film societies, churches, etc. They (and a handful of other non-theatrical distributors – see the list on this page) are probably your best, if not only, option for getting a 35mm print of a major Hollywood film.

The last time I did this was in 1984, when I was the head of my college film club, but if things haven’t changed much, your agreement with Swank (or whoever), will specify a certain number of shows on specific dates, with a payment based on the number of admissions. You will not be permitted to advertise the screenings in any mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, etc.), and will have to return the print promptly at the end of the run.

I hope this is helpful.

[rabbitroom]

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m immensely amused that the distributor is called “Swank.”

I’m wondering about 35mm prints because I’m wondering what the logistics are behind getting prints for special events. Specifically, there’s a 24-hour horror movie marathon at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago every year and I have no idea how Movieside (the film festival that puts it on) lines up access to the theatrical prints of the films they show.

I would be interested in renting out prints for similar events, but I’m also just curious as to why it’s seemingly impossible for an individual to own a 35mm film print. I have checked Ebay a few times and come across full 35mm film prints, but they’re pretty rare. I understand how film distribution in general works, but it seems like independent cinemas and festivals, etc. must work under other parameters.

It seems nothing will come of my search, but I will definitely look into Swank. The distributor, I mean.

Thank you for the information!

[Hometownboy]

Apparently This guy sells public domain stuff, trailers, etc., including some stuff from the 90s and a bunch of older stuff as well.

[commasense]

@rabbitroom

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m immensely amused that the distributor is called “Swank.”

You’re thinking of the men’s magazine, perhaps? The film company was founded in 1937, when the name presumably didn’t have the somewhat dated and tarnished image that it has today.

I’m wondering about 35mm prints because I’m wondering what the logistics are behind getting prints for special events. Specifically, there’s a 24-hour horror movie marathon at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago every year and I have no idea how Movieside (the film festival that puts it on) lines up access to the theatrical prints of the films they show.

Very probably from Swank, since the major studio distributors rarely deal with older films. There is almost no call for theatrical exhibition of films more than about a year old, so for classic horror films the festival is unlikely to go to the studio. But why don’t you ask them?

I would be interested in renting out prints for similar events, but I’m also just curious as to why it’s seemingly impossible for an individual to own a 35mm film print. I have checked Ebay a few times and come across full 35mm film prints, but they’re pretty rare.

It’s a copyright issue. In the days before VHS and DVD, distributors’ biggest concerns about piracy came from people making illegal copies of film prints to 35mm or 16mm. Yes, it was a cumbersome and expensive process, and it didn’t happen with anywhere near the frequency of piracy in the digital age, but it was still a concern.

Also, as I mentioned before, unlike 8mm and even 16mm, there are essentially no private owners of 35mm projectors. Most of the very few people that did own them were filmmakers or studio executives with private screening rooms. Undoubtedly many had private collections of films they made.

The rest were the film buff collectors (many of them ex-projectionists) who set up an old 35mm machine in their basement or barn as a hobby, probably “borrowing” old prints that wouldn’t be missed from the theaters they worked in, and trading them with fellow hobbyists.*

But for all these reasons, there is no market for private use or ownership of 35mm prints, so the studios have no procedures and no interest in dealing with the occasional oddball (nothing personal) request along those lines. These days, of course, they have an even greater concern about piracy, since with a good print, and the proper equipment, it would be possible to make a pirated DVD nearly as good as the home video release, and with no DRM or copy protection. That’s probably the main reason you aren’t going to get your hands on a 35mm print of a recent release, except through an agency like Swank.

I understand how film distribution in general works, but it seems like independent cinemas and festivals, etc. must work under other parameters.

Indys and festivals can strike one-off deals with independent filmmakers, but for studio releases, they go through the mainstream distributors or Swank and its competitors. And when they get a rare print of a film not in Swank’s inventory from a studio or some other source, they will still go through Swank for the lease arrangement, since Swank is set up for that, and the studio is not.

• Perhaps the world’s greatest cinema hobbyist was John Harvey, who recreated in his home a full, three-projector, Cinerama theater, and over 20 years painstakingly pieced together prints of several classic Cinerama films. The brief blurb on the linked site doesn’t do him justice, but see Leonard Maltin’s Cinerama experience in Dayton here. I went to Dayton in 1997 to see Cinerama for the first time and meet Harvey. Amazing experience!

[rabbitroom]

@commasense

You’re thinking of the men’s magazine, perhaps?

Indeed.

Very probably from Swank, since the major studio distributors rarely deal with older films. There is almost no call for theatrical exhibition of films more than about a year old, so for classic horror films the festival is unlikely to go to the studio. But why don’t you ask them?

I guess that makes sense-- so even if they’re showing prints that don’t come from Swank (like, say, from a private collection), Swank can work out the rights for the showing? I actually have e-mailed Movieside (repeatedly) and have not heard anything back, which is why I decided to put the question out somewhere else.

It’s a copyright issue. In the days before VHS and DVD, distributors’ biggest concerns about piracy came from people making illegal copies of film prints to 35mm or 16mm. Yes, it was a cumbersome and expensive process, and it didn’t happen with anywhere near the frequency of piracy in the digital age, but it was still a concern.

The image of a massive EENIAC computer being used to make punch-card copies of films is cracking me up. I guess I never considered piracy of full film prints a viable thing in the past-- I can see making DVDs of prints now with easy access to digital duplication, but the idea of film piracy in the 1940s is kind of mind-blowing.

But for all these reasons, there is no market for private use or ownership of 35mm prints, so the studios have no procedures and no interest in dealing with the occasional oddball (nothing personal) request along those lines.

Ha! No offense taken. I just really love movies and have lately been getting more into film festivals and special events and have been wondering how I might put on such events myself, or help out others with their events. I understand it’s not a question 99% of human beings ever think about.

• Perhaps the world’s greatest cinema hobbyist was John Harvey, who recreated in his home a full, three-projector, Cinerama theater, and over 20 years painstakingly pieced together prints of several classic Cinerama films. The brief blurb on the linked site doesn’t do him justice, but see Leonard Maltin’s Cinerama experience in Dayton here. I went to Dayton in 1997 to see Cinerama for the first time and meet Harvey. Amazing experience!

That sounds awesome! Thanks for the links, I’ll have to read up on that!

[Doug_K]

@wiktor_grodecki

I own two 35mm prints of the films I directed - “Mandragora” and “Insatiability”
I will sell them to you if you are interested
please contact me at: 310 866 5626

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