How much the film stock last?

[UniSol GR77]

I've heard the original film stock/elements of a movie - given good and "proper" condition of preservation - can last 50 years, then severe signs of decay will show up.
So basically, all the seventies, eighties and nineties movies have many decades or years ahead of them before their picture quality would further degrade.
Is it true?
I'm just worried for the fifties/sixties movies which didn't get a BD treatment yet.

[#Darren]

Sometimes though, they used cheaper grades of film, which deteriorate faster.

[UniSol GR77]

Originally Posted by iDarren

Sometimes though, they used cheaper grades of film, which deteriorate faster.

How faster?

For example: Bloodsport, American Ninja, Lionheart, Evil Dead 1...

[42041]

Depends... there are countless factors, like process control during film manufacturing, how the film was exposed, how it was processed, how it was stored, how and how many times it was handled by careless lab techs... even a 30 year old film could be in bad shape if people couldn't leave the negative alone, which apparently is the case for Apocalypse Now.

The dyes in color film are not stable and will inevitably fade, depending on storage conditions. I have 25-year old Ektachrome slides that are completely magenta, hopefully studios store their film more carefully.
Black and white film (and therefore 3-strip technicolor color films) doesn't fade, but is equally susceptible to the negative being damaged/burned up/lost/vinegar syndrome due to the plastic base decomposing.

I don't think "cheap film stock" is really the issue. The vast majority of Hollywood films were shot on whatever movie film Kodak made at the time.

[UniSol GR77]

Some Italian b-movies from the late sixties have been transferred on DVD format, and they look very good if not great, so I bet they have been properly stored.

[JediFonger]

you do know that film's been around for 122 years right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_stock

Deterioration

All plastic is subject to deterioration through physical or chemical means, and thus, motion picture film is subject to the same deterioration. Cellulose nitrate, cellulose diacetate and triacetate are known to be unstable mediums: improperly preserved film can deteriorate in a period of time much faster than many photographs or other visual presentations.

Cellulose nitrate, because of its unstable chemistry, eventually breaks down, releasing nitric acid, further catalyzing the decomposition. In the final stages of celluloid decomposition, the film turns into a rust-like powder.

Likewise, tri-acetate stock is also vulnerable to deterioration. Because of the small gauge of the film, owners of home-made films often find that their film can become shrunken and brittle to the point where the film is unwatchable in the space of a few years. In general, decaying acetate film breaks down into acetic acid, and similar to celluloid decomposition, leads to an auto-catylictic breakdown of the base that cannot be reversed. The result of the acetic acid released is a strong odor of vinegar, which is why the decay process in the archival community is known as "vinegar syndrome".

Modern polyester-based stocks are far more stable by comparison and are rated to last hundreds of years.

also: http://www.filmpreservation.org/pres...te-degradation

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by UniSol GR77

I'm just worried for the fifties/sixties movies which didn't get a BD treatment yet.

By this point in American cinema history, nearly all of the distributors stopped using nitrate film which is much more sensitive. Further, a lot of thse films have been given VHS, Laserdisc, and even Beta releases so a vaulted master or masters of some sort exists for thsse films.

Most restoration teams make a duplicate of the original film elements and work with these duplicates to create a restored master. Very few restorations are made of the origiinal negaive itself since they can not go back if make a mistake. The Sound of Music has several masters available of varying quality. The same goes Casablanca, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Once Upon A Time in the West.

There have even been materials found in the strangest of places. Supergirl's original elements were found in an attic in the UK while Metropolis' elements for the 153 version were found in Argentina.

And again, even if the original film elements are not available, there are other options. Anchor Bay's director's cut of Army of Darkness is sourced from film elements and Bruce Campbell's personal beta tapes.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Well, I know Toho studios didn't preserve their stuff properly in the 60's. King Kong vs Godzilla looks so horrible. Also, I've seen some Thai films that are not even 20 years old look like they were beaten to s**t. Spirited Killer with Tony Jaa has this faded red to look to it in a lot of shots.