SUPER-8 HOME MOVIES

Long before we had DVD’s and VHS tapes our home entertainment was in Super-8 Films. My dad always loved movies, so one day he comes home with a 16mm projector. I loved that thing, we would borrow films from the local library and watch everything from old horror films to nature films. My dad always wanted to keep up to date so he traded in the 16mm projector and got a Super-8 projector with sound instead. The film was cheaper than 16mm, so now we could shoot our own films of the family standing around waving. We quickly got bored with this and discovered the world of Super-8 home movies. During the early 70’s and up until 1979 Super-8 home movies were the deal.

You could buy the latest Hollywood blockbusters right away since they were abridged versions of what was in the theater. For example, I had ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ on Super-8 and was showing it in my home while the full length feature was still playing in the local cinema. For the home movie version you could buy the 200 ft. reel that lasted about 7 minutes, or you could go up to a 400 ft. reel that ran about 18 minutes. Now that doesn’t sound long, but it did give you the best scenes in the movie. Some of these films were available in ‘silent’ black and white versions with subtitles on the bottom, (they were the cheapest) but for more money you got ‘sound and color.’

Of course it is no wonder that the Super-8 film frenzy of the 70’s went away. Home video was just around the corner, and being able to buy full length feature films was much more attractive to people. You were able in some cases to buy or rent full length films on Super-8 but it would cost you a fortune. By the early 80’s the Super-8 home movie was extinct. Super-8 does still exist today, but it is used mostly by independent film makers. The companies that put these out, ‘Castle Films,’ ‘Ken films,’ ‘Universal-8’ have all but disappeared. ‘Blackhawk Films’ which was a company famous for putting out silent films began to distribute their films on videotape. The rest is history.