I don't normally do this sort of thing. I do not, as a rule, use this blog to promote any Kickstarter campaigns. Not mine and certainly not anyone else's. That said, there is that old saw about rules being made to be broken and this is one of those times. This is special. The campaign at
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3-dspace/september-storm-1960-3-d-digital-feature-film-rest is for a lost 3-D film, something that instantly caught my attention and it should catch yours, too.
The fine folks at The 3-D Film Archive and 3-D Space: The Center for Stereoscopic Photography, Art, Cinema and Education have teamed up to restore the ultra-rare 1960 underwater thriller September Storm. This was the last 3-D film to actually be shot in the 1950s, having been filmed in Spain in 1959. It is also the first 3-D film to have underwater color photography and it is the first ever 3-D film shot in the CinemaScope process. This is a major but sadly forgotten piece of cinematic history that is on the verge of disappearing forever.
The elements are in real bad shape. They have developed Vinegar Syndrome, meaning that the film has started to warp, shrink, and become brittle. If digital scans are not done soon, the movie will be beyond saving. Being a dual strip 3-D feature, both the left and right eye film elements need to be digitally scanned frame by frame. Any alignment issues will need to be corrected for proper 3-D presentation. On top of that, color restoration and matching is also needed and any damage such as scratches and splices will need to be repaired. It sounds like a tall, expensive order but this is The 3-D Film Archive we're talking about. They did all this fairly recently with Gog so they can do it here, too.
But they can't do it alone. They need funding to save this one due to the dire shape it's in. That's why they've gone to Kickstarter this time. While it's true that the survival rate of vintage 3-D is pretty impressive, there have been casualties over the decades. 1954's Top Banana only exists in 2-D now. The same year's Southwest Passage--which has Joanne Dru, the star of September Storm--only has half of the movie in 3-D. And as recent a movie as 1983's Rock N Roll Hotel is effectively gone, only existing in a recut 2-D pan and scan VHS. The original 3-D version is gone now. Think about that for a minute. A movie a little over 30 years old is lost. Let's not lose September Storm, too.
I suppose some of you may be wondering if this is a good movie. I have no idea. I saw a few seconds of it a couple of decades ago on AMC in 2-D and pan and scan and chose not to continue. That said, I personally want to see this the way it's meant to be seen: in 3-D and Scope. Besides, does it really matter if it's a good movie? After all, if something as minor as Manos, Hands of Fate is worthy of rescue and restoration, why shouldn't this one be, too? Anyhow, I figure it has some merit. Besides starring Dru, it was directed by the director of 1953's War of the Worlds.
As of this writing, the campaign has raised over 10% of its goal. That's a good start but I've seen these things fail before. Let's not let that happen. Too often films have rotted away due to the indifference of rights holders so this is a chance to contribute to film preservation and keep a historically important movie from vanishing into the abyss.
If you care at all about film preservation or 3-D movies, you absolutely need to contribute to this. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3-dspace/september-storm-1960-3-d-digital-feature-film-rest
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