"Robert Morein" <nospamhere DeleteThis @nospam.com> wrote in message news:<6cqdneZ5HYcXhOTdRVn2vA DeleteThis @giganews.com>...
> "traveler" <Vallecito DeleteThis @aol.com> wrote in message
> news:aa96aeec.0404100211.6a352907@posting.google.com...
> [snip]
> Just before she leaves, his
> > girlfriend points to a package that has arrived and in it is a fancy
> > wooden case that is sheltering an Eclair 18!
>
> Ludicrous factual error.
Well, what can you expect from a newbie who liked "The Passion?"
> There were two cameras made by Eclair during that period that would be of
> note:
> The Cameflex, which was a noisey, non-sync camera.
> The NPR, which was an indie favorite during that period.
Yup, I nearly bought one off of ebay for $1500 about three or four
months ago. I bought my K3 instead. What can I say -- at work, the
editor was manipulating 35mm film on a console that looked like a
Steenbeck and the camera he used at home looked vaguely like an NPR,
but was bigger. They never showed his home footage (I mean, the raw
stock he used). The one that came in the box did not appear to be an
NPR, either, but you got only a quick look at the main body of it
right out of the box. I presumed it was a 35mm camera, as well, since
that is what he was always working with and since he said he had
"borrowed some film" for home use. Do I know for sure? Of course
not, but the instructions for it were clearly labeled "Eclair 18."
Did you see the movie? I thought perhaps some folks would have
technical critiques of it, even though most of you don't make your
films/videos this way anymore, if you ever did. I still liked it
because it showed the way movies used to be made, more or less, and
that is what I'm interested in right now. Like I state below, the
director is Francis Ford Coppola's son. You'd think he would know
something about it, and his old man was the producer. He certainly
ought to know, eh?
> I cannot rule out the possibility that Eclair made a Model 18, but it would
> have had to be a pre-war unit that would be of little interest to an indie
> film maker.
Ah, you ought to see the movie. Haven't we been through this same
thing before? It's hard to comment with authority in a vaccuum.
> Much later, Eclair made the ACL, which was, at least for one year, the
> Cannes "trophy camera", and was an indie favorite. It did not exist as of
> the date of the movie.
Nope, it wasn't an ACL. I looked at those, too. It was much more
like an NPR, but didn't really appear to be one. If you see the
movie, you can see exactly what camera he used at home and you get a
quick glimpse of the new camera that came in the mail. It is only the
body of the thing and you really can't tell which end is up. You have
to use your remote to pause the movie with it completely in view. I
would have thought it to be a 16mm camera because of how he was
shooting at home, but he only was shown working with 35mm on the job.
The camera they kept showing him using at home (not the new one) did
resemble an NPR. It had the same look with the magazine in place.
And they definitely DID show NPRs elsewhere.
> Even BOWFINGER sticks closer to the truth. The junk camera Bowfinger
> smuggles out of the studio is an Arriflex BL, which does have a place in the
> history of indie film making.
So you saw the movie? Or are you just popping off as the "resident
expert?" The reason I didn't include any of this careful technical
detail is because it was a bit confusing. I am familiar with the NPR.
Like I said, I almost bought one and had a picture of it on my
computer wallpaper for some time. I am somewhat surprised at the
negative comments for this movie. I found it very interesting from a
budding filmmaker's standpoint. I may not be a veteran of the art or
craft, but I've been a photographer for over thirty years and as much
a student of film as any of you. I won't even mention the foreign
movie that really caught my eye this year. I'd hate to hear all you
experts knocking it, as if your word is the last one, especially
because some of you think that whether or not you agree with a person
determines if you can "like them." Happy Easter, Robert.
>> Stay informed about: The 2002 Foreign Movie "CQ" 
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