[Leica] Old movies

[lrzeitlin at aol.com]

In 1954, just about the time I bought my first M series Leica, I also bought a Bolex D8-LA 8mm movie camera. If any camera could match the Leica in precision, it was the little Bolex. My wife and I got married at about the same time. While I used the Leica for serious work, I filmed our travels, our children, our hobbies, and our misadventures with the Bolex. After we viewed the short films a few times I spliced them to the end of a long roll and put them in a closet. Recently I bit the bullet and had 2400 feet of 8 mm film transferred to video discs. Last summer my wife suffered a mild stroke that affected her walking ability. This was a serious blow for a lifelong dancer and skier. As therapy she walks on a treadmill for an hour each day. To keep her from going batty I put some of the old movie discs on a TV set visible from the treadmill. And, of course, I watch them with her.

I’ve got to say that old movies are magic. While it is nice to look at vintage still pictures, nothing beats seeing images move, laugh and play. Compared with modern videos, old 8 mm films are grainy and have low definition. They are only 4.5 mm wide images on aged film. Colors have faded and autofocus and auto exposure was a dream of the futire. But the pictures move. It’s almost like being there.

Larry Z