Does anyone know how long movie film holds up?

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

I have 4 reels of old film that I should have had put on dvd years ago.

Its all film of my family back in the day, and film of the Beatles coming to America. I wonder if its any good yet.

I have thousands of pictures too from the time I was born up, and they are fine but Im just thinking how I would love to see my mom, dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, (all of whom are gone), cousins (some of whom are gone), etc etc on film moving, laughing, and having fun.

PS its all sealed in metal cases and has not been exposed to the sun.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

MomOf4 · ‎01-28-2012

Shorty, I had old home movies put on DVD that were from my grandparents and at least 65 years old. They are black and white and had a few streaks but perfectly watchable.

Good luck, you have some real treasures there.

Justice4all · ‎12-22-2013

Thanks, girls. I too have cans of film from my childhood. Must transfer, although I actually have the projector, but haven't used it.

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

Thanks, that makes me feel relieved! I am going to finally go get this done.

And PS I wish I had my dads projector yet, but it got lost in moves. (Of course I probably wouldn't know how to use it anyway).

Thank you!

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

RainCityGirl · ‎12-16-2012

I still have my dad's 8 mm film from years and years ago. It doesn't disintegrate, but when I had it put on VHS tape years ago, I found that the pictures were much darker than they once were. The sooner you get them put on DVD, the better the quality.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

My husband indicates that the state of the films will be a function of the temperature at which they have been kept. The higher the temp the better chance the acetate has to degrade. If, however, the cans have been kept in a house with moderate temps, you might really luck out. Best take them to a professional who can assess them and give you a quote on how much it will cost to transfer the film/images to DVD.

Good luck!

Townsend · ‎03-30-2010

I took an old 8mm film to Costco to put on a DVD. It was over 70 yrs. old, and came out just fine. So, good luck! I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing the finished product.