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Articles as has been reported, some made its way into
The original idea of RD was simply a buy and collectors hands and was saved from destruc-
sell sheet - hence the name - but because I had tion.
written a few articles over the years, and add a
bit of extra interest, I started including them in We have also seen many classic films of the
RD. Thankfully, others have contributed arti- past restored and re-released – in some cases
cles, all of which adds interest. thanks to the efforts of collectors who have
managed to preserve the only remaining print
The high in subscriber numbers was around the of the film.
year 2000, with just on 340 subscribers. Since
then we have lost about half that number for If you visit a Sunday market anywhere in this
various reasons, loss of interest or, the death of country you will see sellers, week after week,
the collector being the main reasons. Fortu- offering illegal copies of DVDs and BluRay
nately, we average a few new subscribers each discs – in some cases before the film has hit the
edition, which is good for a number of reasons, sheet in major cinemas. I would have thought
but the most important is that we are still the prosecution of these people would be a high
attracting new collectors to the hobby. priority for distributors, but nothing seems to
happen.

A Conundrum All of the politics of film collecting aside – as a
During the time that I have been involved in collector and home showman, there is nothing
film collecting, and it is probably evident from that beats having a few friends around, some
editorials that I have written, I have become atmospheric lighting on, some suitable music
quite cynical regarding copyright and owner- playing – then fade the music and the lights,
ship of film.
and while the curtains are opening, up comes
the fanfare as the brightly lit, sharply focused
I vividly remember a visit from a representative FILM image hits the screen.
of the film distributors, who told me quite
matter-of-factly that, in Australia, the owner- Maybe I’m just nostalgic for the past, but to-
ship of all film was illegal! What concerned me day’s “shoe box” style of cinemas do not turn
was that he actually believed it. He had no me on. No curtains, ‘scope screen smaller that
understanding of the various film gauges, and the regular ratio screen, sound too loud and
that you could actually buy films from retailers mobile phones lit up everywhere - hardly an
for home use.
inviting atmosphere to engage you in a movie.
If it was not for film collectors, it is likely that
there would be very little of our past film herit- Our Collections are Important
age surviving. The Industry has always been
known for its “today” approach, Think of the With no prospects of any new releases on film,
number of reels of film that have been de- it seems that the collecting fraternity, probably
stroyed as not required over the years - the big hold most the film outside of the archives.
fire in Gone With the Wind and closer to home, From that point alone, it is vitally important
the ship fire in For the Term of His Natural that we as collectors maintain what we have in
Life, saw large quantities film used to create good condition, and ensure that when our time
spectacular fires. The thinking then was the comes to close the curtains, we ensure that
film has done its rounds and wont be required what we have is passed onto other collectors, or
again - what a shortsighted approach! the National Film and Sound Archive, and not
junked but family members who may have no
The recent transition from film to digital in the interest in it.
cinema industry, saw large quantities of film
destroyed by the film exchanges. Fortunately,

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