RED ONE collectors...

[Elsie N]

I wonder where the cameras that came ashore on D-Day are?

Those would be priceless, I imagine.

Not sure about the cameras, but much, if not most, of their footage is at the bottom of the channel. As I recall reading, the film was being transferred to a ship in stormy weather for a trip back to England, and all of it fell into the water.

 

[Jeff Coatney]

4. Highly engraved rifles from the cowboy era.

Jim

I'd love to see some pix of your rifles. I had a blast at the Gene Autry museum in Griffith Park. And I recently visited the Winchester mansion in San Jose. The Old West is a fascinating era in history... makes me pine for a really good western: there are precious few good ones.

Of course a camera is a far more dangerous weapon.

 

[Jeff Coatney]

Not sure about the cameras, but much, if not most, of their footage is at the bottom of the channel. As I recall reading, the film was being transferred to a ship in stormy weather for a trip back to England, and all of it fell into the water.

The footage that did survive is still classified to this day. For obvious reasons...

 

[Nick Gardner]

The footage that did survive is still classified to this day. For obvious reasons...

Uh, what?

Nick

 

[Jeff Coatney]

Uh, what?

Nick

Its the policy of the Department of Defense to never release images of American servicemen or women being killed or wounded in action. Such imagery can be used for propaganda purposes, PSYOPS, or to give "aid and comfort to the enemy". This is especially true in the age of the internet. There is a significant archive of footage of the landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The only images to be released of the first wave attack were the half dozen or so still images shot by Robert Capa that depict a fury of activity, but no real details about the battle. The lack of footage of this most significant engagement in US Military history, which was recorded by a record number of combat cameramen and a few select journalists (Capa among them), was always explained away by saying the footage did not survive transport off the battlefield. In some cases this is true, however, this blanket explanation also masks the existence of footage that did survive and is stored in the National Archives under a DOD seal.

 

[Elsie N]

Its the policy of the Department of Defense to never release images of American servicemen or women being killed or wounded in action. Such imagery can be used for propaganda purposes, PSYOPS, or to give "aid and comfort to the enemy". This is especially true in the age of the internet. There is a significant archive of footage of the landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The only images to be released of the first wave attack were the half dozen or so still images shot by Robert Capa that depict a fury of activity, but no real details about the battle. The lack of footage of this most significant engagement in US Military history, which was recorded by a record number of combat cameramen and a few select journalists (Capa among them), was always explained away by saying the footage did not survive transport off the battlefield. In some cases this is true, however, this blanket explanation also masks the existence of footage that did survive and is stored in the National Archives under a DOD seal.

Did not know that... gives me something to look forward to seeing if they ever unseal them.

Must admit that it seems strange they would not release the footage yet. Even the British acknowledged having the Enigma Decoding machine a few years ago, after protecting the secret that they had had one for much of the war and was reading Axis communique's at will.

edit: Don't guess it matters though, 'cause the cameras that shot "The Longest Day" had more resolution probably... and "Saving Private Ryan" likely had still more.

 

[chuck colburn]

I wonder where the cameras that came ashore on D-Day are?

Those would be priceless, I imagine.

These were probally Eyemo 35mm spring wound cameras. I'm sure lots ended up sold as gov. surplus and were converted into crash cameras and destroyed shooting car stunts for "The Dukes of Hazard"

 

[Jeff Coatney]

Did not know that... gives me something to look forward to seeing if they ever unseal them.

Must admit that it seems strange they would not release the footage yet. Even the British acknowledged having the Enigma Decoding machine a few years ago, after protecting the secret that they had had one for much of the war and was reading Axis communique's at will.

edit: Don't guess it matters though, 'cause the cameras that shot "The Longest Day" had more resolution probably... and "Saving Private Ryan" likely had still more.

They may make it public someday, but the reason its still locked away isn't about keeping secrets-- the footage is by all accounts appalling in its horrifying, grisly carnage. Well beyond that depicted in "Saving Private Ryan". I'm told that a few Allied Censors that viewed the footage from Omaha Beach required counseling.

 

[peter roehsler]

To support the (then) ally Soviet Union, Eyemo construction blueprints were handed over to Russia by the US government. The camera produced was called the AKS 1, everything retooled to use metric screws instead of the original imperial screws of the Eyemo. It became the standard camera for Soviet army cameramen, like the Eyemo for US troops. Mine was given to me by a friend in Moscow, almost causing my arrest at the airport when the luggage inspector found the RED Army logo on the camera and claimed I had stolen it ...

image of the AKS1 here: http://rafcamera.com/aks1-movie-camera-p-351.html

 

[Elsie N]

They may make it public someday, but the reason its still locked away isn't about keeping secrets-- the footage is by all accounts appalling in its horrifying, grisly carnage. Well beyond that depicted in "Saving Private Ryan". I'm told that a few Allied Censors that viewed the footage from Omaha Beach required counseling.

Probably right that it should stay sealed then. It would likely rival what almost every battle in WWI was like with the gas and machine gun field of fire, and how some battles (Picken's Charge) in the War Between the States must have been. Using my imagination, I wouldn't want to see that real-time footage. How did the WWII guys on both sides come out of that with any connection with humanity. They probably were our greatest generation, as some have called them, both during and after their service.

 

[peter roehsler]

While at it, I may introduce one rather rare item in my collection: the 1937 ETA, made in Prague, sporting a side-finder, Arri lens mount and a very modern looking 200ft mag.

(Sorry for the lousy pic, but it gives the idea ...)

 

[Steve Sherrick]

.... How did the WWII guys on both sides come out of that with any connection with humanity. They probably were our greatest generation, as some have called them, both during and after their service.

Most of them don't talk about it. In fact, I would argue that quite a few of them probably lost a lot of faith in humanity on those beaches, as they watched their fellow man kill and be killed all around them. As brutal as Saving Private Ryan was, I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to actually see guys you have become friends with, in some cases almost like brothers be taken out in an instant, as if they were never there. How you can walk away from any of that and come back to a relatively normal life is beyond me. Perhaps in WWII the stakes were so high, the patriotism so strong that death was truly seen as a price to be paid for freedom. It's the last war that could be classified as a united front, a fight that everyone could get behind and support without questioning the motives. We were attacked. That's quite a bit of motivation.

 

[Steve Das]

..How did the WWII guys on both sides come out of that with any connection with humanity. ...

The great director Sam Fuller 1912-1997 was one of them..
he served as a rifleman in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division during World War II.
Fuller saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Omaha Beach on D-Day, and then on
through Europe to Czechoslovakia. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.

His movies are great as is his book A Third Face: My Tale of
Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking. He was idolized by everyone
from Goddard to Scorsese who wrote the book's Foreward

Film is a battleground. Love, hate, violence, action, death...In a word, emotion.

Ninety-five per cent of films are born of frustration, of self despair, of ambition for survival, for money, for fattening bank accounts. Five per cent, maybe less, are made because a man has an idea, an idea which he must express.

 

[Elsie N]

As brutal as Saving Private Ryan was, I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to actually see guys you have become friends with, in some cases almost like brothers be taken out in an instant, as if they were never there.

Reminds me of the Lee Marvin movie Big Red One... toward the end of the war, the long-time squad members didn't even bother to learn the new guy's names.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Not sure about the cameras, but much, if not most, of their footage is at the bottom of the channel. As I recall reading, the film was being transferred to a ship in stormy weather for a trip back to England, and all of it fell into the water.

Well, that's obviously not true as there is surviving D-Day footage out there. I believe one or two of the D-Day cameras, along with a handful of other war-time battlefield cameras, are on display in the Smithsonian.

 

[J Clark]

#126: First Red capturing a world record with Simon Dumont - at 120fps - on an 80' Akela Crane with a proto Monstercine XLR remote. Triple whammy! Value?

Uncorrected Footage - large

Uncorrected Footage - small

From youtube.com - small

 

[Steve Sherrick]

#126: First Red capturing a world record with Simon Dumont - at 120fps - on an 80' Akela Crane with a proto Monstercine XLR remote. Triple whammy! Value?

Nice Jim! That was cool. That's you with the rockin' stripes right?

 

[crisblyth]

Jim, was that Buddy Cone in the commercial ?.... if so, I'm color correcting 6 webisodes for him now....

cheers,

crisb.

 

[Jannard]

Jim, was that Buddy Cone in the commercial ?.... if so, I'm color correcting 6 webisodes for him now....

cheers,

crisb.

Yes it was... say "hey" to him for me.

Jim

 

[Robert Jackson]

I shot every Oakley ad for 20 years... and this commercial. Actually, I wrote it, directed it, was DP, set designer, and film loader. 6 people total. Not saying it is that good... 1992.

Wow, there's some backstory I wasn't aware of. That's really cool. Those ads definitely had their own thing going. That's pretty amazing. I'd have figured you were running a big company and hiring dudes to craft your image for you. It's way cool to find out different.