Der Brand in den Universal Studios in Hollywood hat auch das gesamte Film- und Videokopienarchiv vernichtet. Die Brandschutzanlage zur Neutralisierung des Sauerstoffs hat nicht funktioniert, weil das Dach eingestürzt ist. Die Negative werden zwar an einem anderen Ort aufbewahrt, doch die Kopien klassischer Filme und deren Videoelemente sind verloren. Das ist ein schwerer Rückschlag für Festivals und Anbieter filmhistorischer Programme:
„The video vault, housing 40,000 to 50,000 videos and film reels, was destroyed, but Gardner said the contents were digital or film copies, not the master negatives kept elsewhere.
The prints were high quality copies of old 35-millimeter film prints, the studio said. The loss could affect upcoming screenings of classic movies at museums, festivals and theaters…The fire also destroyed a portion of Universal Music Group’s recordings, primarily big band and jazz recordings on the Decca label and video copies of Universal movies and television shows. (Associated Press) – Zu den Musikmastern siehe dazu Hits Magazine in rec.arts.movies.past-films
„Prints from that very rich vault which also includes pre-1950 Paramount include such classics as Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Duck Soup, Hell’s Angels, Brides of Dracula, Incredible Shrinking Man, Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, and so many, many more. Some Industry types are emailing me that, with these prints gone, and the expense of making new prints, they fear that art houses and cultural organizations and film societies and festivals may never see these films theatrically again.“ (Nikki Finke’s Deadline Daily) – Mehr dazu in der Los Angeles Times von heute.
Viele fürchten, dass auch die Publikation weniger bekannter Filme auf DVD/Blu ray davon betroffen sein wird:
„… we are definitely talking about something that will massively impact the repertory circuit and maybe future DVD/Blu-Ray prospects as well. Going back to the negative is a hell of a lot more involved than using a pre-existing print, obviously. (Casey Pegram, DVDBeaver-list)
„Universal has been about the best of all the majors in striking new 35mm prints of titles from their library in recent years. Many films were struck that have yet to see a DVD release. Hopefully they will re-strike new prints. The negatives were stored elsewhere so hopefully prints will be restruck.“ (Jeffrey Rosen, DVDBeaver-list)
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