Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Film fireworks

Because "everyone" loves explosions
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Once a film has reached the end of its lifespan at a cinema, and is failing to draw in the crowds like it used too, the cinema owners can give it one last showing and then a grand send off suitable for the great money maker it once was.

After the final showing the film would be loaded into a special rocket, along with some explosives of a variety. This special fire-work would then be sent soaring into the night sky, for its last audience to watch.
I think film burns quite well so this could be interesting, and if it isn't then the normal fireworks will make up for it.
kaz, Sep 26 2002

do your film fireworks http://www1.jawink....ava/jhanabi2e_b.htm
don't forget the sound [FarmerJohn, Sep 26 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

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       I'm sure most people could.
kaz, Sep 26 2002
  

       curious - what made you think of this? +1
po, Sep 26 2002
  

       //I think film burns quite well so this could be interesting//   

       I'm more interested in seeing the reel fall out of the sky into the crowd.. you are leaving it on the reel, right?
Mr Burns, Sep 27 2002
  

       I don't think film does burn very well actually - You're probably thinking of celluloid, which is what they used to make films out of.
[Also sp.: "send off", not "send of"]
hippo, Sep 27 2002
  

       It's quite easy to pack things into a mortar shell casing and then launch them. It's even been done with cremated human remains. So the technicalities of doing it with reels of celluloid safety film are easy. Safety film does burn, it's just not flammable like the way the old Nitrate stock was. You'd get hot, stick burning droplets raining out of the sky, like Napalm. There are effects called Willow and Flash Spider that are pretty similar; they have burning streamers that can come all the way down to the ground.   

       // films that should have been blasted ... *before* they were shown //   

       For that thought alone, I award a croissant. I will even do the job at cost. Anyone who has a print of "Grease" or "Saturday Night Fever", mail them to me and I'll start packaging them up. I'll even pay the postage.
8th of 7, Sep 27 2002
  

       I don't think a film should be trashed just because it lost it's appeal at the box office. There have been plenty of films that can be seen years later to have nostalgic or camp value.   

       From what I've heard, I don't think "It's a Wonderful Life" did very well during it's original run. But i sure would have hated to lose it in a pyrotechnic display.   

       Just think of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", that was a flop durring it's initial run, then look what happend.   

       Even "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever" are good for a laugh now and then.   

       i think our films are a part of history, and should not be wilfully distroyed.
wess, Sep 27 2002
  

       He's not talking about trashing the film, he's talking about trashing the cinemas copy of the film, in an extravegansa of pretty fireworks.
[ sctld ], Sep 27 2002
  

       I'm guessing it burns well, but I'm sure it releases a considerable amount of toxins. I give it a hell no.
nomel, Dec 15 2004
  

       Cellulose nitrate burns exceptionally well; it is one of the components of modern gunpowder and the primary component of flashpaper. Cellulose acetate will burn if heated enough, but not very readily. At room temperature, holding a match under a strip of acetate film will burn the film over the match but the fire will not spread along the rest of the film.   

       Cellulose acetate was invented before World War I, and was used for the "home" movie formats of 16mm and later 8mm (and, much later still, Super-8). It was in some ways inferior to cellulose nitrate, which continued to be used theatrically until the 1950's. That nitrate was acceptable for theaters but not for home use is probably attributate to two major factors:   

       -1- Theaters generally had trained professionals operating AND MAINTAINING the projection and fire-control equipment.   

       -2- Theater projection booths were designed around nitrate's hazards before safer alternatives became available. Since any theater showing both old and new films would have to be so equipped, a theater would get little benefit from switching.   

       -3- An 8mm film has an image area about 1/16 that of a 35mm film. Consequently, the heat generated on a jammed film frame (and likelihood of ignition) would be much greater than with a 35mm film.
supercat, Apr 19 2005
  
      
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