San Jose Costa Rica-1978: Flashing Neon Chinese Restaurant Sign Switching From Blue to Red

Catalog date: estimated · Catalog location: estimated. Review source evidence · Request a source quality check

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Year1978
Decade1970s
LocationSan Jose, Costa Rica
Duration2s
Price$149 USD
Collection1978 · San Jose, Costa Rica
StatusStockfilm Exclusive

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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From the same film reel

1978 · Puerta del Diablo & San Salvador · Reel af3167e0 contains 21 published Stockfilm-exclusive clips. Watch them in reel order and review the available reel documentation.

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Same year and place1978 · San Jose, Costa RicaExplore footage →Across the archiveFilmed in 1978Explore the year →Across the yearsSan Jose, Costa RicaExplore the place →

What is in this clip

neon signage
night city
Chinese restaurant
bilingual lettering
travel home movie
Central American city life
1970s commercial signs

Shot type: medium
Camera: handheld
Setting: outdoor · city street at night, storefront signage
Time and weather: night · winter (Christmas season trip)
Lighting: neon light against a dark night background
People: 0 · No people visible.
Objects: neon sign · red neon border · green neon border · backlit picture panel · round light below the sign
Readable signs: RESTAURANT · LUNG MUN · 龍門
Colors: deep blue-violet · red · pale blue · mint green · white
Master dimensions: 3840 × 2160
Audio: Silent
Date confidence: Low
Location confidence: High

Moments in the footage

Select a time to watch that moment in the preview.

The sign glows with white RESTAURANT and blue LUNG MUN lettering inside red and green borders.
The outer neon border blinks off for a moment.
The border lights up again around the blue name.
The blue LUNG MUN lettering switches to red Chinese characters.
The camera holds on the red characters until the shot ends.

Flashing Neon Chinese Restaurant Sign Switching From... — Clip Details

San José, Costa Rica, circa 1978 home movie footage shows the Restaurant Lung Mun sign glowing against the night. White RESTAURANT lettering sits above LUNG MUN in blue tubing, framed by red and green neon borders beside a lit picture panel. Partway through, the outer border blinks off and returns, then the blue name switches to red Chinese characters. The single handheld Super 8 shot holds the display in a medium framing with slight drift and soft focus.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: HandheldNight
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 2s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 800001276

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: Yes
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel record not linked for this clip
Date: 1978 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Answers requests for late-1970s night signage in a Central American capital, giving a short neon insert for documentaries on Costa Rica, travel or Chinese restaurants abroad.
Period detail: The hand-bent neon tubing, blocky lettering and backlit picture panel may show the commercial sign style of downtown San José around circa 1978.
Home-movie behavior: A traveller on an evening walk stopped to film a sign that caught the eye, catching it mid-cycle as it switched from one script to the other.
What appears in frame: The frame holds white RESTAURANT lettering, blue LUNG MUN tubing that turns to red Chinese characters, red and green outer borders, a lit picture panel at right and a round pale light below.
Film character: Super 8 colour with deep blue-violet blacks, soft focus, visible grain, glowing halation around the tubes and slight handheld drift give it a warm projected-film texture.
Edit role: Works as a quick night insert, a transition into a dinner or nightlife scene, or a rhythm cut, with the colour switch giving a natural edit point.
Historical context: The sign carries the restaurant name in both Latin letters and Chinese characters, showing a Chinese restaurant advertising to a Spanish-speaking street.
Research note: No people appear, but the restaurant name, lettering and picture panel are commercial signage that may carry trademark or design rights separate from the film copyright, and the building is private property.
Research search match: Fits searches such as 1970s neon sign Super 8, Chinese restaurant sign Costa Rica, San José at night home movie, and flashing neon vintage footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with this reel's Cerrajería Costa Rica neon and Kodak sign on Avenida Central night clips, then the Teatro Nacional facade and JFK bust from the same San José visit, then other neon or restaurant signage clips.

Still Frames From This Clip

Restaurant Lung Mun neon sign at night in San José, Costa Rica, circa 1978, blue name lettering inside red and green borders — The Restaurant Lung Mun sign with its name lit in blue, San José, Costa Rica, circa 1978.
License this still · $49

Handheld Super 8 view of the Lung Mun Chinese restaurant sign glowing on a dark street in San José, circa 1978 — A slight handheld shift reframes the glowing sign, its borders lit in red and green.
License this still · $49

Lung Mun restaurant neon in downtown San José, Costa Rica, circa 1978, blue lettering moments before the switch to red — The blue LUNG MUN lettering moments before the sign switches to its Chinese characters.
License this still · $49

Restaurant Lung Mun sign in San José, Costa Rica, circa 1978, its name now shown in red neon Chinese characters — The name switches to red Chinese characters, the Lung Mun sign's second lit state.
License this still · $49

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