70 mm film
70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution
Each frame is five perforations tall (i.e., 23.8125 mm or 15/16 inches tall), with an image aspect ratio of 2.2:1.[2] The use of anamorphic Ultra Panavision 70 lenses squeezes an ultra-wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio horizontally into that 2.2:1 imaging area. To this day, Ultra Panavision 70 produces the widest picture size in the history of filmmaking; surpassed only by Polyvision, which was only used for 1927's Napoléon.
With regard to exhibition, 70 mm film was always considered a specialty format reserved for epics and spectacle films shot on 65 mm and blockbuster films that were released both in 35 mm and as 70 mm blow-ups. While few venues were equipped to screen this special format, at the height of its popularity most major markets and cities had a theater that could screen it.[3] Some venues continue to screen 70 mm to this day or have even had 70 mm projectors permanently or temporarily installed for more recent 70 mm releases.[4]
History
Films formatted with a width of 70 mm have existed since the early days of the motion picture industry. The first 70 mm format film was most likely footage of the
Fox Grandeur
In 1928, William Fox of the
Todd-AO
Producer Mike Todd had been one of the founders of Cinerama, a wide-screen movie process that was launched in 1952. Cinerama employed three 35 mm film projectors running in synchronism to project a wide (2.6:1) image onto a deeply curved screen. Although the results were impressive, the system was expensive, cumbersome and had some serious shortcomings due to the need to match up three separate projected images. Todd left the company to develop a system of his own which, he hoped, would be as impressive as Cinerama, yet be simpler and cheaper and avoid the problems associated with three-strip projection; in his own words, he wanted "Cinerama out of one hole".
In collaboration with the American Optical Company, Todd developed a system which was to be called "Todd-AO". This uses a single 70 mm wide film and was introduced with the film Oklahoma! in October 1955. The 70 mm film is perforated at the same pitch (0.187 inch, 4.75 mm) as standard 35 mm film. With a five-perforation pull-down, the Todd-AO system provides a frame dimension of 1.912 inch (48.56 mm) by 0.87 inch (22.09 mm) giving an aspect ratio of 2.2:1.
The original version of Todd-AO used a frame rate of 30 per second, 25% faster than the 24 frames per second that was (and is) the standard; this was changed after the second film – Around the World in 80 Days - because of the need to produce (24 frame/sec) 35 mm reduction prints from the Todd-AO 65 mm negative. The Todd-AO format was originally intended to use a deeply curved Cinerama-type screen but this failed to survive beyond the first few films.[7] However, in the 1960s and 70s, such films as The Sound of Music (which had been filmed in Todd-AO) and Patton (which had been filmed in a copycat process known as Dimension 150) were shown in some Cinerama cinemas, which allowed for deeply curved screens.[8]
Todd-AO adopted a similar multi-channel magnetic sound system to the one developed for
Panavision developed their own 65/70 mm system that was technically compatible and virtually identical to Todd-AO. Monikered as
Decline and resurgence
Due to the high cost of 70 mm film and the expensive projection system and screen required to use the stock, distribution for films using the stock was limited, although this did not always hurt profits. Most 70 mm films were also released on 35 mm film for a wider distribution after the initial debut of the film. South Pacific (1958), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), My Fair Lady (1964), and The Sound of Music (1965) are well-known films widely shown in 70 mm format with a general release in 35 mm format. 70 mm film received a brief resurgence in the 1980s when it became popular to make "blow-up" prints of 35 mm titles. It had another resurgence in the mid-2010s with the release of The Master (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015) and Dunkirk (2017), with a small number of venues getting temporary or permanent 70 mm film projectors in order to be able to screen these titles.[4] Quentin Tarantino, in particular, led a successful campaign to have the equipment required to show The Hateful Eight (his 8th film) in Ultra Panavision installed in 100 cinemas worldwide.[9]
Blow-ups
The 35 mm to 70 mm "blow-up" process produces 70 mm release prints from 35 mm negatives, so that films shot on the smaller format could benefit from 70 mm image and sound quality. This process began in the 1960s with titles like
In the 1980s the use of these "blow-ups" increased with large numbers of 70 mm prints being made of some blockbusters of the period such as the 125 70 mm prints made of
Among some of the more recent 70 mm blow-up titles are Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014)[1] and Phantom Thread (2017), Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman (2017),[13] and Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One (2018).[14]
Current use
In the late 20th century, the usage of 65 mm negative film drastically reduced, in part due to the high cost of 65 mm raw stock and processing. Some of the few films since 1990 shot entirely on 65 mm stock are
Since the 2010s, most movie theaters have converted to digital projection systems, resulting in the removal of both 35 mm (the previous industry standard) projectors and 70 mm projectors.[16] However some venues and organizations remain committed to screening 70 mm film, seeing the special format as something that can set them apart and be an audience draw in an industry where most movies are screened digitally.[17]
70 mm film festivals continue to take place regularly at venues such as
and others.Home media
For home theater, VHS and DVD did not offer enough resolution to carry the full image quality captured by 70 mm film, and VHS and DVD video transfers were usually prepared from 35 mm reduction elements. The high-definition Blu-ray format, in contrast, can potentially reveal the quality advantage of 70 mm productions. Although telecine machines for 70 mm scanning are uncommon, high-resolution transfers from high-quality full-gauge elements can reveal impressive technical quality.
Uses of 70 mm
An
Visual effects
Limited use of 65 mm film was revived in the late 1970s for some of the visual effects sequences in films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, mainly because the larger negative did a better job than 35 mm negative of minimizing visible film grain during optical compositing. 65 mm was the primary film format used at VFX pioneer Douglas Trumbull's facility EEG (Entertainment Effects Group), which later became Boss Film Studios, run by former Industrial Light & Magic alum Richard Edlund. Since the 1990s, a handful of films (such as Spider-Man 2) have used 65mm for this purpose, but the usage of digital intermediate for compositing has largely negated these issues. Digital intermediate offers other benefits such as lower cost and a greater range of available lenses and accessories to ensure a consistent look to the footage.
IMAX
A
70 mm 3D early use
The first commercial introduction of 70 mm single projector 3D was the 1967 release of Con la muerte a la espalda, a Spanish/French/Italian co-production which used a process called Hi-Fi Stereo 70, itself based on a simplified, earlier developed soviet process called Stereo-70. This process captured two anamorphic images, one for each eye, side by side on 65 mm film. A special lens on a 70 mm projector added polarization and merged the two images on the screen. The 1971 re-release of Warner Bros.' House of Wax used the side-by-side StereoVision format and was distributed in both anamorphically squeezed 35 mm and deluxe non-anamorphic 70 mm form. The system was developed by Allan Silliphant and Chris Condon of StereoVision International Inc., which handled all technical and marketing aspects on a five-year special-royalty basis with Warner Bros. The big screen 3D image was both bright and clear, with all the former sync and brightness problems of traditional dual 35 mm 3D eliminated. Still, it took many years more before IMAX began to test the water for big-screen 3D, and sold the concept to Hollywood executives.
IMAX 3D
Hollywood has released films shot on 35 mm as IMAX blow-up versions. Many 3D films were shown in the 70 mm IMAX format. The Polar Express in IMAX 3D 70 mm earned 14 times as much, per screen, as the simultaneous 2D 35 mm release of that film in the fall of 2004.
Technical specifications
- spherical lenses
- 5 perforations/frame (1 perforation = 0.1875 in or 3/16 in, thus 1 frame of 70 mm film has a height of 0.9375 in or 15/16 in)
- 42 frames/meter (12.8 frames/ft)
- 34.29 meters/minute (112.5 ft/minute)
- vertical pulldown
- 24 frames/second
- camera aperture: 52.63 by 23.01 mm (2.072 by 0.906 in)[25]
- projection aperture: 48.56 by 22.10 mm (1.912 by 0.870 in)[25]
- 305 m (1000 feet), about 9 minutes at 24 frame/s = 4.5 kg (10 pounds) in can
- aspect ratio: 2.2:1
Same as Standard 65 mm except
- projection aperture: 48.59 by 22.05 mm (1.913 by 0.868 in)[25]
- MGM Camera 65 lenses built by Panavision employed a square-shaped, double wedge-prism anamorphic attachment in front of a spherical objective lens. By the time of Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) Panavision had developed a new set of Ultra Panavision 70 lenses that used a high quality cylindrical anamorphic element in front of the objective lens. These new lenses were far superior to the prism anamorphics—they were lighter, transmitted more light and suffered from less spherical and chromatic aberration.
- 1.25x squeeze factor, projected aspect ratio 2.76:1
Showscan
Same as Standard 65 mm except
- 60 frames per second
- 180 degree shutter
IMAX (15/70)
- spherical lenses
- 70 mm film, 15 perforations per frame
- horizontal rolling loop movement, from right to left (viewed from emulsion side)
- 24 frames per second
- camera aperture: 70.41 mm × 52.63 mm (2.772 in × 2.072 in)
- projection aperture: at least 2 mm (0.079 in) less than camera aperture on the vertical axis and at least 0.41 mm (0.016 in) less on the horizontal axis
- aspect ratio: 1.43:1
IMAX Dome / OMNIMAX
Same as IMAX except
- fisheye lens
- lens optically centered 9.4 mm (0.37 in) above film horizontal center line
- projected elliptically on a dome screen, 20° below and 110° above perfectly centered viewers
Omnivision Cinema 180
same as standard 65/70 except:
- photographed and projected with special fisheye lenses matched to large 180 degree dome screen
- Theatres upgraded from 70 mm 6-track analog sound to DTS digital sound in 1995.
Omnivision started in
One of the few producers of 70 mm films for Cinema 180 was the German company Cinevision (today AKPservices GmbH, Paderborn).
- fisheye or spherical lenses, depending on if projecting for a dome or not
- vertical pulldown
- 24 or 30 frames per second
- camera aperture: 52.83 by 37.59 mm (2.080 by 1.480 in)
Astrovision (10/70)
- vertical pulldown
- normally printed from an Omnimax negative
- projected onto a dome
- almost exclusively in use only by Japanese planetariums
- the only 70 mm format without sound, hence the only one with perforations next to the edges
See also
- 70 mm Grandeur film
- Cine 160
- Cinerama
- Dolby Stereo 70 mm Six Track
- Super Panavision 70
- Super Technirama 70
- Todd-AO
- Ultra Panavision 70
- List of film formats
- List of early wide-gauge films
- List of 70 mm films
References
- ^ a b c "'Inherent Vice' Will Screen in 70 mm in Select Theaters. But is Bigger Always Better?". IndieWire. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ John. "Widescreen.org". widescreen.org. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
- ^ a b "TIFF showcases the rarity and resurgence of 70 mm film". The Gate. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Warner Bros. Prepping 'Dunkirk' for One of the Largest 70 mm Releases of Last 25 Years". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Preserving Wide Film History" Grant Lobban, Journal of the BKSTS Vol 67 No.4 April 1985
- ^ "Preserving Wide Film History" Grant Lobban, Journal of the BKSTS Vol 67 No.4 (April 1985)
- ^ "In the Splendour of 70 mm Part 1" Grant Lobban, Journal of the BKSTS Vol68 No.12 December 1986
- ^ "Atlanta Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Thrift, Matthew (22 January 2018). "10 Great Films Shot in 70 mm". BFI (British Film Institute). Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "The Beginning of the End". in70mm. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Mixing Dolby Stereo Film Sound" Larry Blake Recording Engineer/Producer Vol12 No.1 Feb 1981
- ^ The CP200 – A Comprehensive Cinema Theater Audio Processor David Robinson Journal of the SMPTE Sept 1981
- ^ "70 mm Blow Ups 2017". in70mm. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "'Ready Player One' in 70 mm Film Opens on 22 Screens". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ Weintraub, Steve 'Frosty' (25 March 2010). "Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas Interview Inception – They Talk 3D, What Kind of Cameras They Used, Pre-Viz, WB, and a Lot More!". Collider. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Barraclough, Leo (23 June 2013). "Digital Cinema Conversion Nears End Game". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "The Film Stays in the Picture: A Guide to 70 mm Film Projection". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ Feedore, Elliott. "70 mm Film Festival Celebrates Cinematic Classics | Scout Somerville". scoutsomerville.com. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
- ^ Sobczynski, Peter. ""70 mm Film Festival: The Ultimate Edition" Arrives at Chicago's Music Box Theater | Balder and Dash | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
- ^ "Hollywood Signature Film Series: 70mm". Hollywood Theatre.
- ^ "The Return of 70 mm". American Cinematheque Blog. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "See it Big! 70 mm". Museum of the Moving Image - Programs. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Lens and Lights | Projection". Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ Frazer, Bryant (24 October 2013). "Film Loses More Ground As Imax Switches Flagship Theaters to Digital". Studio Daily. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ a b c "Film Frame Dimensions". The American WideScreen Museum. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
External links
- The American WideScreen Museum
- in70mm.com — The 70 mm Newsletter, devoted to 70 mm films new and old
- The History of the Todd-AO Projector
- Current List of 70 mm Film Exhibitors