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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Sensurround
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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 02-02-2000 08:20 PM
To answer Tim's question, "Battlestar Galactica" was indeed a Sensurround film, a re-edit of the TV series to a feature. It seems to have been the last one. We set up one theater in our chain, the Shop City Cinema, (now a Blockbuster, fer chrissakes)for the system, and when Battlestar shipped out, the subs stayed. Nobody had any instructions on what to do with them, so all of the exterior wiring we ran stayed along with the subs behind the ground row at the front of the house, and it all remained until the place went dark years later.
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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-05-2000 09:32 AM
I remember seeing BATTLESTAR GALACTICA in a theatre in Sensurround. This was a couple of years after I saw MIDWAY in Sensurround (at a different theatre in a different State). I thought the Sensurround effect in MIDWAY was just overpowering during the first half of the movie because it only came in short, powerful bursts. During the second half, when the action was more continuous, the Sensurround effect simply fit better and I really enjoyed it.BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was a different story. Mark Ogden is correct. The Sensurround moments were only used during the space scenes and, usually, that was only a smattering of wide-angle, "establishing shots" of the large ships in space (these shots were little more than bumpers between more dialog scenes). I don't mean to change the subject, but I found the most impressive thing about the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA theatrical release was the change in aspect ratio from TV. Even the computer monitors and gizmos in the movie were wide, as if this thing had always been intended for a theatrical release. I was not an expert on aspect ratios when I saw that movie so I can't remember if it was flat or 'scope, but I tend to think it was 'scope. I'm only aware of one other television show which was shot in 'scope (and this time I know it really was 'scope). The pilot for LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was shot in 2.35 so that its producers had the option of releasing it theatrically overseas... just in case the TV show failed and they needed to recover their losses. NOW I wish someone would release that in a letterbox, video edition. In fact, lots of network TV shows today are shot in Super 35 and a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. (I work for one of them!) But they make sure the center portion can be shown in good, old 1.33 NTSC for the majority of viewers. I wish they'd offer us the chance to see the most popular shows at, say, 2:00 in the morning in letterboxed broadcasts to that we who don't have HDTV could see a little more of what we're missing!
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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-06-2000 09:57 PM
As I recall, the only films ever released in Sensurround were from Universal, which also owned the Sensurround technology (or owned the company which made the stuff... or they made it themselves... or something like that). Even when Dolby Stereo took hold, Universal still tried to push Sensurround. Later, when Dolby Digital looked like it would have a lock on the Digital sound market, Universal introduced its own solution with DTS (and I'm sure someone else can look up the corporate links between DTS and Universal. There are links). Lucky for us, DTS turned out to be a much better idea than Sensurround.Back in the early 80s, when I thought 4-track magnetic was dead on 35mm, Universal presented SCARFACE and THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS in Los Angeles in 4-track magnetic. There were never any optical, stereo prints of those films! Again, it seemed like Universal had a thing about rejecting Dolby when the rest of the studios had no problem with Dolby.
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