Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: BEN-HUR is coming to Blu Ray...

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Topic: BEN-HUR is coming to Blu Ray...

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-13-2012 12:30 AM

It's not "Story of the Christ," it's "A Tale of the Christ." Meaning Christ is in the story, but it's not about him directly.

The "tale" line is only part of the book's title; the movie's title is simply "Ben-Hur."

quote: Joe Redifer
I don't remember 70mm being this wide. Were they only photographing at 3 or 4 perfs per frame?

Here's some info from Wikipedia about the filming technique.

quote:
The movie was filmed in a process known as "MGM Camera 65". The MGM Camera 65 used special 65mm Eastmancolor film stock with a 2.76:1 aspect ratio. 70mm anamorphic camera lenses developed by the Mitchell Camera Company were manufactured to specifications submitted by MGM. These lenses squeezed the image down 1.25 times to fit on the image area of the film stock. The 65mm images were then printed on 70mm film stock. The extra 5mm of space on the film stock allowed the studio to use the new six-track stereo sound, which audiences rarely heard at the time.

To make a 35mm print (the type of film stock most smaller theaters could project), a 35mm print with black borders along the top and bottom of each frame was used. When projected, the 2.76:1 aspect ratio was retained. Because the film could be adapted to the requirements of individual theaters, movie houses did not need to install special, expensive 70mm projection equipment. This allowed more theaters to show the film.

I predict you will enjoy the second half of the film more than the first.

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Aaron Garman
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: Toledo, OH USA
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 05-13-2012 01:04 AM

Wait, were 35mm prints letterboxes for Ben-Hur? I thought they merely framed it at 2.39:1. The print I saw years ago was definitely 2.39:1.

AJG

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-13-2012 01:07 AM

I was thinking that same thing. We played it a few years ago and I'm sure we had a Scope print. The letterbox thing must have only been for the original release.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 05-13-2012 01:20 AM

I ran the mag-optical of "Ben-Hur" in 1970, and true it was a scope print (and IB Technicolor) that had letterbox frame lines so you can get close to the the original 2.76:1, "Camera 65" ratio on the screen.

There were edited 165m versions and in standard 2.35:1 anamorphic printed on Eastmancolor stock.

More buzz on Camera65 here.

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System Notices
Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi

Posts: 215

Registered: Apr 2004

posted 02-06-2014 12:06 PM

It has been 634 days since the last post.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-06-2014 12:06 PM

I'd watched the first half of the movie when I first got my BR set, but never had time to watch Part 2, until last night. I am always in awe of the chariot race scene and it sure looks good.

I got to thinking -- it's kind of amazing how the whole entire ending of the movie is boiled down to ONE line spoken by Charlton Heston ("The moment he died, I felt him take the sword out of my hand"). I wonder how many people over the years, in watching the movie, figured it was about over when the crucifixion scene ended, and went to the bathroom and missed that line, and therefore didn't really get the main point of the whole story?

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 02-11-2014 08:11 PM

I read somewhere that the number was estimated at around 19,500 or so.

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 02-11-2014 09:24 PM

It is amazing you can get both BEN-HUR and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in a single package for about $10.00 now. This set includes both of the movies and a lot of extra stuff for both films in a four disc set. What a bargain!

-Claude

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 02-12-2014 02:32 AM

Well like I reported in my previous post, we started watching part 2 the next evening. It JUST finished! We didn't even take any breaks or anything. Still more funky steering of the dialog. The chariot race was cool and I liked what they were able to do with what were probably giant-ass cameras. The Christ seemed wedged in there in a very Forrest Gump sort of way. As in Ben Hur is Forrest and he keeps bumping into The Christ. I think if Charlatan Heston had given the Roman guy a little butt-sex near the beginning (like old times for the characters, apparently), the whole fiasco could have been avoided. Why didn't he put out?

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 04-20-2014 12:01 PM

Steering dialog was the way they did it in most of those multichannel mixes for the really big picture releases. The dialog purposely followed the actors around the screen. Makes little sense now when you are watching on a dinky TV set, but on a huge 70ft-80ft screen as those top-teer 70mm roadshow houses had, what would actually be funky would be if an actor was on the far left side of the screen but his voice was coming from the center....or if he walked from one side of the 70ft screen across to the other but his voice only matched his location when he crossed the center. No, location dialog mixing was done that way for a reason -- same reason speakers are behind the screen and not on either side of it (like some of us have to live with) -- you want the illusion that the voice of the actor is actually coming from the relative position of his image. That becomes quite important on really wide screens. BEN HUR is about as wide as you can get.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-20-2014 12:33 PM

Camera 65 Panavision 57mm camera anamorphic that was used in the filming of Ben-Hur. The lens is still in perfect condition.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 04-25-2014 04:35 PM

Are the truck-tire tracks still clearly visible in the rear facing chariot shots? I noticed that as a little kid.

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