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Topic: Any complaints about the B&W of Sin City?

Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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

posted 04-06-2005 01:51 PM

(I miss the old EDWARDS..great company to work for....)

True, I remember seeing E.T. in 70mm at a "CinaclePlex Odeon", and I remember hearing people griping on the slight keystone of the picture and the film wasn't completely filling the screen,which was a full-ratioed scope screen. This would bring up an insteresting question on why studios would strike 70mm prints on flat features from a 35mm negative. Granted, the picture does look better, but just more grain detail would come out as well.

Also, it tickles my funny bone when people would see me operate projectors at drive-ins and awe about "those big cameras", and that "big tape" that I used to show the movies.

-Monte

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Christian Appelt
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 505
From: Frankfurt, Germany
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 04-06-2005 03:59 PM

quote: Bobby Henderson
"we should have gone to the Ziegfeld theater where they have that Panavision stuff."

Hm, how about a Ultra-Panatar variable anamorphic lens?
You could easily expand FANTASIA to scope proportions, like they did in the infamous "SuperScope" re-release of that film in the 1950s. [Big Grin]

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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-07-2005 02:59 PM

For customers who think you're using tape, you should get your hands on an old no-longer-in-service 2-inch quadruplex video recorder and put it in view somewhere in the lobby. The 2 inch tape is wider than film. Rig it up somehow to make it looks like it is working, although it isn't.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 04-07-2005 03:08 PM

Existing 2-inch quad machines are valuable for spare parts, even if they no longer work. A day will come when no machines are still working to play those old tapes (assuming the tapes were stored correctly and were not erased to reuse), so migrating thousands of those old television shows to current digital formats is a big business for some. Unfortunately, much material will be lost forever. [Frown]

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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

posted 04-07-2005 03:24 PM

quote: John Pytlak
Unfortunately, much material will be lost forever.

If one does a search on videotape, there is quite a few collectors of the AMPEX "quad" machines who are dedicated "vidiots" Here is one of them and he as quite the collection.

www.lionlamb.us/quadpark.html

Monte

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Dean Kollet
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 591
From: Florida State University
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 04-07-2005 09:50 PM

Richard, how long after the movie started did they come to complain? If it were after, say, 10 minutes I'd just give them a pass or refund, no harm done.

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Alan Dallas
Film Handler

Posts: 48
From: Prescott Valley, AZ
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 05-01-2005 03:11 PM

quote: Dominic Espinosa
Our assistant manager came out of Constantine a while back (scope feature) wanting to know why there was big gaps on the sides of the screen (during the ads)...

Hahahah! I lost count how many times I've been called on the radio to Close the masking on a screen during the Trailers because of the Piller Boxes you get with Flat on Scope.

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Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 05-01-2005 03:50 PM

quote:
Oftentimes it was done to provide six-track mag stereo that was superior to the then-dominant stereo optical 35mm prints. ALtrhough I think the 35mm to 70mm blow-ups of FLAT fiolms still looked better, though (although sloppy and rushed lab work could render poor results). Also, just the 70MM presentation ads spelled "importance" and was a great marketing tool.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-01-2005 06:39 PM

The 70mm logos seen in stack ads of the 1980s and early 1990s were pretty cool. The design of stack ads have arguably taken a step backwards in recent years. Shows with big 70mm logos on them really did seem more important -especially in regard to the ads in New York and Los Angeles.

I've seen mixed results on how flat films have looked in 70mm. Sometimes the show would look a bit better, but I just shugged off the use of 70mm only as a means of getting 6-channel magnetic surround sound. I think bigger differences of quality gains in blowing up to 70mm have happened with films shot in true anamorphic 'scope -as well as careful transfers of Super35 elements to 70mm.

I can recall a few occaisions of seeing movies in 70mm where I fully expected a 'scope ratio feature but saw something flat instead.

"Total Recall" had to be one of the bigger disappointments in the aspect ratio surprise department. That's mainly because there was a pretty good 70mm teaser trailer that was framed more for 'scope. I saw that one attached to "Glory" and "Born of the Fourth of July." I was also disappointed by that aspect ratio treatment since I had seen a number of pretty decent Super35 to 70mm blow-ups, such as "The Abyss" for instance.

"Batman" was similarly disappointing for its 1.85:1 framing. But I was disappointed by that film in just about every respect. I walked a few blocks from Cinema One over to the Ziegfeld to watch a REAL 70mm movie, the director's cut of "Lawrence of Arabia."

I kinda figured "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" would be a flat feature on 70mm. Still, it is kind of odd that it carries the "Filmed In Panavision" term within its end credits.

"Aliens," "Glory," "Spaceballs" "Mountains of the Moon," Bernardo Bertolucci's fairly forgettable "The Sheltering Sky" and a few others I'm forgetting were also surprising to be flat. The previews just made them seem like they would be in 'scope.

Just an attempt to get the subject back onto topic......

...what do you think the complaints about the B&W of "Sin City" would have been like if the show had been shot on film and blown up to 70mm? I guess you would have griping about both the aspect ratio and odd use of color or complete lack of color.

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