Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 2001: A Space Odyssey....resissue

This is topic 2001: A Space Odyssey....resissue in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000200

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 10-15-2001, 09:58 AM:

Saw this last night at the Cinerama in Seattle with about 700 other people in this 800 seat theater. 70mm magnetic on the stripped screen. The print was very very nice and was given the best presentation I have seen in many years. Hats off to Jim in the projection booth (who gave my party a booth tour after the show) for the presentation. Lights went down, one 70mm trailer was shown with the curtains opening and closing before and after. The 2001 music started and played with the drapes closed and then they opened for the beginning of the film and the first refrain of that music that is a movie icon since this picture's release in the 60s. The print was very nice, no very very nice. I saw one scratch which was "printed in". It lasted for only a second. There were a couple glops that went by and the only other thing was during the big "space ride" sequence, the part with the star field (globular cluster) was popping in and out of focus but only in the center of the star field (??) also a printing problem. So what I saw was a perfect print of a not quite perfect master. The sound was very nice except the surrounds were a bit light. The original intermission was left in (again, thanks Jim) and it was a very pleasant movie going experience as well as my first time back to the Seattle Cinerama since it's rebuild. In the booth (and the projector for the show)was an FP75 amongst a host of other projectors including a DP70. The film leaves Seattle on Thursday of this week and goes to San Francisco I believe. If I were forced to come up with a complaint it would have been for the stripped screen. Because not all the strips were perfect and pointing the right way it gave an illusion of there being abrasions or scratrches durring the bright scenes. Two bits of trivia...on the space station just before were Floyd has his encounter with the Russians, There used to be a womans voice saying that a "pink cashmeir sweater had been found...." I listened for it but did not hear it. Also as the lunar shuttle flies across the surface, in the original I couldn't tell if it were ghosting on the bottom side or if they were trying to give the impression that there were thrust blasts comming from the rockets on the bottom. Either way, they're gone.
Excellent film at an excellent theater.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 10-15-2001, 10:23 AM:

Ahh -- the "Splendor of 70mm"

(Sadly missing in today's movies).

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/reel/december98/pppp.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/reel/march99/pytlak.shtml

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Posted by Sterling Hedgpeth (Member # 779) on 11-13-2001, 03:22 PM:

Greg's right, The Castro in San Francisco will be showing 2001 11/21-12/6. The film used to be a staple at the U.C. Theatre in Berkeley when I was in school, but it's been too long now so I can't wait. In their program notes, the Castro says that it is one of only three theaters nationwide to show the new 70mm print. Anyone know the third?

Posted by Aaron Haney (Member # 747) on 11-13-2001, 07:45 PM:

The Uptown in Washington, D.C. just finished a run.

Although I think the Castro's newsletter is wrong about only three US theaters getting to show it -- I've heard the Egyptian in L.A. will be getting it, too.

Posted by Aaron Haney (Member # 747) on 12-05-2001, 02:34 AM:

Just got back from San Francisco's Castro Theatre where it is playing.

Fantastic! What a terrific movie-going experience. And it nearly moved me to tears to actually see the words "in 70mm" on a marquee again. I can't help but think -- is this the last time I will ever get to see 70mm?

I've never been to the Castro theatre before. It's absolutely beautiful. Simply gorgeous decor. But the screen was a little small. You can tell it was originally academy ratio. They had top masking to make it 2.20:1 for this showing. I had to sit very close to the front in order to get the big screen effect. I felt sorry for the people in the back.

There was the usual "showmanship" stuff -- including a 10 minute pre-show performance on the Wurlitzer. They did not, however, use curtains. But one thing I liked was that they gradually brought the house lights down during the overture. There was also the standard 15 minute intermission and exit music after the end credits.

The print was excellent quality, and the sound was top-notch. The Castro did a great job keeing the print clean, as there was no dirt or damage visible, even after having been run three times a day for more than two weeks (plus its previous runs in Seattle and Washington, D.C.). This particular print had the blue MGM logo at the beginning, and the "in Cinerama" and "Filmed in Super Panavision" credits at the end. There was an obviously added title after the regular end credits that said "Distributed by Warner Bros.". It did not look anywhere near as sharp as the preceding original titles. Heh, they don't make 'em like they used to!

This is actually the second time I've seen "2001" in 70mm. A few years ago, when I was still living in Dallas, the Northpark West 1-2 screened a 70mm print as one of their midnight weekend showings. It was in the smaller #2 auditorium, but it was still very impressive. As I recall, it actually did look quite good. I don't know what happened to that particular print -- if Warner had hung on to it, they might not have had to strike a new one for this re-release.

Even with just 4 U.S. locations, perhaps "2001"'s current run will make a profit, which might encourage Warner to try more re-releases of the big roadshow titles in their library. One can always hope.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-05-2001, 04:37 AM:

Northpark's print was a mid-1990's reprint SR mag from the Turner vault (polyester base). It played one night in Cinema I and the other night in Cinema II.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-05-2001, 11:24 AM:

Aaron said: "Fantastic! What a terrific movie-going experience. And it nearly moved me to tears to actually see the words "in 70mm" on a marquee again."

"Film Done VERY Right".

65mm negative and intermediate films, and 70mm print films, are still featured in the Kodak catalog. Modern 65mm 5-perf cameras are readily available. There are labs that still specialize in 65mm and 70mm printing and processing. Digital sound now available. Yet special venue (e.g., IMAX, iWERKS, Disney World, Universal Studios Tour) are about the only users of this premium format anymore. What a shame!

Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 12-05-2001, 01:05 PM:

Many, many moons ago (when I was a tyke)--and projectionists in AZ were still IATSE, my Ma took me to the University of AZ for a lecture given by Mr. Harry Lang. For those of you who do not know, Mr. Lang was, I believe a NASA scientist. He was also responsible for special effects in such films as 2001, Moonraker and Star Wars. As part of his presentation, a 35mm presentation of clips from several of his films were shown. In addition to this, models and set props from Star Wars were displayed. How many of you have noticed such details such as the nose cone of the "Falcon" was from a B-29 Superfortress and the lettering used on the "Falcon" control panels was Hebrew placed in an assortment of configurations!

Anyhow, since I was quite young, I did not quite realize just who
Mr. Lang was. I was introduced to him, but I remember him laughing when yours truly (an aspiring projectionist) blew him off so that I could go see the "booth"! Many years later, stupid me sincerely regrets his actions!

However, I am glad about the rerelease of 2001. I am just very suprised and disappointed when it was not rereleased to first run houses in Jan 2001--what a shame! But I am sure that it is a real treat for those of you who have seen the wide screen rereleases!

Posted by Aaron Haney (Member # 747) on 12-10-2001, 10:07 AM:

Having been away from it for a while, I've had a chance to think about it, and I should point out that the presentation I saw at The Castro was by no means perfect.

For one thing, that small screen really bothered me. Like I said, I had to sit extremely close to the screen in order to get a good apparent size out of it. And for another, there was a slight shutter mistiming that resulted in a little bit of ghosting. This was very slight, but still noticable. And then there was the fact that the screen appeared to be a "gain" screen, which meant that there was a hot spot in the middle and some fall off at the edges. This was particularly noticable and hard to ignore.

On the other hand, it appeared to be sharply focused, and it was very, very bright. So bright in fact, it almost hurt my eyes at times.

The Castro did a good job, but I can't help but think that it would have been nice for the print to also be screened at the Century 21 dome on Winchester Blvd. in San Jose (which if I'm not mistaken, still has 70mm capability). The screen is much bigger, and there is a lot more seating, with better sightlines, too. I would have gladly paid to see it a second time at that location.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 12-10-2001, 10:29 PM:

>>the Century 21 dome on Winchester Blvd. in San Jose (which if I'm not mistaken, still has 70mm capability).<<

They still have a JJ in that booth.

-Aaron

Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 12-14-2001, 05:34 PM:

Aaron-

There are several theaters in the Tucson area w/JJs in the booth, but no one is running 70mm.

2 JJs are in the Loews Cineplex El-Drado 8plex that were left over from the days before the origonal 2 screen was torn down and replaced with the 8 plex! I Star Wars in 70mm Mag Dolby there in 1977 and was really state of the art back then!

There are also 2 JJs less mag heads in the Century Gateway.

Posted by Ben Wales (Member # 92) on 12-16-2001, 05:24 PM:

It looked great on the Cinerama Screen at the Pictureville Cinema in Bradford Yorkshire (England) at the last Widescreen Film Festival in March.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 09-25-2002, 09:44 PM:

I have some comments about 2001, the film. (Notes about presentation at the end.)

First, that slit-scan/weird section near the end is STILL about 5 minutes too long. Kubrick may have been a genius, but his genius slipped a bit during that section.

Second, the special effects in this film have to be some of the best ever. With just a few exceptions, the look is still almost perfect. My guess is that they knew the film was going to be shown on 90' screens, and every detail would show up. These are some of the most masterful effects ever, and they have rarely been bettered.

Third, what brilliant sound this movie has! Not just the perfect choice of Strauss (Richard and Johann both), but the incredible use of SILENCE during the space scenes. During those parts, the film was absolutely silent, and the audience was afraid to make even the slightest noise. What a gutsy choice on Stanley's part. Can you imagine a modern film with so much quiet?

Presentation at the Wexner Center for the Arts in 70mm Mag (unknown NR, probably SR): I was more than a little worried at the start of the film. The first reel was very dirty, slightly scratched, and the bright scenes were very "stroby". This lasted all the way through the "ape" section. The sound was also a bit weak here. But, later the film cleared up, and the image was crystal clear. Almost all of the instructions for various devices on-screen were legible. (I've often thought that 70mm on a small screen can be a better experience than on a large screen due to the tremendous, almost hyper-realism to the image.) Film was shown properly with overture and intermission.

The sound system in this room is not overpowering. Due to the unusual design, the surround system is only fair. But, as I stated above, the silences drive this movie, and when it was supposed to be silent, it was absolutely silent.

What a joy to see this great movie again. Now, if they can just book Lawrence........