Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Henri Chretien's Hypergonar Lenses

This is topic Henri Chretien's Hypergonar Lenses in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 03-18-2003, 09:14 AM:

This year sometime, October, I think, will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the indroduction of CinemaScope. Chretien's Hypergonar lenses are the basis of all the anamorphic lenses in use today. If you're still pissed at the French you'd better throw them all out.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-18-2003, 09:29 AM:

CinemaScope links:

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcs1.htm

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/cinemascopespecs.htm

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/squeeze.htm

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/cinemascoperef.htm

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-18-2003, 12:03 PM:

Excellent point, Bill [Smile]

Do you suppose Twentieth Century Fox had a crystal ball and was able to see into the future and knew we were going to be pissed with the French enough fifty years later to change foods with the word "French" with "Freedom"? I can imagine Darryl F. Zanuck doing his very patriotic duty by calling the new widescreen process CinemaScope instead of ChretienScope. In view of the way some conservative Americans feel about the French today, they should have called the new film process FreedomScope! Gee, that sounds nice! [Big Grin]

-Claude

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 03-18-2003, 02:16 PM:

Presented in FreedomScope...

Isn't CINEMA a French word?

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-18-2003, 04:08 PM:

Good one, Mitchell! [Big Grin]

Ah, I'd be willing to throw out anamorphic for the Grandeur process (which nixed Chretien's original pitch for the lens in the late 20s/early 30s).

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-18-2003, 05:51 PM:

Cinema comes from the Greek word "kinisi" (motion) probbly through the Frenach transliteration in "cinematographe", from Greek "kinematographos" (motion recorder).
I explained this in stunning linguistic detail in another of my very fascinating posts, but I don`t remember where it was.
Somehow the search machine doesn`t seem to be very effective.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 03-18-2003, 06:06 PM:

Michael

Look at thread called "Pronounciation of Cinemeccanica" in Yak.
Its the 11th post on that page.

Bill

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-18-2003, 06:10 PM:

Indeed. Obviously I am not clever enough to operate the search machine. Well, you can`t be a genius in all fields.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-18-2003, 06:36 PM:

But, your posts are very fascinating and brilliant, nonetheless. [Wink]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-18-2003, 08:22 PM:

At the very least.