Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Early Widescreen

This is topic Early Widescreen in forum Film-Yak 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=8;t=005299

Posted by James Layton (Member # 4580) on 12-11-2007, 12:42 PM:

In the late 20s and early 30s several films were produced in large format widescreen; processes such as Fox Grandeur, Realife, Vitascope, Natural Vision & Magnifilm - all rival formats from different studios.

Does anyone know what has survived of these films and in what condition? I would imagine that for most of these we only have 35mm copies if that. I know there have been restorations of 'The Big Trail' and 'The Bat Whispers', but are there 70mm prints available for modern theatrical projection or just 35mm anamorphic? Also I believe there is a 35mm print of some Fox Grandeur News which has been shown at the Widescreen Festival in Hollywood, I'm not sure where though.

Here is a short list of many of these early large format films. Does anyone know if elements of any type for these films still exist? I'm very interested to know and are there any modern prints of the widescreen versions of these films in 70mm or 35mm?

Natural Vision
The American (J. Stuart Blackton, 1927, Natural Vision Pictures)
Danger Lights (George B. Seitz, 1930, RKO)
Niagra Falls
Campus Sweethearts (James Leo Meehan, 1930, RKO) short

Fox Grandeur
Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (David Butler, 1929, Fox Film Corporation)
Fox Grandeur News (1929)
Happy Days (Benjamin Stoloff, 1929, Fox Film Corporation)
The Big Trail (Raoul Walsh, 2 October 1930, Fox Film Corporation)
Song O' My Heart (Frank Borzage, 1930, Fox Film Corporation)

Vitascope
A Soldier's Plaything (Micheal Curtiz, 1930, Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Lash (1930, First National Pictures)
Kismet (John Francis Dillon, 1930, First National Pictures)
Larry Ceballos Review (short)
You're in the Army Now (short)

Realife
Billy the Kid (King Vidor, 1930, MGM)
The Great Meadow (Charles Brabin, 1931, MGM)

Magnifilm
The Bat Whispers (Roland West, 1930, Joseph M. Schenck Productions/United Artists)

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 12-11-2007, 01:06 PM:

'The Big Trail' is the only one I have seen. It was restored some years ago on 35mm amamorphic from original 70mm elements. The picture quality was variable, in some parts it looked very good. The sound quality, from the original optical track, was pretty poor; I've heard better from normal 35mm tracks of that era. It's worth seeing, if you get the chance. It does turn up very occasionally at the NFT.

Given that the restoration was done using modern fine grain duplicating and print stocks, as against 1920s camera stocks I doubt that much, if anything, was lost by doing it in 35mm.

There was also a NTSC VHS release of this, but most of this was just 3:4. I'm not sure if it was just cropped down from 1:2, or if it was taken from the 35mm version of the film.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 12-11-2007, 06:22 PM:

This does not concern 8/70 or 15/70 format film. Moving to Yak, where it will get more hits anyway.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-12-2007, 05:23 AM:

I seem to remember seeing one of the Grandeur Newses at an AMIA conference - Amelia Earhart flying somewhere I think, but my memory could be playing tricks on me.

It's annoying that only the 1:1.15 35mm version of The Big Trail is in circulation on DVD. But these aren't simply pan and scan jobs, though: they were shot simultaneously in two separate versions, and with separate cameras and cinematographers (Lucien Andriot 35; Arthur Edeson 70). There's an article by Edeson in a 1930 edition of American Cinematographer in which he describes the problems faced by the director in staging two different versions of each scenes (don't have it to hand, but if anyone's interested I could dig it out at home and scan it - let me know if so). As with the silent and sound versions of Blackmail, the wide and square Big Trails have a very different look and feel to them. A DVD containing both versions, plus a decent 'making of' with a widescreen historian like John Belton involved would be a great project.

Incidentally, the Mitchell camera used for Grandeur was almost identical to the one later used for Todd-AO: the only real difference was better lenses, and converting it from a four-perf to a five-perf pulldown.

Posted by James Layton (Member # 4580) on 12-12-2007, 07:07 AM:

That article and several others are available on the Widescreen Museum website: http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/mullen.htm

Does anyone know who holds the Fox Grandeur News films or who was involved with the new prints?

Leo, would you have any clues as to how to find out?

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 12-12-2007, 08:02 AM:

quote:
As with the silent and sound versions of Blackmail, the wide and square Big Trails have a very different look and feel to them. A DVD containing both versions, plus a decent 'making of' with a widescreen historian like John Belton involved would be a great project.

It would indeed, but I don't know how well it would sell, or how many copies it would need to sell to make such a project viable. For some reason there seems to be much less interest in the formats of this era than in those of the '50s, despite the fact that where was only 25 years or so between them, and therefore the '50s formats are now about two-thirds the age of the earlier ones.

quote: Leo Enticknap
Incidentally, the Mitchell camera used for Grandeur was almost identical to the one later used for Todd-AO: the only real difference was better lenses, and converting it from a four-perf to a five-perf pulldown.

It might be worth pointing out, for the sake of avoiding confusion if somebody is not familiar with the Grandeur format that four perfs of Grandeur is not equal to four perfs of normal film; the size, shape, position and pitch of the perfs is totally different. A four-perf Grandeur frame is almost the same height as a five-perf Todd-AO one; it's actually just a few thousanths of an inch less, but the width is considerably less, to give a 2:1 aspect ratio. The Grandeur track is much wider than a normal 35mm one, and obviously runs faster due to the greater frame height, but is otherwise a normal variable density mono optical track.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-12-2007, 02:22 PM:

James - your info says you're from Norwich. Just out of curiosity, are you a UEA film archiving student, possibly thinking about early widescreen as a dissertation topic? If so, this sounds like a great idea. Belton covers the factual basics very well, but a study that looks at the late 20s/early 30s special formats specifically, and tries to come to some conclusions about why they didn't achieve mass rollout and therefore the extent of their cultural significance is something that needs doing, IMHO.

You might like to see what MIC can offer in terms of preservation status data, as it's a portal site that includes cataloguing records from most (but not all) of the world's major public archives. It doesn't cover most of the studio collections, though. If you have a focused enquiry and are prepared to include the reason for it, you could also try a post on the Association of Moving Image Archivists email listserv.

quote: Stephen Furley
It would indeed, but I don't know how well it would sell, or how many copies it would need to sell to make such a project viable. For some reason there seems to be much less interest in the formats of this era than in those of the '50s, despite the fact that where was only 25 years or so between them, and therefore the '50s formats are now about two-thirds the age of the earlier ones.

It could possibly be because very little source material survives in the form that is needed for the basis of a restoration to something approximating (or at least simulating) the original format; or also because there's been very little research in this area. Agreed that DVD production costs are not cheap, but niche market publishers like Criterion and Milestone seem to be able to make similar sorts of projects viable.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-12-2007, 06:29 PM:

I recall an article in AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER from about 20 years ago about THE BAT WHISPERS. There was some type of serious restoration, and I may even have been to large format.

I looked online and AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER only has an index for the last few years. A good reference librarian might be able to track it down for you.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 12-12-2007, 06:53 PM:

in the u.s., moma has a scope 35mm print of the big trail, as of 3 years ago.

Posted by James Layton (Member # 4580) on 12-13-2007, 07:20 AM:

Leo, I work at EAFA in Norwich and am one half of the CRITICAL FLICKER film group. I believe you know of us already.

THE BIG TRAIL was restored in its 70mm Grandeur version by 20th Century Fox and MoMA, and the 35mm scope print available from MoMA is a reduction print from this restoration. I'm not sure when the restoration was done - mid-90s I believe. This copy is still available providing your facilities meet their standards. A 70mm print of the film was shown at The Widescreen Weekend at the Bradford Film Festival in 1995 as a 'one-off never to be screened again' deal.

An anamorphic reduction print of THE BAT WHISPERS is available from Milestone in the US from the late 1980s 65mm restoration by UCLA.

On the 'Wide Screen Movies Corrections' pdf on the TIPS section of this website Daniel Sherlock mentions that a 35mm reduction of some Fox Grandeur News stories, including the construction of the Hudson River Bridge were shown at a festival in Hollywood. I haven't been able to find out which festival yet or when. Does anyone have any ideas?

Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 12-13-2007, 09:49 AM:

quote: James Layton
On the 'Wide Screen Movies Corrections' pdf on the TIPS section of this website Daniel Sherlock mentions that a 35mm reduction of some Fox Grandeur News stories, including the construction of the Hudson River Bridge were shown at a festival in Hollywood. I haven't been able to find out which festival yet or when. Does anyone have any ideas?

LFCA, 1999.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-13-2007, 01:18 PM:

quote: James Layton
Leo, I work at EAFA in Norwich and am one half of the CRITICAL FLICKER film group. I believe you know of us already.

Sure do! Sorry to hear (via Louise) that you've been having venue problems, and hope you manage to get your screenings up and running again soon.

quote: James Layton
THE BIG TRAIL was restored in its 70mm Grandeur version by 20th Century Fox and MoMA, and the 35mm scope print available from MoMA is a reduction print from this restoration. I'm not sure when the restoration was done - mid-90s I believe. This copy is still available providing your facilities meet their standards. A 70mm print of the film was shown at The Widescreen Weekend at the Bradford Film Festival in 1995 as a 'one-off never to be screened again' deal.

And what's the friggin' point of going to all the expense of striking a 70mm print if, after one outing, it's 'never to be screened again'?! Grrr! Mieow! Hiss! Gives the whole film archive movement a bad name. I suppose the silver lining is that there's also a 35mm 'scope copy in the BFI's '360 classic films' print collection. I've seen it a couple of times and it looks good, but even the most faultless scope presentation introduces a bit of anamorphic aberration towards the edges.

Does anyone know if any attempt has been made to recreate a Magnascope show - Chang or Wings, for example? Given that the system consisted basically of a zoom lens, a screen masking system that opened up on all four sides plus a lot of ballyhoo, it shouldn't be too difficult to recreate. It'd look fantastic in an Imax house!

Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 12-15-2007, 12:12 PM:

in70mm.com Library

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 12-25-2007, 08:16 PM:

My notes (and I no longer know the sources for this info) show Niagra Falls was Fox 65mm Grandeur, not Natural Vision, that You're In the Army Now was actually Paramount Magnafilm 56mm and was a demo that was never released theatrically and that The Bat Whispers was actually UA 65mm, not Magnafilm.

What are your sources for the formats? I'd like to clean up my info if it's incorrect. And I had never heard of "Larry Ceballos Review" before seeing it on your list.

Thanks.

Posted by Dan Sherlock (Member # 4663) on 02-12-2008, 09:01 PM:

I saw the Grandeur short subject "Hudson River Bridge" at a special presentation (open to the public) on May 22, 1999 at American Cinematheque's Egyptian theater in Hollywood. It was a 35mm 'scope copy made from the 70mm Grandeur version. I don't have the exact running time, but it was about 10 minutes or so. Except for it's technical significance, it was amazingly dull -- I think they shot entire film loads of guys feeding steel cables off of a very large spool. There was nothing even resembling a bridge in the footage. I believe there was no narration -- just the sounds of construction.

The film was originally shown with the feature film LET'S GO PLACES in New York around March 1, 1930. (I don't have the exact premiere date, but it is within a day or two of this.) The feature was not shown in Grandeur.

According to the notes distributed at the American Cinematheque showing, here is the info about that screening:

"Our thanks to the Museum of Modern Art for providing the print for Hudson River Bridge. Rights for this showing granted by Criterion Pictures, with permission granted by the UCLA Film Archive. Assistance in locating the film materials was supplied by Kathleen Henchman, Film Technology, Inc."

Now I suppose you would like to know how this 'scope copy came to be. According to the article "Preserving Wide Film History" by Grant Lobban in the April 1985 issue of The BKSTS Journal, Karl Malkames Inc. in New York developed a special variable-pitch printer movement that was used in combination with a 'scope printer lens to create an anamorphic 35mm copy of THE BIG TRAIL. An example frame from the original FOX GRANDEUR NEWS was also shown in the article, so it is very likely that he also did the conversion of HUDSON RIVER BRIDGE. Grandeur was originally 20 fps, but this was released about the time Fox changed to 24 fps, and I believe this title was at 24 fps.

THE BIG TRAIL was shown on the cable network Turner Classic Movies in both the regular 35mm version and the widescreen Grandeur version. Unfortunately only the regular version was released on DVD. My memory of watching the two versions is that many of the scenes were shot with both types of cameras at the same time. In some cases, the two cameras were many feet apart aimed in different directions with totally different framing. I have also seen the 'scope print in a theater, and the distorted sound quality is present in all showings that I have seen.

I am not aware of any other Grandeur titles being preserved, but it is possible that the NIAGARA FALLS short (not on your list) as well as possible other newsreels might exist. (The NIAGARA FALLS short that was shown with HAPPY DAYS was a different format and different footage than the NIAGARA FALLS short in Natural Vision shown with DANGER LIGHTS.) I don't believe that SONG O' MY HEART was released in Grandeur.

THE BAT WHISPERS was preserved by direct printing from the 65mm original to a 65mm preservation element. That element was then re-centered (the image was offset from center to allow for an optical sound track) and optically printed to a 'scope master which was the source for the theater prints for screenings of the restored version. The restoration was done primarily by Bob Gitt who was with the UCLA film archive. I highly question the report of a one-off showing of a 70mm print as reported on film-tech. Both the regular and Magnifilm versions are on the DVD. THE BAT WHISPERS was printed down to 35mm maintaining the original aspect ratio within the silent aperture area and shown with interlocked sound.

I have found no convincing evidence that BILLY THE KID or THE GREAT MEADOW were released using 70mm prints. Instead, 35mm reduction prints with a 1.75:1 aspect ratio were used. So it is possible these might exist, but to the best of my knowledge their whereabouts are unknown.

The 56mm Paramount Magnafilm short subject YOU"RE IN THE ARMY NOW was mixed into the Warner Bros. 65mm Vitascope listings in the initial posting in this thread. I've seen many different frames from this title in publications over the years, which makes me think that the original is lurking about, but I am pretty sure it has not been converted into a conventional format. The existence of the frame samples is surprising considering it was apparently only shown once at a demonstration screening.

The Vitascope titles status are also unknown, but I strongly suspect they are lost. They are certainly not available for screenings. And the LARRY CEBALLOS REVIEW footage was used as part of a live show in Hollywood that only ran for about a week, so it is VERY unlikely that it survives.

And then there's Natural Vision. THE AMERCIAN was indeed filmed in Natural Vision, but it was never released that way. CAMPUS SWEETHEARTS was rumored to have been filmed in Natural Vision, but it certainly wasn't released that way, and I can't find a reliable confirmation that it was even filmed in Natural Vision. There WAS a copyright filed on the 35mm version. There was some footage of the first act of the Broadway musical LADY FINGERS shot in Natural Vision and shown that way at a demo, but it was apparently not shown to the public.

NIAGARA FALLS and DANGER LIGHTS were shown in Detroit and New York (at least), and I've seen frame samples from them, but only from publications at the time. Reports are that the 35mm negative of DANGER LIGHTS was deteriorating back in the 1950's, and it was transferred to safety stock before the negative was destroyed. No word on what happened to NIAGARA FALLS.

The 35mm version of DANGER LIGHTS is available for download as an MPEG file from:

http://www.archive.org/details/danger_lights

It is also scheduled to be shown on Turner Classic Movies on the 16th of April, 2008.

Supposedly George Spoor also showed some Natural Vision footage at the Chicago World's Fair around 1932, but I have been unable to confirm this.

So, the bottom line on what can be screened right now from the 1930's widescreen boom:

THE BAT WHISPERS (in 'scope 35mm)
THE BIG TRAIL (in 'scope 35mm)
HUDSON RIVER BRIDGE (in 'scope 35mm)
and possibly Fox Grandeur News (in 'scope 35mm, but probably at 20 fps).

-Dan

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 02-13-2008, 08:34 PM:

quote:
I saw the Grandeur short subject "Hudson River Bridge"

The film was originally shown with the feature film LET'S GO PLACES in New York around March 1, 1930.

That must've been the George Washington Bridge.

Posted by Edwin Graf Diemer (Member # 545) on 02-13-2008, 09:49 PM:

No "Grandeur" elements exist of either Fox's "Happy Days" or "Song o' My Heart", although the 35mm versions are preserved. Too bad-Frank Borzage filmed part of "Heart" in Dublin, so there must have been some good location filming. At least he discovered Maureen O'Sullivan while over there!

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-28-2008, 01:55 PM:

On May 13th. Fox will be release a Region 1, 2 disc. Special Edition of "The Big Trail" featuring the 70MM (2.10:1 ratio version) and the full frame (1.33: version). The 70MM version will feature commentary with film historian/author Richard Schickel. And featurettes: The Creation of John Wayne, Raoul Walsh: A Man In His Time, The Big Vision: The Grandeur Process, The Making of The Big Trail and a Photo Gallery. Feature running time 122 minutes.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 05-08-2008, 09:32 PM:

I called Best Buy this morning and was told they will be bringing in two copies of THE BIG TRAIL I am planning to buy one of them because I have never seen it before and had heard so much about this film and want to see it. The two disc set from Fox will feature both the 70mm version as well as the 35mm. I went on line to learn more about this film and learned that the 125 minute version is the 35mm and the 70mm is longer by about a half hour at 155 min.

-Claude

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 05-13-2008, 06:18 PM:

quote: Bill Gabel
On May 13th. Fox will be release a Region 1, 2 disc. Special Edition of "The Big Trail" featuring the 70MM (2.10:1 ratio version) and the full frame (1.33: version). The 70MM version will feature commentary with film historian/author Richard Schickel. And featurettes: The Creation of John Wayne, Raoul Walsh: A Man In His Time, The Big Vision: The Grandeur Process, The Making of The Big Trail and a Photo Gallery. Feature running time 122 minutes.

Looks like you were just about spot on Bill. I bought my copy this afternoon, it was just in time, I fly home tomorrow. I bought it from the Saturday Matinee shop at the Staten Island Mall; they had at least one other copy of it. It was in the normal 'Westerns' section, not in the 'new releases' one. It was marked Our price $19.99 On sale $17.99. Seems like a bargain for a two disc set. I've only played a few minutes of each version, and the Grandeur one looks generally very good, with just few slight scratches and other minor damage here and there. The sound quality is generally poor, as it was on both the 35mm (from Grandeur) and VHS (from 35mm) versions which I have seen previously.

In terms of both picture quality and composition, the Grandeur version really is much better than the 35mm one. I was going to say better than the 'Academy' version, but I think the release of this film pre-dates the Academy standard. There's a comment in one of the documentaries which come with it that it's a surprisingly modern looking film, and it is; the dialogue however is not modern, it sounds fairly typical of early-ish sound films. Combined with the poor technical quality of the sound this really does let the film down somewhat; maybe the film should have been made ten years later.

It is region 1, which I feel is regretable; I've had to reset the DVD drive in my laptop to play it, and I've now only got one change left, but the drive is playing up anyway, so I'm going to have to fit a new one soon. At home I have an all region DVD player, but it is an early one which will not play recordable CDs or DVDs, and a desktop computer which has two drives, one region 1 and the other region 2. I only have a handful of region 1 discs. Given the limited market for this film, and the fact that a region 2, or indeed any other region, version is unlikely to be released, I think that it should have been a NTSC all region release. There's no issue of conflicting with theatrical release dates, and I see no reason why the video rights should not be for a World wide release for a film such as this.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-13-2008, 06:27 PM:

Stephen, take a google at Slysoft's Slyfox AnyDVD. It's an application that allows you to set the region on your DVD drives to any region you wish, as many times as you wish. No need to worry about running out of silly region change counts.

http://www.slysoft.com/en/

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 05-13-2008, 06:54 PM:

I was able to pick up a copy of THE BIG TRAIL at a Borders book store and watched the documentary "The Grandeur Process" and little bit of the film itself on my laptop at my mother's nursing home today and my God, the picture is gorgeous!. Yes as stated in the documentary, the movie has A very modern look to it and it is unfortunate the great depression of the early thirties in the United States had prevented the Grandeur process from becoming an industry standard. I did some research on the 70mm showings and learned it was presented in only two theatres in the U.S., the Graumann Chinese in Los Angeles and the Roxy in New York City. I also learned the original nitratel large format camera elements no longer exists and I am not sure if the the current DVD was made from a 35mm print or from the restored 70mm Grandeur print.

-Claude

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 05-13-2008, 08:37 PM:

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was made from a 35mm anamorphic fine grain element; the camera head of the optical printer shown certainly looks like a 35mm one, and it was my understanding that the restoration element was a 35mm fine grain positive. I'm not clear if the video transfer was made directly from this, or from another film element derived from it. If a 70mm print was made then it would presumably have been by optical enlargement from the 35mm. Also, if a 70mm print was made then it would have been in modern, i.e. Todd-AO style 70. Even if it were possible to make a Grandeur format print there would be no point in doing so as, to the best of my knowledge, there is not a cinema in the World which could show it.

I do wish the documentary would not depict the widescreen version in a horizontal sort of mock Vistavision format, with round perforations.

Although I think the sound is one of the weakest points of the film, both in terms of its poor technical quality and its rather 'stiff' dialogue it must have been very difficult, and a considerable achievement to record sound on location at this time.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 05-14-2008, 02:03 PM:

According to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Trail

"The original 70mm nitrate elements deteriorated in the 1960s, but a fine-grain CinemaScope-converted print of the 70mm version was found in 1972 and kept in the Library of Congress, and thus the film was restored to its full widescreen glory in the 1980s and re-screened at the Museum of Modern Art, and modern viewers wondered what audiences in 1930 had been thinking, since The Big Trail holds up astonishingly well given its age."

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 05-14-2008, 03:40 PM:

On August 26th. Warner Home Video will release on Blu-ray and Standard def DVD "How the West Was Won" .

The disc is set to include audio commentary and Dave Strohmaier's documentary "Cinerama Adventure", and an archival featurette "Making of How the West Was Won".
Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition will be a "SmileBox" version of the film. The "SmileBox" presents the image with a unique curvature that virtually recreates the true Cinerama experience in the home theatre. (Like a letterbox with a curve to it) (The "SmileBox" version will be included on the Blu-ray along with the standard letterbox presentation). List price $34.98

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 05-16-2008, 09:26 PM:

My understanding has always been that Natural Vision was a 3-D process and not a widescreen process (though its AR may have been wider than 1.33).

IIRC, it was the process used for HOUSE OF WAX.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 05-17-2008, 06:05 AM:

Manny,

The same name, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or spaces, was often used for several quite unrelated processes. The wide film Natural Vision process was over twenty years before the 3-D processes of the 1950s, and like the other wide film processes of that time lasted only a year or two; it had nothing to do with Natural Vision 3-D.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 05-17-2008, 03:57 PM:

As Stephen posted Natural Vision was a wide screen format which was used on a few short subjects around 1926 & 1930 time frame.

Posted by Dan Sherlock (Member # 4663) on 05-18-2008, 02:14 AM:

The first use of the term "Natural Vision" that I have come across was for the public showing of the wide film version of Widescope in November, 1926. Widescope started out as a 3-camera panoramic process during development but quickly became a 2-film single camera process. Although demos were done using the technique in 1922, I have not seen any evidence of any theatrical showings of the two film process.

The process was then abandoned in favor of a 57mm wide film version using a swept lens process. A short subject titled "Natural Vision Pictures" was shown to the public in New York in 1926. At the time, the term "Natural Vision" was more of a description of a large screen wide angle (well, about a 60 degree field of view) image with sharp focus. Images photographed on large film and shown on a large screen had an almost "3-D" quality without being truly stereoscopic.

The 63.5mm Spoor-Berggren process was used to film the feature film "The American" in 1925, but the film was never shown to the public. With the battle of the widescreen formats in 1929-1931, the Spoor-Berggren process was used for the feature film "Danger Lights" and the short subject "Niagara Falls" which were shown to the public in 1930. The process up to that time had been typically referred to as the "Spoor-Berggren" process, but a name that was more "catchy" was desired and they used the term "Natural Vision" for the process name in the ads. The other titles that were supposedly presented in the process did not in fact have any public screenings.

As for Grandeur and "The Big Trail"…

Grandeur used ASA Type I film which had a 0.234 inch perf pitch (before shrinkage) and large 0.130 x 0.080 inch sprocket holes. The restoration master was anamorphic 35mm, and the restored version was released only as 'scope 35mm. Since was printed down from the 70mm negative, it still had a very sharp image in many of the scenes.