Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Tiff sets winter schedule: with a *NEW* 70mm print of 2001

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 11-09-2010, 01:46 AM:

Don't you 70mm just wish you lived in Toronto.

I thought I heard somewhere on this board, that they don't make 70mm prints anymore. Not sure how true the article is.

Enjoy!

TIFF Bell Lightbox Sets Winter Schedule

TIFF Bell Lightbox has set their winter slate of programming running from November 25 to February 2.

Exhibitions include “Tim Burton,” organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, offering a glimpse into the mind of one of the world’s most influential filmmakers and artists, and “Mary Pickford and the Invention of the Movie Star,” the inaugural exhibition in TIFF’s new Canadian Film Gallery.

TIFF Cinematheque presents retrospectives on Charlie Chaplin, Italian master Bernardo Bertolucci and Jafar Panahi, one of the major figures of the New Iranian Cinema as well as the relaunch of The Free Screen, featuring a retrospective of Spanish experimental film.

The season also includes a lineup of contemporary and classic films that will have exclusive engagements of at least one week at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Titles include Lucy Walker, Karen Harley & Joao Jardim’s Waste Land (2009); Jean-Luc Godard’s Film Socialisme (2010); Julie Taymor’s The Tempest (2010); Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) in 3-D, and a new 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

Other highlights include Canada’s Top Ten, TIFF’s annual celebration of excellence in national cinema.

link

I will be watching one of the movies (Playtime)they will be playing in 70mm thats for sure. I might just check out 2001 as well.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-09-2010, 03:52 AM:

"New" as in one of the two prints Warners struck for re-released in 2003? Or in "new" as in this has been struck for this engagement and hasn't been run anywhere else or at least not run enough to have been marred by other engagements?

At $23,000 a pop (the cost of striking each of the prints in 2003) which is what an exec at Warner told me it cost them to strike new prints back then, I would be surprised if this will be a spanking new, unreeling out of the lab "new" print. It could be, but I would bet it's not, given the costs involved and the dimisinshing potential for a decent profit/return on the dollar that the title can garner.

BTW, the very second theatre that played one of the two 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 2003 prints severely damaged it -- and I am talking huge gashs across the screen in a fade out! And that was a New York theatre, since demolished, where supposedily there would have been knowledgeable, seasoned union projectionists handling that print.

All I'm saying is....if it were my $23,000 that I had to shell out to strike a new print, and seeing the spectre of it never having enough engagements to ever recoup that money as well as the ever increasing possibilty that it could be trashed sooner rather than later due to fewer and fewer venues that can properly handle 70mm, I sure as hell would tell the TIFF they will have to be happy playing the 2003 print and be glad they've got that. Besides, 2003 in 70mm years is like last week.

Posted by Robert Throop (Member # 61) on 11-09-2010, 07:54 AM:

quote: Frank Angel
BTW, the very second theatre that played one of the two 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 2003 prints severely damaged it -- and I am talking huge gashs across the screen in a fade out! And that was a New York theatre, since demolished, where supposedily there would have been knowledgeable, seasoned union projectionists handling that print.

If I'm not mistaken, that booth was shared between the union and management at the time of the "2001" run.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-09-2010, 09:14 AM:

Yes it was. And you know how I know? Because I saw the very last screening on the very last night. It came on screen out-of-
frame and with that tell-tale warble in the sound that was so bad I knew immediately the film wasn't threaded tightly enough around the stablizer drum, and I knew I was in for a very stressful night.

I went up to the booth where a lad about 19 in a high school jacket was sitting OUTSIDE the booth....no one was inside, so I complained to him, "Can't you HEAR that?! And can't you FREAKIN SEE IT'S OUT OF FRAME?," to which he said he wasn't supposed to go in the booth "except if the film 'flew off.'" Then he was supposed to "switch" to the second machine. "What?" says I.

I looked into the booth and saw they were running a second, back-up, 35mm print. Evidently they had had lots of problems already with the 70mm print and thus the second platter running 35mm in tandem. I asked where was the projectionist, to which he replied with that spaced-out look only a teenage can get on his face, "Oh, he only comes in on Thursday and Fridays."

And THAT, Bob, is how I know you are right!

I called Warner's the next morning and ranted -- told them they now have a 70mm print that has ALREADY been damaged. He said (with a kind of proud sound in his voice -- like they had come up with a great solution), "THAT'S why we sent the backup 35mm print."

To which I said, mustering up the most sarcastic tone I could, "Wow, BRILLIANT! But maybe you should have just hired a REAL projectionist to stay with your just struck, $23,000 print INSIDE the booth throughout the engagement."

He replied, as if I had just come up with a Mensa International solution, "Yah, I guess that would be cheaper."

"Gee, ya THINK?!!

Posted by Daniel Schulz (Member # 1881) on 12-05-2010, 08:54 PM:

The TIFF Bell Lightbox engagement is in fact using a brand new print, hot out of the lab. It's a Datasat (DTS) print with a 5.1 channel soundtrack using the 2001 release polished remix.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-05-2010, 09:09 PM:

Then that's VERY cool, and good news for everyone in and arond around Toronto. For 2001, I'd almost consider taking the drive up.

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-05-2010, 10:15 PM:

quote: Frank Angel
Then that's VERY cool, and good news for everyone in and arond around Toronto. For 2001, I'd almost consider taking the drive up.

If you make the drive up, I'll buy the ticket for you.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-06-2010, 11:36 AM:

Seriously considering it Tom. And thanks for the offer, but being in the art house end of the industry and knowing first hand what kind of an economic struggle it is to bring the classics to the screen, I feel it's only right to support art houses that are running the classics alive, and on film no less, by paying my way, but thank you again.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is one of my favorite films of all time and the seminal film that opened Brooklyn Center Cinema and my very first booking in 1971. We have played it multiple engagements over the years. Unfortunately we've only been able to run it in 35mm, first with 4trk mag -- which sounded remarkably close to the six track mix except for the 12k trigger for the surrounds, later that was eliminated when Turner struck new prints), and in the later years in Dolby SR. Finally last year with a Dolby Digital print with the new 2002 remixed track. That engagement was followed by a Q&A with Keir Dullea himself -- quite an CinEvent indeed.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - CinEvent at Brooklyn Center Cinema

Seeing again in 70mm for me, at least -- I know not everyone is a fan -- will be a super treat and worth a trip up to the frozen tuntra to see it.

I have seen it in Cinerama (twice), once in Dimension 150 as well; I'm not sure if the deeply curved screens are a better experience or not, and more than likely, it will never be shown on a curved Cinerama screen ever again, so depending on one's aesthetic sensibilities, that's either a minus or a plus.

Posted by Daniel Schulz (Member # 1881) on 12-06-2010, 12:03 PM:

I have high hopes that this new print will make an appearance on the curved screen at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, but I am not aware of any such plans (I'll push for it though).

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-06-2010, 12:13 PM:

Geez Daniel, you're gonna make me fly out to Hollywood?! When you do push them, try to get them to book it sometime in the dead of winter like January or February so at least I can get wrangle a weekend out of the Artic cold we're supposded to get in the North East. [thumbsup]

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-07-2010, 12:10 AM:

quote:
Seriously considering it Tom. And thanks for the offer, but being in the art house end of the industry and knowing first hand what kind of an economic struggle it is to bring the classics to the screen, I feel it's only right to support art houses that are running the classics alive, and on film no less,

Well consider it an official offer. I am always looking to meet new friends, that has been by goal this year.

quote: Frank Angel
by paying my way, but thank you again.

At least lets have a pint after the show? We argue about something lol.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-07-2010, 01:41 AM:

Absolutely -- and pizza!

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 12-07-2010, 10:27 AM:

Just curious... is the soundtrack for this a standard DTS track or is it some kind of a lossless DTS track?

Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 12-07-2010, 11:46 AM:

Also does anyone know if they are running platter or changeover with that new print? they put in E-series Kinoton's! those things need a lot of time to ramp up to sync speed.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-07-2010, 12:53 PM:

If I had to guess, I'd guess the audio for the 70mm DTS print 2001 is the standard lossy compressed theatrical DTS format. However, the XD10 and XD20 processors can play up to 8 channels of uncompressed Linear PCM, even at 24-bit 96kHz resolution. They can be upgraded to support more channels of audio. Unfortunately the top end capabilities of those processors just don't seem to be getting used, at least not for theatrical releases. Gotta have the "software" to go with the hardware.

Posted by Daniel Schulz (Member # 1881) on 12-07-2010, 02:35 PM:

The discs for the Toronto engagement are standard 5.1 (the auditorium only has 3 stage channels behind the screen). A full 8 channel mix (5 screen channels, stereo surround and LFE) will be available should the print book into a venue that can play it.

Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 12-07-2010, 02:51 PM:

Good news... will have to see if we can get that print for our next 70mm fest. Why would TIFF not buy a couple extra speakers? they plan to play Lawrence also and its a mag 5 screen channel print?

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-07-2010, 03:33 PM:

quote: Paul Gordon
they plan to play Lawrence also and its a mag 5 screen channel print

LOA has only used the baby boom format for its mag tracks since the 1989 re-release. Those were SR encoded. The new 70mm prints struck later were the same, except they only used Dolby A, and I believe the DTS timecoded prints only used 3 stage channels as well. All of these versions, however, were based on the 1989 remix. The original LOA from the 60's was only mixed with 3 stage channels and one surround. t was only in the print sounding stage that the 3 were faked up to 5 (which actually was what 2001 did as well).

quote: Frank Angel
more than likely, it will never be shown on a curved Cinerama screen ever again

It actually has been seen on the curved screen at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood at least twice in the last couple of years, so its not outside the realm of possibility. It's shown several time a year at either the Egyptian or Aero Theatres in L.A. (on flat screens, but still in 70mm, so I would except the new print to show up there, since these projectionists are at the top of their field. Actually, I've seen both of the 70mm prints and both are in bad shape, although the last one I saw had so many cross scratches from beginning to end, it looked like it had been repeatedly been run along the floor. THe other print had a constant clicking sound in one of the reels (yes, the two American Cinemateche theatres actually has staff that announces these things to the audience before the show starts).
L.A. has been pretty lucky with lots of 70mm screenings in this past decade, almost all with newly struck prints. I was lucky enough to see new prints of It's a Mad Mad Mad World, Hello Dolly, 2001, The Sound of Music, Cleopatra, LOA, Baraka. I missed many more new 70mm prints, including Lord Jim, Khartoum, Ryan's Daughter, Greatest Story Ever Told, Doctor Dolittle, Patton, South Pacific, Star!, The Bible, The Agony and the Ecstacy, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Most of these prints are only allowed to be shown in changeovwer houses. Hopefully Warner is more careful with this new 2001 print.