Terminator 2 Re-release

[Chris Haller]

According to the individual who introduced the movie, there’s 2 prints left in the US, not counting the CDS print that still exists.

The individual projecting T2 at Silver Spring yesterday had to basically pull off a miracle to get it running as well as they did. Makes my digital projection experience seem like child’s play. It painted a very positive impression of the team there.

[Tj Hopland]

Were the visible splices sawtooth? Or normal straight lines? I remember it being pretty common to get prints with the sawtooth splices not only at reel changes but as repairs. Those came from Imax houses. Imax used that sawtooth design to allow a tape splice to work with the rolling loop projector design. A normal straight tape splice would just fold over (and possibly eat the projector) so they either did ultrasonic or that sawtooth deal. There was a period where especially the museum types of places would do regular movies in the evenings on 35 or 5/70 if they had it.

I remember doing 70 fests and getting the same prints back again and one time there would be those sawtooth cuts then next time it came back to me they were gone and replaced with straight cuts. Or the other way around where they were straight and now got teeth. If I was running those on a platter I would just peel the tape of and leave what ever was there. It didn't seem worth cutting out frames but there were obviously others that would cut it out to replace with what ever they had.

[Steve Guttag]

The technical term is "Zig-Zag." The Neumade/Somar splicer was the 70ZZ. Their tape was also less wide. 8mm, as I recall. I believe IMAX did have an exclusivity to that splicer variant. If using Somar tape, there is no excuse for not peeling the splices up. However, depending on what was being joined (leader, reel...etc.) and where, I could see where one would not have a compatible join and it would need to be remade if a ZZ is in the mix. ZZ splices are also, often, visible on screen. In Imax, one can see "dots" on the far left/right where the points of the ZZ are. For 5/70, the ZZ area is larger than the frame line.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I've been told that the "zigzag" / sawtooth splices for IMAX features were only for temporary repairs and that they always eventually had to be repaired with ultrasonic splicers. I'm not sure if all IMAX film venues do have such an ultrasonic splicer, it's not common for any normal cinema to have one...

The reason for the sawtooth repair is was indeed the rolling loop and the possibility of a normal splice to "flap over" and collapse the rolling loop and causing major havoc that way.

I've never seen them being used on anything else though... I guess I'd be rather pissed if I got a film end terminating in a zig-zag pattern, especially if I wouldn't have a matching side on the other reel.

[Steve Guttag]

The ZigZag spice was not a temporary splice. IMAX theatres built up their shows with it.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Nothing is as permanent as a temporary solution. Do you know if IMAX theaters actually have the possibility to do splices based on ultrasonic welding, because this is usually something that only labs do.

Edit: Dit some "Googling" and found this video from Adam Savage's Tested of about a month ago. It was shot at IMAX's LA HQ where they apparently do a lot of dailies. In the video below, at about the 9-minute mark, you can see an IMAX-sized make-up table (custom built somewhere in the 80s I presume) and the two splicers: The "zigzag" one and the ultrasonic one behind it.

[Gordon McLeod]

The majority of all IMAX theatres now days use the zigzag splice of all prints. Even the prints I used to receive from DKP70 were zigzag. If I was assembling a print I used the ultraSonic and zigzag on the trailer packs

[Aron Toplitsky]

There was a triple inventory of 70mm prints of “Terminator 2”: (1) Cinema Digital Sound, (2) A-encoded Six-Track Dolby Stereo, and (3) SR-encoded Six-Track Dolby Stereo, each with a split surround playback option. The 70mm prints featured full-frame imagery (2.20:1) blown up from Super-35. And there was a triple inventory of 35mm prints: (1) Cinema Digital Sound, (2) Dolby A, and (3) Dolby SR. The film’s 35mm prints were blown up from Super-35 and optically re-photographed in anamorphic format (2.39:1).

I was just wondering if anyone had the opportunity to experience Terminator 2 in all three 70MM releases...CDS, A Encoded Six Track and SR Encoded Six Track, how the mix differed in each format, and which was preferred?

I saw this film for my first 5 viewings in a THX certified auditorium, 35MM- Dolby SR, the theater was General Cinema Bay Plaza 10 in Bronx NY. Then I saw it for the 6th time with my cousin at the Loew's 84th Street NYC in 70MM CDS. Interesting how certain things like door slams and for example when Dyson opens up the safe during the 1st act of the film at Cyberdyne, those had more low-end punch in 35MM, but then of course sound effects such as weapons and the nuclear bomb were way more intense and powerful. As we expected, the 70MM CDS presentation was preferred. Note, we were not strangers to 70MM 6 Track prior to CDS, so we were expecting a bigger, louder more dynamic experience. We just always wondered why the smaller sounds has less punch in 70MM CDS.

I live in Los Angeles now and noticed the Aero theater was promoting the film last month in 70MM, right up until the day it screened. It is part of American Cinematheque, so I guess they have MAG capability? According to people on Reddit the Egyptian Theater sent out notice to ticket holders that they had to screen the DCP, and had no way of showing it in 70MM. Apparently, some wanted a refund and were given a hard time. Some received one and others did not.

[Scotty Wright]

I live in Los Angeles now and noticed The Aero theater was promoting the film back in May in 70MM, right up until the day it screened. It is part of American Cinematheque, so I guess they have MAG capability? According to people on Reddit the Egyptian Theater sent out notice to ticket holders that they had to screen the DCP and had no way of showing it in 70MM. Apparently, some wanted a refund and were given a hard time. Some received one and others did not.

I think AFI Silver in Maryland had a 70mm print with mag, but Aero got a 70mm CDS print. I asked around and heard from a distributor friend that AC @ Egyptian got a 70mm print with a soundtrack they couldn't read. Separately, their 3D show at Aero a few days later had issues too from what I heard; communication issues with their NEC digital projector and the Dolby 3D Color Wheel. AC rebooked their 70 show with a print from the east coast and showed that at Aero. I would guess that's what will play at Vista soon too.

Lot of grapevine-asking around, so if anyone's heard otherwise, please correct me.

[David Ferguson]

I do find it funny that my initial thought of hearing about a Terminator II release was "oh, wouldn't it be funny if any CDS prints got sent out" seems to have turned out to be true.

I do hope they didn't try and run that CDS track over mag heads and scratch it! And I hope these CDS prints are being marked as very special and returned to a vault, and not junked as "we can't play this"... if anyone knows more I'd love to know.

[Jim Cassedy]

Well, this is odd. . . I had been told we were scheduled to run the 70mm version
of Terminator II at some point in July, I think it's one of the films in our mini-70mm
fest we're running in the week or so before ODYSSEY opens.
. . .but today, a 35mm Terminator II print I wasn't expecting showed up.

I'm involved in a major movie preview (complete with cast & director), for the
rest of the day, so I don't have time to do any kind of inspection today, but
I did have a few minutes to make the following observations:
> It arrived in brand new ICC shipping cases
> It has brand new reel bands
> It has a recently dated inspection sticker on the reel I opened.
> It's on 1991 Kodak LPP Acetate film stock with a slight vinegar odor
> Shining a bright flashlight at the reels didn't reveal any obvious splices
> It has obviously been plattered at some point, since the first three feet
of the reel I looked at was marked with white shoe polish.
> Leaders were not original, but were new and hot-spliced onto the print.
(no tape)

I know we were one of the theaters which was going to get the same
print the Hollywood Egyptian got, until they realized it had a CDS sound
track. I've heard rumors that the remaining 70m prints aren't in great
shape, so maybe I"ll be running this one. Only time will tell. . .and I don't
have any more time to look into this today.

[Jim Cassedy]

I still haven't been able to find out if we're still scheduled to do a 70mm screening of T-2 some time
in July, as I was originally told. At this time, I don't see it anywhere on our schedule, and the only
person I could ask has been out on an extended leave, but should be back next week. I know we
were originally on the circuit to get the print originally sent to The Egyption in Hollywood, until they
discovered it was one of the original prints with a CDS sound track, which nobody can play. A good
35mm print I wasn't expecting showed up at my venue about 10 days ago, but I have no idea why
it's here. The other day, we had a private birthday party + screening of a DCP version of T-2 in one
of our auditoriums. I noticed this in the end credit roll:

TerminatorII_CDS.jpg