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Topic: Patton in 70mm

John Gordon
Film Handler

Posts: 62
From: Earth
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-17-2001 01:51 PM

Word has it that Fox is restoring Patton, in 70mm

. Let's hope they also release Patton in 70mm as well

. If there is a 70mm release, what do you think the chances are it will be in the original Dimension 150? Doubtful I think, but 70mm would be very very welcomed indeed.

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Dick Vaughan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1032
From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-17-2001 02:17 PM

That would be great and give us another title to screen on the Cinerama screen.

there was a 70mm D150 print around in the UK a few years ago and we booked it for the Widescreen Weekend segment of the Bradford Film Festival as we were told it was in pretty good condition. When it arrived we couldn't even get one of the reels out of the transit case as at some time in it's history it appeared to have been stored in 12" of water and the spool was corroded to the case

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 10-17-2001 02:30 PM

John Gordon asked: "If there is a 70mm release, what do you think the chances are it will be in the original Dimension 150?"

Wasn't D-150 a function of the camera lenses, projector lens, and the curved screen? If so, a contact print of the original negative would automatically be D-150.

Was the specified radius of curvature and "wrap" for D-150 screens the same as 3-strip Cinerama? Was D-150 150-degrees, and Cinerama 146-degrees? What were the radii?

I fondly remember experiencing a 70mm print of "Patton" several times in Buffalo NY on a deep curved screen --- WOW!

------------------
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

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 10-17-2001 04:18 PM

If it was filmed in D150, wouldn't some one have to "de-D150" it so it could run on a regular 70mm setup? There are so few D150 theaters left, I'm sure no one would pay to make D150 prints.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-17-2001 05:18 PM

That would be way cool! Saw it in D-150 at the Bismark Theatre in Chicago years ago.
So you don't get mixed up by whats in the red book with all the mistakes here is how it was set up.......
D-150 utilized standard spherical camera lenses but instead of being specified in mm, or inches of focal length they were specified in degrees of coverage like the Todd-AO System worked. The cameras were standard Mitchell BFC's. You ended up with a standard Todd-AO type negative/print that could be run on any 70mm system. The projection lens called a "Super Curvulon" is what performed the "Miracle" of D-150. It was a special lens that distorted the projected 70mm image so it would appear normal on the deeply curved screen. This eliminated the stretching effect on the sides as when a regular 70mm film was run on a deep curved screen with a standard lens. The lens was big, and heavy, it ate up some light too. This was a complete system. Lenses, masking system, and screen which was a special lenticuluar type of German manufacture. All of the lenses for other formats were also provided by D-150 so as not to project an image that would fill the entire screen. This kept projected images within their capable limits and also did not allow them to fill the entire screen thus confusing the movie going public and making other films look as though they were filmed in D-150.
The thing that usually happened later on is that all 70mm film was projected through the special D-150 Super Curvulon lens. That works fine. Today any screens that are left are usually also filling the screen which in some cases is so large that it goes beyond the capabilities of the 35mm formats. Resulting in undesriable image quality. Dr Richard Vetter and Carl Williams designed the system. Carl Williams still runs a theatre supply company on the west coast. Doc Vetter is also still active at consulting in the entertanment industry.
Mark @ GTS

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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 10-17-2001 09:28 PM

There are pictures of the D-150 lens at these sites:
http://www.govst.edu/users/gaskrau/d150lens.jpg
http://www.govst.edu/users/gaskrau/front.jpg

Mark Lensenmayer
Link Master, Jr.

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Thomas Hauerslev
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 10-18-2001 02:02 AM

Please read Grant Lobbans excellent article on Dimension-150 here

Also included are text about the UCLA D-150 driving simulater, printer lenses, films and cinemas.

------------------
Cheers, Thomas
..in70mm - The 70mm Newsletter
www.in70mm.com www.dp70.com www.70mm.dk www.hauerslev.com http://hjem.get2net.dk/in70mm

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Phil Connolly
Film Handler

Posts: 80
From: Derby, England
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-18-2001 04:05 AM

Dick,

Have you got a D-150 lense at Bradford?

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 10-18-2001 07:59 AM

Thomas and Mark --- great links. Thanks.

Are all the D-150 projector lenses in the hands of collectors? How many theatres were properly equipped for the format?

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Dick Vaughan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1032
From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-18-2001 09:16 AM

We do have a D150 lens here in Bradford though sadly it was slightly damaged in transit to us and we have not used it in anger as yet.

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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 10-18-2001 09:39 AM

John,

I have heard the River Oaks in Chicago still has the lens in its original box.

Mark Gulbrandsen might know about that one.

Mark L.

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John Gordon
Film Handler

Posts: 62
From: Earth
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 11-06-2001 12:33 PM

A screening of Patton, in 70mm of course, will be Fri. Nov. 16th at the Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills. Tickets are $5.00 and going fast. Any film-techers going to this? If so, let's have a little get together pre or post screening. What do you say?

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-06-2001 01:46 PM

John Gordon said: "A screening of Patton, in 70mm of course, will be Fri. Nov. 16th at the Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills. Tickets are $5.00 and going fast."

One of the advantages to living in Southern California! Wish I could be there.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-06-2001 03:17 PM

Mark Lensenmayer said......
"I have heard the River Oaks in Chicago still has the lens in its original box."
Indeed there is a pair of Super Curvalon D-150 lenses there as well as the rest of the lens compliment. The picture on Steve's Vacant lot is of one of those lenses. Both projectors are also still there (DP-75's) one set up for Xenon and the other still sporting its Super Cinex Arc Lamp.
Mark @ GTS

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Les Brock
Film Handler

Posts: 42
From: Basingstoke, Hamshire, UK
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 11-06-2001 05:05 PM

The last D-150 screen in London was at the Odeon Marble Arch. I remember seeing Patton there and it looked so good.

A smaller screen was installed as Odeon probably thought that they would never use D-150 again.

The cinema is still open but has been made into a plex so the big auditorium is gone.

I wonder where the D-150 lenses went, maybe someone from Odeon / Rank will read this and can reveal what happened to them.

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