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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » The King and I restored from 55mm neg screening (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: The King and I restored from 55mm neg screening
Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
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 - posted 08-15-2004 10:37 PM      Profile for Paul Mayer   Author's Homepage   Email Paul Mayer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
AMPAS and 20th Century Fox will be screening a new restoration of The King and I at the Samuel Goldwin Theatre in Beverly Hills, Friday, August 20, 2004 at 8:00pm. They claim this screening will be the first public showing of the film in its original aspect ratio, the print having been struck from the 55mm 0-neg. A new 4-track Dolby Digital soundtrack has also been created from the original 4-track masters.

I'm planning on driving down for this--a rare chance to see a film that both of my parents worked on. And to see it on a big screen in such a great theatre too!

AMPAS Gold Standard Series--The King and I

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

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From: Lawton, OK, USA
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 - posted 08-15-2004 11:15 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What kind of print will they showing? 70mm? Or just a 'scope reduction 35mm print?

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Steve Kraus
Film God

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From: Chicago, IL, USA
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 - posted 08-15-2004 11:32 PM      Profile for Steve Kraus     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Dolby Digital infers a 35mm print.

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000


 - posted 08-15-2004 11:39 PM      Profile for Paul Mayer   Author's Homepage   Email Paul Mayer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'm not sure. It sure would be great if it is a 70mm print from the 55mm o-neg. There was an article about the restoration and screening in today's LA Times but you have to pay $$$ to get to the on-line version of it. [Frown] That article wasn't clear as to what the print gauge will be, but it mentioned that the only way audiences had been able to see this up 'til now was by way of 35mm reduction. The linked AMPAS page says the same thing, but doesn't specifically mention the print gauge either, though it does say "CinemaScope" which would also infer a 35mm print. So I don't quite understand what the difference will be between this new 35mm reduction and the mag-stripe roadshow prints from 1956.

I'll just have to peer through the booth ports when I get in there. [Smile]

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
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 - posted 08-16-2004 12:09 AM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'm sorry. I overlooked the "Dolby Digital" part when I saw 4-track audio transfer. Isn't CinemaScope55 a 6-perf 55mm process? I forget. It would seem a 70mm print would do more service to the original o-neg than standard 35mm. Are there no optical printers around capable of the transfer?

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Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

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From: Oakland, CA, USA
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 - posted 08-16-2004 01:09 AM      Profile for Carl Martin   Author's Homepage   Email Carl Martin   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
tssk tssk, steve & paul. the old infer/imply error. and you're usually such a stickler, steve.

carl

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000


 - posted 08-16-2004 01:25 AM      Profile for Paul Mayer   Author's Homepage   Email Paul Mayer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Oh well. My department chair will have my ass for that one. [Big Grin]

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Christian Appelt
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 505
From: Frankfurt, Germany
Registered: Dec 2001


 - posted 08-16-2004 09:40 AM      Profile for Christian Appelt   Email Christian Appelt   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Reduction printing to 35mm 4-perf was the initial idea of CinemaScope 55, mostly to give 35mm exhibition a better image. Fox wanted something to compete with VistaVision's higher image quality, so they designed the oversized format (actually 55.625mm IIRC). Camera negative was 8-perf, 55mm release prints 6perf optically reduced to make room for mag tracks.

Some years ago, I talked to a former theatre owner who attended the Fox demonstration showings here in Germany in 1956, and he confirmed that they all were stunned by the low grain and extreme sharpness of the film, he thought it looked more like Todd-AO than CinemaScope.

But there seem to be KING AND I and CAROUSEL prints that were struck from old dupe negatives, not done in Dye Transfer printing. I suppose the newly restored version captures more of the image detail thanks to today's excellent dupe stocks.

I heard that the KING AND I 70mm blowup prints (made in 1961 under the name "Grandeur 70") looked quite grainy, indicating they were not produced from 55mm negative but from 35mm intermediate materials. Sadly, I have missed the screening at Bradford, but blowing up from 2.55 aspect ratio to 2,21 does not seem the best way of showing CS 55 pictures correctly.

As always, Martin Hart has it all, with beautiful pictures of 55mm film clips and a Daily Variety article:

AWSM on CinemaScope 55

Here's an summary on the restoration

CS 55 on Cinematography.com

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John Pytlak
Film God

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From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
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 - posted 08-16-2004 10:13 AM      Profile for John Pytlak   Author's Homepage   Email John Pytlak   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I wonder if the restored 2.55:1 aspect ratio 35mm version uses the original CinemaScope image area and centerline (i.e., no optical track)? Or is it 2.55:1 in the current scope image area specified by SMPTE 195?

The Kodak VISION Color Intermediate Film 5242/2242 used for making the master positive and duplicate negative is very fine grained and sharp:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/intermediate/5242.jhtml?id=0.1.4.6.4.4&lc=en

quote:
KODAK VISION Color Intermediate Films provide a bridge between the unparalleled creativity offered by KODAK VISION Color Negative Films - and the show quality of KODAK VISION Color Print Films. They are the link in the Kodak system that enables filmmakers to tell their stories without creative compromise.

These films replace - and improve upon - Kodak's ACADEMY AWARDŽ winning intermediate films. And, like all Kodak films, they are a result of listening - and responding to - the needs of the industry.

In both the rem-jet acetate base and nonrem-jet ESTAR Base versions, these films offer improvements to the emulsion layers that result in increased sharpness for laser recording. And, because the films incorporate Kodak's patented Two-Electron Sensitizer Technology, the improved sharpness comes without the expected increase in grain.

KODAK VISION Color Intermediate Film / 2242 / 3242 / ESTAR Base does not have the traditional carbon-based rem-jet backing, which must be removed during processing. The result? Cleaner, higher quality prints with fewer dirt spots. And with a patented process-surviving anti-static layer, this film attracts less dirt during processing - and stays cleaner throughout its useful life.

Advances in these products bring benefits to everyone involved in the process of telling stories on film.

For the filmmaker, these intermediate films help to preserve all the sharpness, clarity, and color of the original images and carry them more faithfully to the final display screen.

For the laboratory, VISION Color Intermediate Films enable the production of printing elements that are closer in quality to the look of a print made directly from the original negative.

Postproduction facilities will appreciate the features of the VISION Color Intermediate Films, especially improved sharpness for digital output. They're the choice for production of masters for theatrical re-release, video and DVD release, satellite, cable or broadcast TV presentation - or use in any media of the future.

And, audiences will also see the difference - in movies that tell stories with fewer distractions, films with fewer physical imperfections.



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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000


 - posted 08-16-2004 05:40 PM      Profile for Paul Mayer   Author's Homepage   Email Paul Mayer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
From that cinematography.com article:
quote:
The final result was a fully timed 35mm Cinemascope 2.55:1 answer print, along with a new color protection master interpositive.

Hopefully I'll be able to get down there for this--won't know until the night before.

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Ron Yost
Master Film Handler

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From: Paso Robles, CA
Registered: Aug 2003


 - posted 08-16-2004 06:57 PM      Profile for Ron Yost   Email Ron Yost   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Here's an article I found online at Digital Producer Magazine's website:

Digital Producer Magazine article on Cinemascope 55 paper

"Cineric Presents Cinemascope 55 Paper At AMIA
Paper traces restoration of two American classics, Carousel and The King & I
(June 22,2004)

Cineric, Inc., a New York postproduction facility specializing in film restoration and preservation services, will present a research paper on the CinemaScope 55 film format at the 2004 Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Joint Tech Symposium. The paper traces Cineric's restoration of two classics of American cinema, Carousel and The King & I.

"It's a privilege to work on a project like this," says Cineric president Balazs Nyari. "This project is a great example of Cineric's unmatched expertise and commitment to preserving film. We look at this work as part of Cineric's contribution to maintaining our shared artistic and cultural heritage."

The paper, titled Bringing Life Back to an Obsolete Film Format, CinemaScope 55, was written by Cineric's Simon Lund and Dan DeVincent, whose expertise in the field of optical film restoration is unsurpassed. The paper reviews the genesis of the CinemaScope 55 format and chronicles the painstaking work by Cineric to revive the films. The challenges included the creation of specially tailored sprockets and gate mechanisms adapted to the shrinkage of the original elements, optical techniques to address dye fade and scratches, and digital techniques aided by a specially adapted Oxberry scanner. The final result was a fully timed 35mm Cinemascope 2.55:1 answer print, along with a new color protection master interpositive.

DeVincent and Lund will present the paper and outline steps for working from original 55 mm camera negatives when restoring films on June 25, at 5 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Theatre (on the grounds of Victoria University.) Additionally, Schawn Belston, executive director of film preservation for 20th Century Fox, will discuss the historical significance of this restoration effort from the studio's point of view.

"The satisfaction of creating a new protection master and new prints that effectively recreated this obsolete film format was definitely worth the challenge," says Lund in the paper. "The combination of engineering and mechanical expertise, an extensive appreciation for what the filmmakers intended, and the requisite background in optics, allowed these two films to be brought back to life. To the community that cares, there may not be anything that must be obsolete forever."

About Cineric

Cineric, Inc. was founded in New York in1983. The company provides optical printing and digital imaging, titles, special effects and restoration and preservation services. The facility has worked on many independent features as well as such studio films as The Sixth Sense, Bringing Out The Dead, Goodfellas, Matewan, Philadelphia, Raging Bull, The Big Lebowski, and The Silence Of The Lambs.

Cineric was the first postproduction facility in New York to establish a digital motion picture film service bureau, offering scanning, recording, video-to-film, and specialized image processing services. Blowups and format conversions are a specialty. The facility has also restored more than 200 films including Jason and the Argonauts, The Birds, American Graffiti, A Man for All Seasons, The Man from Laramie and The Caine Mutiny. Cineric also recently restored and created 35 mm archival negatives and prints for 80 of the classic films that are part of a traveling exhibit called Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1893-1941. The exhibit has been on the road since June 2001.

For additional information, visit www.cineric.com or www.amianet.org. "

Maybe John could get a copy of the paper for us? [Big Grin]

Ron Yost

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Steve Kraus
Film God

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From: Chicago, IL, USA
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 - posted 08-16-2004 08:03 PM      Profile for Steve Kraus     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Yes but clearly I was implying that I was the one drawing the inference from what was being implied. LOL

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

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From: Toronto Ontario Canada
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 - posted 08-17-2004 10:21 AM      Profile for Gordon McLeod   Email Gordon McLeod   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Christian said"adly, I have missed the screening at Bradford, but blowing up from 2.55 aspect ratio to 2,21 does not seem the best way of showing CS 55 pictures correctly."
Well 70mm Ultra Panavision would do the job nicely [Smile]

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Christian Appelt
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 505
From: Frankfurt, Germany
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 - posted 08-17-2004 12:19 PM      Profile for Christian Appelt   Email Christian Appelt   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Never thought of it, Gordon, what a great solution! [Wink]

Some restorers have shied away from going to real 2.55 prints, like the very nice restoration of LOLA MONTEZ. They said that too few theatres, even at museums and cinematheques, were able to provide correct apertures and screens, so they decided to fit the 2.55 into the usual 2.39 area with thin black bars on top and bottom.

It's hard to say what's to prefer, taking into account that budgets for restoration work seldom will allow to make a second version for general showings AND an original format print. (What bothers me more is the claim that multichannel mag sound can easily be replaced by Dolby Digital, I never heard a DD sound restoration that had the special knack of let's say 70mm mag sound. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY comes to mind...)

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

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From: Bloomington, IN, USA
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 - posted 08-17-2004 01:55 PM      Profile for Manny Knowles   Email Manny Knowles   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Christian Appelt
What bothers me more is the claim that multichannel mag sound can easily be replaced by Dolby
I vote for restorations that can actually be released in today's theatres alongside current product.

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