Ultra Panavision 70
Encyclopedia
Panavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
-brand anamorphic lenses using a 65mm negative and 70mm release print. The image frame dimensions and the six-track stereophonic soundtrack configuration of Ultra Panavision 70 were virtually identical to those of the 1955 version of the Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
65mm and 70mm photographic processes, however, the lenses incorporated a 1.25x anamorphic compression, yielding an approximate, ultra-wide projected aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
of 2.76:1.
History
In the 1950s, PanavisionPanavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer developed the Camera 65 widescreen film process as a single-strip Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
substitute. They created the anamorphic lenses to photograph the films Raintree County
Raintree County (film)
Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin....
(1956) and Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959), which were advertised as MGM Camera 65 process films; however, they were projected onto flat or only slightly curved Cinemascope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
screens, not the deep concave screens of Cinerama and Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
. Raintree County was projected from a 2.35:1 reduction print, while Ben-Hur was the first Camera 65-format movie projected from the full, anamorphic 70mm frame. The laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases of Ben-Hur, in its original 2.76:1 aspect ratio, were the widest-letterbox-image home videos of the time.
Using 65mm film stock, the photographic process horizontally compressed the image by a factor of 1.33x via an anamorphic lens that yielded an approximate aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
of 2.93:1. Before its first commercial use, however, the compression factor was reduced to 1.25, yielding an aspect ratio of 2.76:1. The system was little used because of the large, heavy cameras; also, the very wide aspect ratio proved incompatible with the screens of most cinemas, even those equipped with 70mm projectors. Anamorphic 35mm prints derived from the Camera 65 negatives were cropped to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and were indistinguishable from Cinemascope film images (except for finer grain and better detail).
After these first two productions, MGM Camera 65 was renamed Ultra Panavision 70. Portions of the three-strip Cinerama film How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (film)
How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(1962) were photographed in Ultra Panavision 70, then optically converted to the three-strip format. Some of the films made in Ultra Panavision had specially rectified prints made for exhibiting on deeply curved Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
screens. On these prints the image was unsqueezed in the centre and gradually more squeezed at the sides. The curved screen naturally elongated the image at the sides.
Films
- Raintree CountyRaintree County (film)Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin....
(1957) - credited as MGM Camera 65; released only in 35 mm CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
prints - Ben-HurBen-Hur (1959 film)Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959) - credited as MGM Camera 65, with "Photographic Lenses by Panavision" - How the West Was WonHow the West Was Won (film)How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(1962) - selected scenes only - Mutiny on the BountyMutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...
(1962) - the first Ultra Panavision film using the full 2.76: 1 aspect ratio. - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963) - presented in 70 mm CineramaCineramaCinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it... - The Fall of the Roman EmpireThe Fall of the Roman Empire (film)The Fall of the Roman Empire is a 1964 English-language epic film produced by Samuel Bronston Productions and the Rank Organisation, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston with Jaime Prades and Michal Waszynski as associate producers. The...
(1964) - To Be Alive!To Be Alive!To Be Alive! is a 1964 short documentary film co-directed by Francis Thompson and Alexander Hammid. The film is notable for its use of a multi-screen format and for winning the Academy Award in 1966 for Documentary Short Subject....
(1964) - 70 mm version created from original 3-strip format - The Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last...
(1965) - presented in 70 mm CineramaCineramaCinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it... - The Hallelujah TrailThe Hallelujah TrailThe Hallelujah Trail is a 1965 Western spoof directed by John Sturges and starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Brian Keith, Donald Pleasence, and Martin Landau, amongst others.-Plot synopsis:...
(1965) - presented in 70 mm CineramaCineramaCinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it... - Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge (film)Battle of the Bulge is a widescreen war film produced in Spain that was released in 1965. It was directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson...
(1965) - presented in 70 mm CineramaCineramaCinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it... - KhartoumKhartoum (film)Khartoum is a 1966 film written by Robert Ardrey and directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Charlton Heston as General Gordon and Laurence Olivier as the Mahdi and is based on Gordon's defence of the Sudanese city of Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army during the Siege of Khartoum.Khartoum...
(1966) - presented in 70 mm CineramaCineramaCinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
See also
- 70 mm film70 mm film70mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge, with higher resolution than standard 35mm motion picture film format. As used in camera, the film is wide. For projection, the original 65mm film is printed on film. The additional 5mm are for magnetic strips holding four of the six tracks of sound...
- CineramaCineramaCinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
- Super Panavision 70Super Panavision 70Super Panavision 70 was the marketing brand name used to identify movies photographed with Panavision 70 mm spherical optics between 1959 and 1983.-History:...
- Super Technirama 70Super Technirama 70Super Technirama 70 was the marketing name for films which were photographed in the 35 mm 8-perf Technirama process and optically enlarged to 70 mm 5-perf prints for deluxe exhibition....
- Todd-AOTodd-AOTodd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...