8mm Forum: 70mm Gone With The Wind

This is topic 70mm Gone With The Wind in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on February 15, 2018, 01:48 PM:

I seem to remember in the distant past that there was a re-issue of Gone With The Wind. Maybe it was to celebrate one of its (now) many anniversaries. I also seem to recall that prints were made on 70mm film. Is this true?
If so, why was an academy ratio film released on a format which exploits cinemascope/widescreen to its limits? Was the film re-formatted or something?

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Posted by Bruno Heughebaert (Member # 2756) on February 15, 2018, 02:00 PM:

Hi Melvin,
It was awful
Look at this it gives you an idea.
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/special/gwtw.htm

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on February 15, 2018, 05:56 PM:

Yuk !

Posted by Guy Taylor, Jr. (Member # 786) on February 15, 2018, 07:20 PM:

I saw Fantasia in 70mm back in the late 1970s. I don't think they changed the aspect ratio or it might have been slightly cropped. The blown up image was suppose to be better but the big improvement was utilizing the four channel magnetic soundtracks.

Posted by William Olson (Member # 2083) on February 15, 2018, 07:23 PM:

That awful re-release in the 60's was an abomination. However, there was a re-release in the 1990's printed on 70mm. Essentially, by printing the 35mm academy ratio original on 70mm film in its original aspect ratio, the image would benefit in terms of sharpness. This re-release also claimed to have been restored to its original Technicolor brilliance. This was misleading as that would only be accurate if the print were an IB Technicolor print which I doubt it was. I saw it. I thought it was a very good presentation with a soundtrack remastered in multi-channel sound which was well done with intelligent use of the then current audio technology.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on February 15, 2018, 09:03 PM:

William, no 70mm prints were made of GWTW in the 90s. However actual dye transfer Technicolor prints WERE made with digital soundtracks.

The weird issue is it was pillarboxed 1.33 within a scope image, but in 35mm-land, that meant more of the frame was used for typical cinemas who could only play 1.85 flat and 2.39 scope, so that was the logic.

Posted by William Davis (Member # 4023) on February 16, 2018, 01:23 PM:

Brad, Am curious as to IB TECH prints being made in the 1990's of GWTH, as my understanding has always been there were no more IB TECH prints made after the early 1970's when the Technicolor lab here in the US closed. Bill Davis

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on February 16, 2018, 08:04 PM:

Technicolor reopened their US line in the 90s for a decade or so of occasional use. First IB Tech I ever saw was a new print of Batman & Robin in 1997, with the deepest blacks I'd ever seen. Dolby Digital print, too.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on February 17, 2018, 02:52 AM:

Their dye transfer line was around for only 5 years. Something like 1997 to 2001. Very few prints got some prints struck. Most of the runs were about 50. Polyester film sheds more than acetate stock and black and white sheds more than color stock, so this turned out to be a nightmare for any theater not running film cleaners religiously (which was most theaters). A lot of negative feedback came from the field to the studios about the shedding...and then it was shut down. [Frown]

These are the known titles:
Gone With the Wind (1.33 within scope)
Meet the Deedles
Toy Story 2 (but the last reel #5 when the bloopers were added about 3 weeks in did not get IB reels)
Family Man
Wedding Planner
Bulworth (50 prints)
Funny Girl (only a handful)
Rear Window (40 prints)
Thin Red Line (only one print)
Apocalypse Now Redux (all prints)
Godzilla
Any Given Sunday
Bandits
13th Warrior (over 200)
Giant
Wizard of Oz (the 50 1.33 ratio prints, all others were Eastman and 1.33 pillarboxed inside 1.85)
Apt Pupil
Batman and Robin (2 prints)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (2 prints)
Pearl Harbor

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on February 17, 2018, 04:08 AM:

I read somewhere that the film "Titus" was also printed in IB Technicolor(If so the print used for the DVD release had some colour fringing). Also that the plant that was rebuilt for the revival could not cope with the amount of prints needed for a big film release so was rarely used.

Posted by William Davis (Member # 4023) on February 17, 2018, 08:19 AM:

I have just learned something!!! Odd they did not use acetate stock to solve the shedding problem. I am thinking it was still available at the time.

What a shame the younger generations will never get to view IB TECH prints.

Posted by William Olson (Member # 2083) on February 19, 2018, 05:32 PM:

Brad Miller...My mistake. I remember that, at the time, it was clearly pillarboxed. I made the mistake of assuming they had printed it on 70mm stock to make the most of the presentation. It makes sense from a practical standpoint that they print it on 35mm for theaters that can't project 70mm film. I don't quite understand why they would print it 'squeezed' and project it scope. What is the benefit? I mean, why not just print it flat as originally printed? My research now tells me this presentation was printed dye transfer. To me, it didn't look like it.

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