8mm Forum: Widescreen Film, ARC120 What is it?

This is topic Widescreen Film, ARC120 What is it? in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by David Park (Member # 123) on March 06, 2008, 01:01 PM:

On Sunday going to a screening of HONEYMOON a 1959 film Dir, Michael Green 105mins.
It is a widescreen restored film by Charles Dobie, orginally filmed in ARC120.
What is ARC120?
What will be the restored version be on?
(Picture/sound).

Posted by Hugh McCullough (Member # 696) on March 06, 2008, 05:00 PM:

I always thought that the system was called ARC 180, not ARC 120.
Could this be a misprint?

'Honeymoon' was shot in Techniscope/Technirama/Dimension 180.
The name changed according to the Country you lived in, but the three systems are the same.

For more information about Techniscope go to:-
www.cinephoto.co.uk/misc_film_techniscope_page_1.htm

Posted by Joerg Polzfusz (Member # 602) on March 07, 2008, 05:02 AM:

Hi,

it looks like "ARC 120" is correct:
http://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/2001/66/arc_120/index.htm

Jörg

Posted by Hugh McCullough (Member # 696) on March 07, 2008, 06:32 AM:

Thank you for the link, Joerg.

Very interesting. This is a system that I have never come across.

Is there a misprint?
A 45mm print run on a normal projector.
Surely this should read 35mm, otherwise using 45mm film, the projector would not be 'normal'.

Link to article reproduced below www.in70mm.com/newsletter/2000/63/split/index.htm

Possibly the strangest example of splitting appeared in August 1960, when the PALACE CINEMA, Blackpool, England presented "Honeymoon" (1959) in MIRACLE ARC 120 (A.K.A: WONDERAMA).
Purely a projection system, the process was described in contemporary accounts as requiring a special print, produced by removing any squeeze, splitting the picture vertically down the centre of the frame and rotating the two halves to lie, foot to foot, on a single 35mm frame.
During projection the ARC 120 prismatic projection lens rotated the two halves back to form a single image on a specially installed "deeply curved" screen, an "integral rotating shutter" concealing the merge line.
"Honeymoon" was a conventional Technirama production, the laboratory making two of the special ARC 120 prints from a 35mm anamorphic interneg.
The Stereo sound was carried as two magnetic tracks outside of the perforations.
I failed to see this oddity which ran only four weeks before closing, the theatre suffering the same fate a few weeks later.
It has taken considerable research to unearth any information on this long forgotten process. I can find no record of ARC 120 ever being shown again although "Honeymoon" still occasionally appears in afternoon TV schedules.

Posted by Joerg Polzfusz (Member # 602) on March 07, 2008, 10:59 AM:

Sounds like a standard 1.33:1 frame contains two pictures side by side:
http://www.polzfuss.de/Film/onfilm.jpg

Upon projection the left half was rotated and projected onto the left half of the screen, while the right half was also rotated but projected onto the right half of the screen:
http://www.polzfuss.de/Film/therobescreened.jpg

So it sounds like this is pretty much the same process as the one used to show some 3D-movies even though the two images per frame are used for a wider 2d-picture instead of a resulting in a 1.33:1 3D-picture. ...
Extrem merkwürdig!

Jörg

Posted by David Park (Member # 123) on March 08, 2008, 05:37 AM:

Well thankyou for the info.
I will report back on what we get tomorrow. In fact I will ask today about it down at the cinema.
Saw 2001 A Space Oddessy last night 70mm 6 track magnectic sound on the deep curve Cinerama screen.
Tonight it is 70mm Star, think that might be on the flat screen.

Posted by David Park (Member # 123) on March 08, 2008, 09:35 AM:

Just asked what format the film Honeymoon is in for tomorrow and it is not known yet, still in cans!
Well yes I can understand that, yes sounds bad, but you got to be here to see how many films/videos etc. being done often at no notice.
I'm at the Widescreen Weekend of the Bradford Film Festival.
I hope it not the ARC120 split screen print we were given link to above, I guess they can show anything here with that exception! ( they do not have the unit to in front of projector.)

Posted by David Park (Member # 123) on March 10, 2008, 05:02 AM:

Honeymoon turned out to be a 'scope print with mono sound. Colour was fine in this restored film.
It made an interesting comparison with Bladerunner shown next on the same 'scope screen from a digital print.

Digital won hands down on picture and sound quality.

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