VistaVision Runs Up In A Projector !!

[Maurice Leakey]

Yes. It is unbelievable. The feed spool on a VistaVision projector fits on the bottom, the film then runs up through the sound head, then a twist to enter the picture gate, then a further twist to go up into the take-up spool. And it runs at twice the speed of standard 35mm. And, needs much more light behind it.
No wonder few cinemas bothered to have two of these projectors. Paramount, and others, soon printed them on ordinary 35mm thus killing their overall definition.

Misc Projectors 7 (villagehallcinemas.co.uk)
Horizontal VistaVision Projector (widescreenmuseum.com)

[Paul Suchy]

That is an amazing article; thank you so much for sharing. VistaVision, like the original ToddAO, offered outstanding results, but unfortunately, expenses inevitably got in the way.

[Brian Fretwell]

Of course any reduction prints would have still been better than normal 35mm films as the camera negative at that time had much lower resolution then the fine grain positive stock used, as with CinemaScope 55.

[Maurice Leakey]

I suppose that few projection rooms had space for two more projectors, particularly aa the VistaVision projectors were wider than conventual projectors.

I started work in 1952 as a trainee projectionist at the Odeon here in Bristol working with BTH Supa projectors. The only way we would have been able to accommodate the VistaVision projectors would have been to remove our follow spot and a slide lantern. However, the Leicester Square Odeon obviously did have room.
Odeon Leicester Square 19 (villagehallcinemas.co.uk)

It appears that Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood was able to move with the times with constant changes of projection equipment. I visited in 1994 and they had two Norelco (Philips) DP70s and a Christie 3-tier platter. It seems that at least one was still there in 2012.
Los Angeles Theatres: Grauman's Chinese: the projection booth

[John Burgess]

Fascinating article, thanks Maurice. Great idea but it wasn’t thought through, the cost of installing specialised projectors even then would have been out of the question. I suppose it was another effort to lure audiences away from the dreaded’ box’
John

[Brian Fretwell]

I did get to see the projection box at the Leicester Square Odeon during an open day for British Film Year, sorry I didn't take any photos, but it did seem spacious.

Wasn't VistaVision with an anamorphic sometimes used instead of 70mm filming for some films released in 70mm? I think Disney's version of Sleeping Beauty was filmed that way. And of course horizontal projection with horizontal film feed went on to be used in Imax.

[Maurice Leakey]

I still can't work out why the VistaVision film should be arranged to travel upwards in a projector.
Was it, perhaps, a mistake by Paramount before the projectors were available, and then it was too late?

With regard to Imax. The film did not need a double twist for the projector film gate. Also, it was stored like the then current 35mm platters. On its side.

Inside Regina’s IMAX projection room - YouTube

[Ed Gordon]

VistaVision never had much of a presence as a theatrical exhibition technology, but had a very long presence in the production space.

The legacy of Vista Vision

Since VistaVision was no longer a major format, Paramount sold off many of their cameras to international filmmakers, who used the process infrequently throughout the rest of the decade. Many of these “off-brand” VistaVision films included classics of Japanese cinema, such as Death by Hanging (1968), In the Realm of the Senses (1976), and Vengeance is Mine (1979).

However, VistaVision caught a true second wind during the New Hollywood era of the 1970s. A group of young filmmakers wanted to use the format to film visual effects shots in their upcoming science-fantasy movie.

These filmmakers made their own rigging and came up with some creative ways to use the camera for VFX purposes.

These filmmakers were, of course, working on Star Wars (1977), which, more or less, changed cinema for the rest of the century. It also proved that VistaVision could still be used for VFX shots, since the larger negative space provided less film grain when compositing the effects shots.

As a result of the Star Wars franchise (as VistaVision was also used on both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), more movies started to use the film format for VFX purposes.

These included the first two Star Trek movies, the Back to the Future trilogy, the first two Men in Black and Mummy films, the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The Dark Knight (2008) specifically used a VistaVision shot during the truck-flipping sequence.

Speaking of Nolan, VistaVision movies also ended up being a precursor to large-format filmmaking, which is most comparable with the creation of IMAX. IMAX shoots and presents their movies horizontally, much like VistaVision movies did. IMAX also emphasizes height over width (just like VistaVision).

In addition to using much larger film stock than other 70mm productions, IMAX made a name for itself by producing high quality motion pictures that could only be shown in select cinemas (unlike VistaVision).

VistaVision demonstrated a want for widescreen cinema that put quality and immersion ahead of width and theatricality. IMAX and VistaVision may not be exactly the same, but it does show that the pursuit for this type of filmmaking did not die with the end of the format.

If anything, it increased that pursuit, as can also be seen in how the cameras were used for high quality VFX work. It may be a relic of a bygone era, but like CinemaScope, its influence can still be felt today.

Source: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-vistavision/

[Steve Lee]

Back in the early 90s I showed a VistaVision presentation in Hyde park inside a marquee, although now I can't remember what the film was or for what occasion it was, I just remember that the projector and the entire system was just crazy. It goes against everything you have ever learned about projecting a film with the film traveling in the wrong direction, and having to lace the soundhead first it was just so bazare.

I do understand that the VistaVision cameras were built using the parts from Technicolor's three strip cameras after its demise in the mid 50s and that's how Technicolor later in the game came up with Technirama using VistaVsion with a anamorphic lens.
The entire VistaVision system was a total balls up from the very beginning with film traveling from right to left in the camera, not thinking ahead it would have to travel from right to left on the projector!

The only thing that came out of it, is that it produced some stunning high definition negatives that we can now all appreciate on blu ray and 4k, but not so good for a projection system.