Famous films you HAVE watched...

[Lefty]

I watched Apocalypse Now, in the summer of 1980, in Seattle, on 70mm.  I only remember the theater was on the east side of the city, in relation to I-5. It was quite spectacular seeing it that way. I had already seen it once a year earlier or so elsewhere when it was shown not on 70mm.
The difference was amazing.

[Steff]

DT is correct. Very few films are shot in 70mm. They are usually shot in 35mm and blown to 70mm for theatrical release. However the true awe of 70mm is the original IMAX. This is 70mm film exposed horizontally and not vertically. Each frame is 15 perforations. Very large frame that is projected on a 7 story high screen. The resolution is stunning. Also "real" 3D IMAX is a sensational experience. Please note the commercially released IMAX Hollywood features we see today are not the same however still visually impressive. Many IMAX films now are digitally captured.

[Jake_Sully]

Somehow I haven't been convinced by 3d that it makes for good movies. I prefer watching 2d widescreen. One exception was Avatar.

[Bobcat]

I agree too on Avatar. I booked & went to see it first time at the Imax Elephant & Castle. It was so bloody good you could climb into it. Toy Story 3 too was a cracker. Not sure how that was shot. Hi Steff over to you and your industry knowledge. 15 perforations sounds like the state of my wallet after a night out in LOS..............

Whats with this 3D TV stuff?

[deepthroat]

(Lefty @ Oct. 23 2010,20:50) I watched Apocalypse Now, in the summer of 1980, in Seattle, on 70mm.  I only remember the theater was on the east side of the city, in relation to I-5.

Lefty, was that you that pushed past me in the concession line and then told me to "fuck off" when I complained?  

We might very well have been at that same exact theater on that same exact summer night. I don't remember which theater it was either, but I still have two of the special programs that were distributed to the patrons that attended. The 70mm prints of the film was edited and distributed with no credits, and a special program was handed out instead. I THINK it was up on Broadway, but I cannot for the life of me remember either.

Small world, ain't it?

Although I don't remember the image quality at that theatrical event after all these years, I will agree that a film shot on 35mm would look dramatically better when blown up and presented using 70mm projection. My point is simply that a 70mm enlargement/presentation doesn't give nearly the amount of detail that a true 70mm production can render.

While looking for a link on the web that would name the Seattle theater that hosted the 70mm roadshow presentation, I found the following which I think better explains the point I was trying to make:

"70mm provides a brighter, crisper image usually projected on a screen that is larger than the standard 2.35:1 widescreen. 70mm has an aspect ratio of 2.0:1. For this ratio theatres such as the Cinerama Dome will have their maskings open as wide as 2.35 but have the top masking open UP creating a larger screen space. In addition, 70mm has 6 magnetic tracks of sound.

A 70mm print has over twice the surface area per frame as 35mm, which means much smaller grain in the image when projected. Films shot in 70mm have incredibly sharp images and an deep depth of field, meaning a lot is in focus. Films shot in 35mm and blown up to 70mm prints benefit from improved grain, a brighter image when projected and 6 track magnetic sound.

Anyone wanting to know what the deal is with 70mm should see a showing of Baraka (shot in 70mm) whenever the American Cinematheque in Hollywood has a screening (usually once a year)."

[deepthroat]

Also would concur with Steff. The image quality on IMAX is even more amazing than a 70mm production/presentation. Here's a few interesting technical details I found on Wikipedia regarding Imax:

The intent of IMAX is to dramatically increase the resolution of the image by using a much larger film frame. To achieve this, 65 mm film stock is run horizontally through the cameras. While traditional 65 mm film has an image area that is 48.5 × 22.1 mm (1.91 × 0.87 in) (for Todd-AO), in IMAX the image is 69.6 × 48.5 mm (2.74 × 1.91 in) tall. In order to expose at standard film speed of 24 frames per second, three times as much film needs to move through the camera each second.

An IMAX projector is a substantial piece of equipment, weighing up to 1.8 t (2.0 short tons) and towering at over 178 cm (70 in) tall and 195 cm (77 in) long.

The xenon short-arc lamps are made of a thin layer of fused quartz and contain xenon gas at a pressure of about 25 atmospheres (367 PSI); because of this, projectionists are required to wear protective body armor when changing or handling these in case the lamp breaks (e.g., due to a drop to the floor) because the flying quartz shards could be deadly when combined with the high pressure of the Xenon gas within.

In order to use more of the image area, IMAX film does not include an embedded soundtrack. Instead, the IMAX system specifies a separate six-channel 35 mm magnetic film synchronized to the film. By the early 1990s, a separate digital 6-track source was synchronized using a more precise pulse generator as a source for a conventional SMPTE time code synchronization system. This development presaged conventional software. The software works in a similar style as the DDP except that instead of the audio file being based on discs, it is instead played directly off a hard disk drive in the form of a single uncompressed audio file containing the 6 channels which are distributed directly to the amplifiers rather than using a decoding method such as Dolby Digital.

IMAX theatre construction also differs significantly from conventional theaters. The increased resolution allows the audience to be much closer to the screen; typically all rows are within one screen height; conventional theatre seating runs 8 to 12 screen heights. Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep angle (up to 30° in some domed theatres) so that the audience is facing the screen directly.

[deepthroat]

Sorry, one last digression about IMAX. This goes directly to the points Steff was making, and again is from the Imax Wikipedia page:

IMAX DMR

In 2002, IMAX and Universal Studios released a new IMAX-format version of the 1995 film Apollo 13, the first application of IMAX's proprietary DMR (Digital Media Remastering) process, which allows conventional films to be upconverted into IMAX format. This special digital intermediate technology was developed for films shot on 35mm for conventional theaters to be shown in IMAX venues. Other theatrically released films would subsequently be reissued at IMAX venues in versions created using the DMR process. Because of a technical limitation on the size of the film reel, several early DMR releases were edited to conform to a two-hour maximum length. Later releases did not have this limitation; current IMAX platters allow a run time of up to 170 minutes where films could run longer in IMAX Digital venues.

Reviewers have generally praised the results of the DMR blowup process, which are visually and audibly superior to the same films projected in 35mm. But some filmmakers, such as producer Frank Marshall, point out that DMR blowups are not comparable to films created directly in the 70mm 15 perf IMAX format, and that directors Ron Howard and George Lucas expected better. They note that the decline of Cinerama coincided roughly with the supercession of the original process with a simplified, reduced cost, technically inferior version, and view DMR with alarm. IMAX originally reserved the phrase "the IMAX experience" for true 70mm productions, but now allows its use on DMR productions as well.

Since 2002 many other Hollywood films have been remastered for IMAX. Warner Brothers has especially embraced the format with the two Matrix sequels, and since 2004 has been releasing its Harry Potter film franchise in IMAX to strong financial success. Also in 2004 the company released the animated movie The Polar Express in IMAX 3D. Express became the most successful movie ever to be released in IMAX theatres, making at least a quarter of the film total worldwide gross of $302 million from less than 100 IMAX screens; because of its success, it has been re-released each holiday season since. In 2005 WB also released Batman Begins simultaneously in conventional theatres and IMAX, helping the film reach $200M at the domestic box office. In summer 2006 WB released the highly anticipated Superman Returns remastered for IMAX, with some effects scenes transformed into 3D. Spider-Man 3 broke the IMAX gross record in 2007 by a huge margin.

In 2008, the Rolling Stones concert film, Shine a Light, directed by Martin Scorsese, was released as an IMAX DMR blowup version.

The July 2008 Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight (partially shot on IMAX €“ see below) broke box office records for IMAX, taking in about $6.3 million from 94 theaters in the U.S. and Canada over the opening weekend. The record for an IMAX opening weekend was again broken in May 2009 by Star Trek: The IMAX Experience, which took in $8.3 million. The current IMAX opening weekend record (as of December 2009) is held by Titanic director James Cameron's Avatar which brought in $9.5 million.

Feature films partially shot on IMAX cameras

Some recent features have utilized IMAX for selected scenes. These films have been released theatrically both in 35mm and in IMAX.

The Dark Knight featured six sequences (a total of 30 minutes) shot using 15/70mm IMAX. According to the movie's press notes, this was the "first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras".

Michael Bay's 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also had some scenes shot in IMAX. The slightly longer version playing in IMAX theatres included about nine minutes of footage shot using IMAX cameras.

Director John Woo has announced he will be using IMAX cameras to film his upcoming film Flying Tigers, saying €œIt has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with IMAX cameras and to work in the IMAX format, and the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well-suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today [...] Using IMAX for Flying Tigers would create a new experience for the audience, and I think it would be another breakthrough for Chinese movies.€

[Lefty]

(deepthroat @ Oct. 24 2010,02:15)

(Lefty @ Oct. 23 2010,20:50) I watched Apocalypse Now, in the summer of 1980, in Seattle, on 70mm.  I only remember the theater was on the east side of the city, in relation to I-5.

Lefty, was that you that pushed past me in the concession line and then told me to "fuck off" when I complained?  

We might very well have been at that same exact theater on that same exact summer night. I don't remember which theater it was either, but I still have two of the special programs that were distributed to the patrons that attended. The 70mm prints of the film was edited and distributed with no credits, and a special program was handed out instead. I THINK it was up on Broadway, but I cannot for the life of me remember either.

Small world, ain't it?

Although I don't remember the image quality at that theatrical event after all these years, I will agree that a film shot on 35mm would look dramatically better when blown up and presented using 70mm projection. My point is simply that a 70mm enlargement/presentation doesn't give nearly the amount of detail that a true 70mm production can render.

While looking for a link on the web that would name the Seattle theater that hosted the 70mm roadshow presentation, I found the following which I think better explains the point I was trying to make:

"70mm provides a brighter, crisper image usually projected on a screen that is larger than the standard 2.35:1 widescreen. 70mm has an aspect ratio of 2.0:1. For this ratio theatres such as the Cinerama Dome will have their maskings open as wide as 2.35 but have the top masking open UP creating a larger screen space. In addition, 70mm has 6 magnetic tracks of sound.

A 70mm print has over twice the surface area per frame as 35mm, which means much smaller grain in the image when projected. Films shot in 70mm have incredibly sharp images and an deep depth of field, meaning a lot is in focus. Films shot in 35mm and blown up to 70mm prints benefit from improved grain, a brighter image when projected and 6 track magnetic sound.

Anyone wanting to know what the deal is with 70mm should see a showing of Baraka (shot in 70mm) whenever the American Cinematheque in Hollywood has a screening (usually once a year)."

Hehehe, no that wasn't me in the concessions line doing that. I am a pacifist until someone else feels like unpacifying me.

Broadway sounds right. It was probably late Aug or so. I sat in the center about 5-8 rows from the front and the speakers on each side made it sound like the Hueys were flying in one ear and out the other. Loved it. Down at Pike St market, I bought the lobby cards and the original screenplay for the movie. There was a small memorabilia shop there.

I took a friend of mine who is a very devout Christian, or he was then, probably still is, but afterward, he kept going on and on, about how disturbing the film was, the images he saw, now indelibly etched in his brain.  

[manarak]

I just watched "Kung Fu Hustle" - what a great entertainment! WOW

[Bobcat]

I know this may have been covered earlier. But watched Cape Fear on Sky anytime last night whilst suffereing from swine flu........... yes urggh vile virus.

De Niro is de bollocks. Does he get into his part or does he get into it. Which came first Dead Calm or Cape Fear.

Cracking movie, first time I have had my head rotated since American Beauty.

[gart4571]

My favorite movie is "The Final Countdown". Kirt Douglas plays the Commander of a modern day aircraft carrier leaving on a cruise from pearl Harbor with Martin Sheen as an observer (for lack of a better title) from the Department of Defense on board. Outside pearl Harbor the ship goes thru a huge cyclone type storm that takes it back in time to Dec 1941. This modern day carrier with all of its modern day weapons has a chance to defeat the Japanese attack force stop the raid on Pearl Harbor.

Other favorites of mine include:
Air America
Little Asian Transsexuals #4
Good Morning Vietnam
Little Asian Transexuals #7
Double Stuffed Asian Transexuals
Asian Fever #8
Bat 21
Little Asia Transsexuals #13
Sleepless in Seattle
Forever Young
A Few Good Men

[iceberg]

I don't know if this qualifies as  it just opened today but I saw the new version of "True Grit" and it will be one that I will watch over and over again.I was a fan of the 1st one but I think Jeff Bridges makes a better Rooster Cogburn than John Wayne(Please don't flame me for saying this)and he won the Oscar that year.The new movie is directed by the Cohen Bros. and Matt Damon is cast in the role that Glenn Campbell had in the original,once again doing a better job.The final roll  is a newcomer Haillee Stienfeld  making her debut as Mattie Ross the 14 year old girl who hires Rooster to avenge her father.I know i sound like a film critic but this was a great movie proving that you don't always need special effects and CGI tricks to do so. Do yourselves a favor and go see it I think you'll like it.

[pacman]

    That's a good review thanks Iceberg. I loved John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn ("Fill your hand you son-of-a-bitch!!") & I like Jeff Bridges. He's like the anti-movie star, he don't give a stuff about his appearance or trying to climb the social ladder.

I haven't seen a good western in ages & there is something about the genre that appeals to me more as I get older. Something about the simpler times & the swift justice delivered from the barrel of a 44. Not like the namby pamby bullshit we have to put up with these days.

And I am happy to hear that the Coen Brothers have made a decent movie unlike that execrable load of shite they made called No Country for Old Men. I still don't know what the subplot was all about...      

[mission]

The Razor's Edge,

From the book written by W. Somerset Maugham published in 1944 and adapted into film in 1946.

Starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney.

About a man's search for meaning.

[deepthroat]

(mission @ Dec. 23 2010,16:19) The Razor's Edge,

From the book written by W. Somerset Maugham published in 1944 and adapted into film in 1946.

Starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney.

About a man's search for meaning.

Yeah, I love Bill Murray too.