Totalscope: What is it?
Greasyfries
Techniscope? It was used on various Spanish & Italian productions.
William Dold
>
> Is it just another Cinemascope clone, or is it something more like
> Techniscope? It was used on various Spanish & Italian productions.
Just another scam to mislead everyone !
Peter
>>
Is it just another Cinemascope clone, or is it something more like Techniscope?
It was used on various Spanish & Italian productions.
>>
Just some cheap Japanese 'scope lenses, from the era when Kowa was making
Panavision's lenses (IOW, a long time ago).
Tiger
combined into one product.
Morgan (jesus! the dude took credit for it.)
Martin Hart
peter...@aol.communicate says...
I believe that the Totalscope anamorphic lenses were manufactured in
Italy. Totalscope was a simple 2x anamorphic process just like
CinemaScope and was used primarily in Italy. Virtually all those
horrible Italian spear and sandal epics that were so common in the
sixties (credit line: footwear by Pompeii), were shot in Totalscope.
Marty
--
Relive the panoramic past:
Visit The American WideScreen Museum
http://www.simplecom.net/widefilm/
Theo Gluck
> Is it just another Cinemascope clone, or is it something more like
> Techniscope? It was used on various Spanish & Italian productions.
I always understood it to be a CinemaScope clone
Greg Faris
>
>I always understood it to be a CinemaScope clone
>
>
>
Giovanni Abrate
But the real question is: was it Totalscope or Totalvision that was used on
those grand Italia-produced epics??
Giovanni
Martin Hart <m.b.har...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.128194103...@netnews.worldnet.att.net...
Techniscope?
>> It was used on various Spanish & Italian productions.
>> >>
>>
Martin Hart
> Hoooww!!Martin, you really know how to hurt a guy!! ;0)
> But the real question is: was it Totalscope or Totalvision that was used on
> those grand Italia-produced epics??
Non ho significato disrespect, il mio amico.
(Let's see if the Alta Vista English to Italian translator gets that
correctly or whether we wind up with an international "incident".)
I don't recall seeing too many films carrying the "Totalvision" credit
back when all those horrible spear and sandal epics were so popular on
American TV. The one thing that always was present, however, was the
footwear credit. I assume that Pompeii retooled to make cowboy boots and
shipped them to Spain in the late sixties and early seventies.
In fairness to the efforts of studios like Titanis, the "Hercules" films
they made seem somehow more satisfying than the current TV series with
all the characters speaking in street lingo.
Marty
Peter
>>
Similar to "ShawScope" the logo seen on many of the Hong Kong Kung Fu films.
>>
ShawScope has got to be one of the better Far East CinemaScope clones.
Reportedly all the really good Far East anamorphics are in India now.
Greasyfries
Giovanni Abrate <try...@ibm.net> wrote in message
news:38186...@news1.prserv.net...
> Hoooww!!Martin, you really know how to hurt a guy!! ;0)
> But the real question is: was it Totalscope or Totalvision that was used
on
> those grand Italia-produced epics??
"Hercules & The Captive Women" (original title is something like "Hercules &
The Coquest of Atlantis") was Technirama.
Martin Hart
says...
The really big budget Italian epics that had some hope of international
distribution seemed to favor Technirama over Totalscope. Some
Totalscope films were advertised as CinemaScope, for instance MGM's
release of the Steve Reeves muscle flexer "Giant of Marathon", but that
may have been a Totalscope shoot with MGM's Fox contract coming into play
and I've seen U.S. ads for "La Dolce Vita" with a CinemaScope credit
despite the fact that it was done with Totalscope optics.
There were several makers of very good quality anamorphic lenses in
France and Italy back in the early days. Oddly, the Germans, who were so
highly esteemed for their optics, didn't seem to produce very good
anamorphic lenses for photography.
Let me see, who can I offend next?
brian.sharp1
anamorphic or was it 70mm?
Brian
Peter
>>
Oddly, the Germans, who were so highly esteemed for their optics, didn't seem
to produce very good anamorphic lenses for photography.
>>
Uh, Arri produces ArriScopes, probably the best anamorphics made, and E.
Leitz's (of Leica fame) old plant in Ontario, Canada produces Panavision's
glass.
Martin Hart
peter...@aol.communicate says...
I would never question the quality of Ernst Leitz, but he didn't make
anamorphic lenses in the fifties, which was the time I was speaking of.
Warner Bros had to abandon the use of their own anamorphic competitor to
CinemaScope (Warnerscope) in 1953 because the German camera squeeze
adapters were of such poor quality, below that of the three original
Chretiens used on "The Robe", "How To Marry A Millionaire", and "Beneath
The 12-Mile Reef".
But nothing is static, and a lot has changed in the nearly fifty years
hence.
As for whether Arriscopes are the best anamorphics made, that would
depend entirely on who you talk to. It would be foolish to equate any of
the Panavision lenses as being "bad", but some are better than others.
Some people prefer the qualities of the older sets to the Primos.
Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one and many of them stink.
Peter
Marty commented ...
>>
I would never question the quality of Ernst Leitz, but he didn't make
anamorphic lenses in the fifties, which was the time I was speaking of ...
>>
And he (E. Leitz) doesn't make then now, either.
E. Leitz's Canadian operation, which made some of the very best Leica lenses
(some of which were undoubtedly used in Paramount's incarnation of
VistaVision), was sold to Huge Aircrash (Hughes Aircraft) and it is the old E.
Leitz plant, now under Huge ownership, which is making Panavision's glass.
Previously, Panavision's glass was made by Kowa of Japan, a company which did
produce a family of 'scope optics under its own name, but most of which was
apparently exported to India.
A DP of note has previously posted the relative advantages of other German
'scope optics, namely ArriScope and Hawk.
It would appear that for color matching, the older Panavision "C" series
matches better than the "E" or "Primo" series.
Not withstanding the fact that a lot of good-looking films were made with B&L
CinemaScopes and Panavision Auto-Panatars, which were designed as long as 45
years ago.
I don't know if any Auto-Panatars are still in Panavision's inventory, but B&L
CinemaScopes are still employed by some sfx houses of note.
David Mullen
>matches better than the "E" or "Primo" series.
I would tend to doubt that -- the Primo series are well-known for being
color-matched and color consistent, unlike the older lenses at Panavision.
The C-series produce "classic" anamorphic images, meaning that they suffer
from every anamorphic lens artifact that exists. Some people like that
quality, or use them because they feel that sharper lenses seem to
exaggerate a lack of depth-of-field, while a softer lens like the C-series
seem to feel deeper in focus because the fall-off of focus seems more
feathered and less abrupt.
David Mullen
Attmay
--
"He who hesitates is poor."
Martin Hart
peter...@aol.communicate says...
>
> 3s...@bellsouth.net asks ...
>
> >>
> Could someone list the movies made in Warnerscope?
> >>
>
>
> IBDb lists:
>
> 1.Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)
> Cinematographic process: WarnerScope
>
> 2.Up Periscope (1959)
> Cinematographic process: WarnerScope
>
> But we all know that most Warner's CinemaScope productions were really
> WarnerScope as Warner's obtained its production lenses from sources other than
> Fox (but with Fox's approval).
>
I know of at least five B&L combo lenses that used to live in the Warner
Bros. camera department.
Peter
Peter
>>
I know of at least five B&L combo lenses that used to live in the Warner Bros.
camera department.
>>
Yes, but those were "engineering sample" lenses, not production lenses, from
the descriptions I have heard.
The B&L CinemaScope "combined" lenses were made in 35, 40, 50, 75, 100 and
152mm focal lengths.
There were three production series:
1) black,
2) gray, and
3) blue/gray,
all relating to the color of the external paint job.
The last mentioned are the so-called "blue modified" series which has all the
B&L and Fox fixes installed.
AFAIK, the "engineering sample" lenses have no fixes installed, and Fox never
lent out any "blue modified" lenses, which were the ones specifically assigned
to each of the twenty Fox Studio cameras.
Fox lent out several combination lenses to Warners, and these have been seen on
two productions (and perhaps others).
Black lenses have showed up at Lloyd's Camera on La Cienega, and gray lenses
have showed up in collections.
I'd appreciate receiving feedback on the location of the twenty Fox Studio
cameras and lenses, should anyone have any information on same.
One camera and one lens (perhaps more than one lens) is presently in Debbie
Reynold's son's camera collection.
I used to know the location of the other nineteen, but I'm afraid I lost track
of them in the past 20+ years.
Martin Hart
peter...@aol.communicate says...
>
> >>
> I know of at least five B&L combo lenses that used to live in the Warner Bros.
> camera department.
> >>
>
> Yes, but those were "engineering sample" lenses, not production lenses, from
> the descriptions I have heard.
Mine is the only one of the five that I know of that is marked
"engineering sample", and is no different than others that I've seen
other than an odd support system. The others are standard production
lenses are owned by Mark Gulbrandsen and Steve Morton. We all acquired
the lenses from Martin Hill who bought them in a large quantity of
equipment from Panavision, which, in turn, had acquired them from the
Warner Bros. camera department when they were related. Hill may still
have some of the lenses, including several of the adapters. Steve Kraus
has some good photos of Mark's lenses on his website:
http://www.ecnet.net/users/gaskrau
They are beautifully made devices. My 40mm CinemaScope will be on
display in Dayton, along with the Todd-AO bugeye and Camera 65 lens, the
weekend following Thanksgiving. I'm trying to find some old skis to bring
along.
Peter
>>
The others are standard production lenses are owned by Mark Gulbrandsen and
Steve Morton. We all acquired the lenses from Martin Hill who bought them in a
large quantity of equipment from Panavision, which, in turn, had acquired them
from the Warner Bros. camera department when they were related. Hill may still
have some of the lenses, including several of the adapters.
>>
Well, I knew where all the cameras and all the "blue modifieds" went, and none
of the names mentioned above match the names known to me to have been owners of
the cameras or of the "blue modifieds".
Who is currently the custodian of the manufacturing drawings of the camera? I
once knew that one, too.
The mystery continues ...
Peter
>>
They are beautifully made devices.
>>
Indeed thay are.
Probably the most complex opto-mechanical device in commercial (non-military)
use at that time.
In the early 1970s, B&L was still offering maintenance on the "combined"
CinemaScopes. A $5000 charge was quoted, and that was just to open the lens
case, with any modifications, repairs or adjustments being extra.
This is likely why there are so many (unmodified) "black" and "gray"
CinemaScopes floating around and so few "blue modifieds".
>>
My 40mm CinemaScope will be on display in Dayton ...
>>
The 40mm was the most-used lens for exteriors, and was probably the most-used
overall.
The 35mm was the least used for exteriors as the barrel distortion was quite
high (see some exteriors in "Wild River" for an example of such distortion).
The 75 and 100mm were used for "head shots", and is one reason why so few Fox
films have any evidence of "anamorphic mumps".
The 152mm is the rarest of the set.
William Dold
>
> In article <19991115231126...@ng-fe1.aol.com>,
> peter...@aol.communicate says...
> >
> > >>
> > I know of at least five B&L combo lenses that used to live in the Warner Bros.
> > camera department.
> > >>
> >
> > Yes, but those were "engineering sample" lenses, not production lenses, from
> > the descriptions I have heard.
>
> Mine is the only one of the five that I know of that is marked
> "engineering sample", and is no different than others that I've seen
> lenses are owned by Mark Gulbrandsen and Steve Morton. We all acquired
> the lenses from Martin Hill who bought them in a large quantity of
> equipment from Panavision, which, in turn, had acquired them from the
> Warner Bros. camera department when they were related. Hill may still
> has some good photos of Mark's lenses on his website:
>
> http://www.ecnet.net/users/gaskrau
>
> display in Dayton, along with the Todd-AO bugeye and Camera 65 lens, the
> weekend following Thanksgiving. I'm trying to find some old skis to bring
> along.
>
> Marty
> --
> Relive the panoramic past:
> Visit The American WideScreen Museum
> http://www.simplecom.net/widefilm/
Are the old skis in Totalscope ?
Peter
>>
Are the old skis in Totalscope ?
>>
No ... reported to be in Tohoscope.
Greasyfries
> >>>
> >Are the old skis in Totalscope ?
> >
> >No ... reported to be in Tohoscope.
>
> Gamera is friend to all children.
Gamera would've been in Daieiscope.
Scott Dorsey
Peter <peter...@aol.communicate> wrote:
>
>>>
>Are the old skis in Totalscope ?
>
>No ... reported to be in Tohoscope.
Do not make fun of Gamera.
Gamera is friend to all children.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."