Adam Paul Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 (edited) What are everybody?s favourite anamorphic films? Not talking about 2.35:1/2.40:1 films, only films actually shot using any kind of anamorphic process. Mine are, in no particular order, Chinatown, Blade Runner, Batman Begins, Superman and Taxi Driver. Edited December 25, 2006 by Adam Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted December 25, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 25, 2006 Taxi Driver was not filmed anamorphic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Paul Posted December 25, 2006 Author Share Posted December 25, 2006 Taxi Driver was not filmed anamorphic. Really? Was it cut to 2.35:1 then? How about your favourite ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted December 25, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 25, 2006 Really? Was it cut to 2.35:1 then? How about your favourite ones? No. Taxi Driver was never cut to or projected in 2.35:1. If you want to check out an exemplary use of framing and space in the anamorphic format, I'd recommend Scarface, shot by John Alonzo. You might also want to check out Northfork, shot by David Mullen, especially if you are able to see it in its original anamorphic framing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted December 25, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 25, 2006 Just some of my favorite films for anamorphic photography (skipping 65mm movies, Techniscope, Super-35 for the moment): Any Kurosawa anamorphic movie (Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Red Beard, High & Low, Bad Sleep Well, Sanjuro) Dr. Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai Apocalypse Now Blade Runner, Alien Superman: The Movie A Bridge Too Far JFK, Snow Falling on Cedars Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters Thin Red Line, The New World Heat The Elephant Man Some frames from Kurosawa's movies: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 (edited) Northfork Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Apocalypse Now Blade Runner Batman Begins Superman Edited December 25, 2006 by Chayse Irvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 The Prestige was pretty awesome too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Paul Posted December 25, 2006 Author Share Posted December 25, 2006 Thanks for all replies. I was just watching Jackie Chan's The Myth (San wa) and I was paying attention to the details of the photography. I noticed that basically everything was always in focus, save for some extreme close up or a few other close ups. Is this a normal way of working in anamorphic photography or is it just a side effect or having to shoot with a fat T-stop because the lenses are slower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted December 26, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 26, 2006 Thanks for all replies.I was just watching Jackie Chan's The Myth (San wa) and I was paying attention to the details of the photography. I noticed that basically everything was always in focus, save for some extreme close up or a few other close ups. Is this a normal way of working in anamorphic photography or is it just a side effect or having to shoot with a fat T-stop because the lenses are slower? Shallower depth of field tends to be a characteristic of anamorphic, not deeper focus, since the focal lengths are longer on average (you'd use a 40mm anamorphic to get the same view as a 20mm spherical in Super-35). A T/4 in anamorphic is like shooting at a T/2 in spherical in terms of depth of field. In order to get deep-focus effects in his anamorphic movies, Kurosawa sometimes lit sets to f/22! If the movie was anamorphic (that's what the IMDB says...), you may be seeing the fake deep-focus effect from using wider-angle lenses, where the background recedes in size so much that it looks more in-focus than it actually is, because the details are smaller in the frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted December 26, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 26, 2006 Drifting off of anamorphic photography, I pulled these examples of what Leone was able to do with 2-perf spherical 35mm (Techniscope): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Paul Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 Shallower depth of field tends to be a characteristic of anamorphic, not deeper focus, since the focal lengths are longer on average (you'd use a 40mm anamorphic to get the same view as a 20mm spherical in Super-35). A T/4 in anamorphic is like shooting at a T/2 in spherical in terms of depth of field. In order to get deep-focus effects in his anamorphic movies, Kurosawa sometimes lit sets to f/22! If the movie was anamorphic (that's what the IMDB says...), you may be seeing the fake deep-focus effect from using wider-angle lenses, where the background recedes in size so much that it looks more in-focus than it actually is, because the details are smaller in the frame. I will watch it again and pay attention to what you said. As I said everything seemed to always be in focus. It may have been the effect you're talking about. But the film is sure anamorphic. I remember a scene where Jackie points a flashlight to the camera and a horizontal blue flare forms from one side to the other on the screen. I have been buying a lot of DVDs of anamorphic films lately. I bought like 32 just this past month. Interesting how some movies you wouldn't think to be anamorphic actually are, like LXG (lots of CGI set extensions) or Alien (basically all shot in tight spaces in the spaceship) and others I would think should/would have been are not, like Black Hawk Down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Paul Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 Drifting off of anamorphic photography, I pulled these examples of what Leone was able to do with 2-perf spherical 35mm (Techniscope): Yeah, I have the Eastwood/Leone films. Truely great compositions. To get that deep focus he must have stopped the lens down quite a bit. I wonder how good sharpness looked on the big screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Howson Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I think David Bordwell has written the best material about changes in widescreen style, including a recent blog post about Techniscope . In short, he prefers the wide-angle - deep focus and widescreen - experimentation of the Techniscope films directed by Sidney J. Furie, (such as The Appaloosa and The Ipcress File) in preference to contemporary widescreen films that rely too heavily on quickly cut close-ups. I'm still waiting for a Super 35 film that uses aggressive deep focus, but isn't cut too fast so that the depth can actually be used to stage the scene. But anyway, here are some anamorphic films, from early CinemaScope to Panavision that I really like. Some purely because of the cinematography, but most because of good cinematography and direction. Beneath the 12-Mile Reef King of the Khyber Rifles A Star is Born (The first great CinemaScope film in my opinion) Garden of Evil Carmen Jones East of Eden Rebel Without A Cause The Man Who Never Was Blood Alley Between Heaven and Hell Bigger Than Life Lust For Life Enemy Down Below Forty Guns Bonjour Tristesse The 400 Blows Shoot the Pianist Wild River The Innocents Ride the High Country Advise & Consent Contempt In Harm's Way Bunny Lake Is Missing Mademoiselle Point Blank Hell in the Pacific In Cold Blood The Wild Bunch I Walk The Line (Lots of split-diopter shots to generate faux-deep focus) M.A.S.H. Junior Bonner The Long Goodbye Deliverance Electra Glide in Blue Parallax View The Drowning Pool Obsession Black Sunday The Deer Hunter Comes A Horseman Manhattan Heaven's Gate Dressed to Kill Blow Out Scarface The Emerald Forrest The Untouchables Hunt for the Red October Cape Fear Carlito's Way Heat The Thin Red Line Snake Eyes Rushmore Bringing Out The Dead The Girl on the Bridge Million Dollar Baby The New World Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie bonfanti Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 i have seen "Blade Runner" recently and its just amazing, not only in its anamorphic glory, but also for the brilliant use of smoke and lighting. that film is, for me, a school of lighting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Paul Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 i have seen "Blade Runner" recently and its just amazing, not only in its anamorphic glory, but also for the brilliant use of smoke and lighting.that film is, for me, a school of lighting Yep. Blade Runner is really great. It's a good example of how the concept that anamorphic is right only for epic, big day scenes and landscape stuff is just bogus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted December 26, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 26, 2006 Yeah, I have the Eastwood/Leone films. Truely great compositions.To get that deep focus he must have stopped the lens down quite a bit. I wonder how good sharpness looked on the big screen. You can still catch restored prints of these movies on the cinematheque circuit. The sharpness of these films can stand against anything being produced today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Anthony Vale Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 What are everybody?s favourite anamorphic films? Not talking about 2.35:1/2.40:1 films, only films actually shot using any kind of anamorphic process. So that would include Technirama and Ultra Panavision? The Vikings Spartacus Il Gattopardo Zulu The Fall of the Roman Empire Seppuku AKA Harakiri Kwaidan The Mysterians Atragon Sword of doom Andrei Rublev Gamlet Potop (The Deluge) 20,000 leagues under the Sea Helen of Troy Forbidden Planet China Gate The King and I The Guns of Navaronne Sink The Bismark! The Devils The Life Aquatic... Sons and Lovers Tried not to include anything already mentioned. To get that deep focus he must have stopped the lens down quite a bit. . No problem under the mediterranian desert sun. PS Polanski's The Tragedy of MacBeth The Fearless Vampire Killers the Blue Max wwI aerials and skies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Anthony Vale Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 So that would include Technirama and Ultra Panavision? Seems I've already killed this thread, but will twist the knife with: Death in Venice La Dolce Vita and Fellini Satyricon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Lawrence of Arabia, hands down second fav, Superman :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted December 27, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted December 27, 2006 Someone should probably emphasize The Graduate if for no other reason than their intentional use of the widescreen real estate. The DVD has commentary where they talk about placing Benjamin Braddock at the edge of the frame in the early parts of the movie, then framing him in the middle after he does Mrs. Robinson. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Liang Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Lawrence of Arabia, hands down second fav, Superman 'Lawrence of Arabia' wasn't shot in anamorphic. It was shot in Super Panavision 70, which uses 65mm film with spherical lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Compton Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 DOMESTIC: Enter The Dragon HEAT - 1995 Killing Them Softly John Carpenter: Escape From New York The Thing - 1982 Big Trouble In Little China They Live - 1988 Tony Scott : The Hunger True Romance Enemy Of The State Spy Game JJ Abrams : Mission Impossible 3 Star Trek Christopher Nolan: Batman Begins Inception Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back FOREIGN: Ninja Bugeicho Momochi Sandayu -1980 Iga Ninpocho - 1982 Graveyard Of Honor - 1975 Brotherhood of the Wolf -2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Clark Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Fairly old thread... but a number of the 'examples' were not shot with an anamorphic lens. Personally I sometimes find the 'flair' and some times the soft focus fall of 'true' anamorphic somewhat irritating. I'd perfer widescreen spherical most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Liang Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Same here. I initially thought that the anamorphic lens flares, distortion, fringing, bokeh, depth of field etc. to be very interesting, but the more anamorphic films I watch the more I get irritated with all these artefacts. I too prefer the look of spherical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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