Mutiny on the Bounty HD-DVD

[Thomas James]

Mutiny on the Bounty in high definition starring Marlon Brando was on sale for 10 dollars so I picked up a copy. It is amazing that in this day and age of high definition that most producers are too cheap to shoot on a large format like 65mm as it really makes a nice transfer to high definition video. But how do you tell a producer that he is a cheapskate without losing your job?

[Benson Marks]

Here's the sad truth, Thomas. Filmmaking is not an artform, it's really a business.

 

In Hollywood, as in any industry, everything costs something. The producer writes checks. And when making a feature film he negotiates and writes a lot of bank checks.

 

Sure, contrary to what I just wrote, I do agree that filmmaking is an artform. But the industry is the business of making the art (How to make the film as cheaply as possible) and then the business of selling the art.

 

Another concept to understand is that Hollywood is not a filmmaking industry, it's a film-marketing industry. Studios are corporations that make profits. They do this by creating values, i.e., when a film is in theaters, there are newspaper ads, and when you, the consumer, see the ads you believe the film has a $10 (theater ticket price) value. 19 out of 20 consumers don't see the film in a theater. However, 17 of the 19 who don't go to the cinema think, "I'll rent it." Renting isn't free! Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or any video store charges $3-$4, so, in essence, the $10 film was put on sale at a 60-70 percent discount- now the consumer pays to see it. No ads, no video store rentals. It's that simple.

 

Hollywood is a marketing industry. Distributors would love to split $10 with theater owners- they try every time for a "box-office" winner- but if they don't get it, they'll gladly split $3-$4 with video store owners and add to the profits with lucrative pay-cable and broadcast sales. And this is only North America.

 

Don't get me wrong. It's not that Hollywood has no desire to make excellent films. It tries to make the best film possible every time. But 4 out of 5 films the studios make are poor to mediocre. Do they quit? No, they market the duds. They place ads, create a value, cash in, and make profits even with mediocre-to-rotten films because Hollywood is a business. It is a marketing machine.

 

Again, I still acknowledge that filmmaking is an artform. But it's really a business.

 

Why did I bring all this up? To tell you that your producer probably isn't going to listen to you when you tell him he's a cheapskate. In fact, I think it's better just to not say anything.

 

But the biggest reason he's probably not going to listen to you is because 70mm is pretty much extinct. :(

 

To hear the sad truth, go to this website:

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/35-70mm.htm

 

I apologize if my post is too long, and I hope my advice is helpful.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Benson Marks

[Christian Appelt]

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY was filmed in Ultra Panavision which is 65mm 5-perf format plus 1.25x anamorphic compression. UP prints have to be screened with an additional anamorphic adapter lens, more on UP (formerly MGM Camera 65) can be found here:

 

AWSM - Ultra Panavision Wing

[Thomas James]

As far as marketing I am sure that in the past 70mm film had a more viable marketing model simply because most theatres were grand theatres which showcased only one movie so the theatre owner could afford the 70mm print because he only had to obtain one copy. However in this day and age of the multiplex it is far more profitable to focus on quantity and not quality so the decision was made to just obtain a large number of 35mm prints to showcase a variety of films. But the producer nevertheless still has to make a choice of whether or not to call himself an artist or a marketer. I really do not believe that a producer can serve two masters and I really do not believe that a producer can call himself an artist if he allows a major production to be degraded by releasing it in an inferior format in order to maximize profits. But then again on the other hand an artist who produces a film cannot really call himself a marketer if he allows himself to run up expenses to such a high degree so as the film will be in jepourdy of losing money.