my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » David Lean's 'Great Expectations' - track type.

Author Topic: David Lean's 'Great Expectations' - track type. Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 10-20-2006 08:35 AM                     Can anybody tell me what type of track this film has? I would doubt that it's unilateral. If bilateral or duo-bilateral then I don't think it's going to be a problem, based on the other such silver tracks we've played on those readers. If it happens to be VD, I think I've only run one of those on those particular red readers, so my experience is a bit limited. It's for the London Film Festival screening, I'm not sure if it's the original track, or if it's been re-recorded at some time; I assume that it will be printed on proper black and white stock. Has anybody run this with red laser readers? I've run quite a few silver tracks on these readers, and only ever had one problem, and that was with a recent film. Print is arriving on the day of the screening, so no time to try it beforehand. The Chief just 'phoned me, he seemed a bit concerned, since it's a festival screening.  |  IP: Logged Bernard Tonks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-20-2006 11:42 AM                     You might be able to find out the information you want at least one day earlier than your own screening by contacting the National Film Theatre, who are showing "Great Expectations" (1946, 118 mins) in NFT 1 on Tuesday 24th October at 6.30pm. According to my London Film Festival booklet, the print is a new restoration. I would like to think that the soundtrack will at least be Dolby SR mono by now! There are only two screenings. Hope this helps. Some of the exteriors were filmed at Bentalls Farm, Kingston-upon-Thames. I lived there for a while before I left school in part of the large white painted house seen in the film. (Double word error corrected) [ 10-21-2006, 05:28 AM: Message edited by: Bernard Tonks ]  |  IP: Logged Richard P. May Expert Film Handler Posts: 243 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 10-20-2006 04:20 PM                     A black & white track running with a red reader will not cause any problem. I am with a film restoration laboratory, and we run all kinds of tracks on projectors equipped with Kineton reverse-read sound heads. The only kind of track I have run into that won't work with a red reader is a variable density, on color film, processed for high magenta. The color in the track filters out much of the red light, leaving a very poor or unplayable sound. You would only be likely to run into this with a color picture made before VA tracks became common, printed with its original VD track source. An original Technicolor print from this era would not be a problem, since these had silver tracks, with the color applied in the picture area separately. RPM [ 10-24-2006, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: Richard P. May ]  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 10-20-2006 05:03 PM                     Richard, I've run quite a few silver tracks on these readers, and, with one exception, haven't had problems. the one exception was 'Goodnight and Good Luck', which was a Dolby SR track. I won't go into the problems we had with that one now, it's a long story, and I don't know if they were in any way related to the readers, as I haven't heard the print on any other equipment. Of the older mono tracks which I've run on those readers most have been bilateral or duo-bilateral VA. I think I've run one VD on them, I don't think I've ever run a unilateral VA track on them. While I haven't had problems with the old tracks others here have reported such problems. Unless the track is an unusual type, which was my reason for asking, I don't think it's likely that we will have problems, which was my reply to the Chief. It's many years since I've seen the film, and I can't remember what the quality of the sound was like on conventional readers now. If there are any tickets available on the day I may go to see it. For some reason, part of my original post is missing; I probably deleted it by mistake when I typed it. The readers are lasers, and they are of different types, due to one failing, and being replaced, a year or so ago. Bernard, as far as I am aware, the film is not being re-released, at least not in cinemas, and has been 'restored' (which, of course, can mean just about anything) for the archive. I think for this purpose it's most likely that the track will have been preserved in it's original form, i.e. as Academy mono, rather than being converted to SR. However, it's worth checking. I do know that some films have had their tracks re-recorded as part of the restoration process, and that therefore the restored track may be in a different format to the original, e.g. a VD original track may be re-recorded in VA. I seem to remember that this was done with 'The Third Man', for example.  |  IP: Logged Bernard Tonks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-21-2006 05:26 AM                     Stephen, Yes, it will be interesting to know what type of soundtrack. I wonder where the print is coming from, the BFI, or Carlton who took over Rank Film Distributors. Other Classics showing at the London Film Festival. The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, USA 1955) The Big Country (William Wyler, USA 1958, 165 mins) Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, UK 1964) Forbidden (Frank Capra, USA 1932) The Gang's All Here (Busby Berkeley, USA 1943) Hearts of the World (DW Griffith USA 1918, 146 mins) The Lineup (Don Siegal USA 1958) Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone, USA 1939) Oliver Twist (David Lean, UK 1948) Tol'able David (Tinted print, Henry King, USA 1921) The Tower of Silence [Der Turm des Schweeigens] (Johannes Guter, Germany 1924) A Walk in the Sun (Lewis Milestone, USA 1946)  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 10-21-2006 06:01 AM                     I may see if I can get up the the box on wednesday, and have a look at the print. It's not arriving until that morning, so it may well be the same one that is running at the NFT. Whether they will allow it to be made up on 6ks I don't know. I've e-mailed the chief this morning, and passed on your comment, just in case it has been re-recorded in SR mono. I also suggested that he check the side masking before the day. The top masking has no presets, it just moves as long as you keep a finger on the button, until it reaches the end stops, but the side masking has two pre-set positions, one for Academy, and the other for everything else. I know that I have to count to '9' when moving the top masking between 1.85 adverts and trailers and a scope feature. I can usually get it just about spot on when I re-open the curtains on the feature; sometimes neads just a very slight tweak while the certificate is on screen. They've just had new 1.37 plates cut this week, this film will be their first use, so the picture size may be slightly different to it was with the old plates. I support the idea of the 'Film in the City' thing (a few of the festival films being shown at various cinemas in addition to the main festival venues in central London), but it's a pity that they don't do a few more. Given David Lean's connections with Croydon it's a pity we're not showing 'Oliver Twist' as well; it is included in the festival at another venue. In most cases it's just two films at each venue. The Phoenix, Ex. Rex, East Finchley is one of the venues involved.  |  IP: Logged Bernard Tonks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-21-2006 09:18 AM                     I see from the website that the distributor of “Great Expectations” is the BFI. http://www.lff.org.uk/ List of cinemas running the Festival. • National Film Theatre • Odeon West End • Odeon Leicester Square • Tricycle Cinema • Ciné Lumière • ICA • Ritzy • Vue West End • Rio • David Lean Cinema • Odeon Greenwich • Phoenix Cinema • Waterman's Arts Centre • Genesis • BAFTA quote: ... The top masking has no presets, it just moves as long as you keep a finger on the button, until it reaches the end stops,... I had the same problem going from 1.85 to 1.66, so on the automation I fitted an Omron solid state timer adjustable 0–60 seconds (I needed 8 seconds) which I purchased very cheap new and boxed from Henry’s in Edgware Road London W2.Very easy to connect up a child could do it, just wire the 8 pin base and plug the timer in. http://www.henrys.co.uk/electronics.htm  |  IP: Logged Richard P. May Expert Film Handler Posts: 243 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 10-23-2006 01:59 PM                     Of the titles listed in Bernard's post, the one I'd watch out for, and check carefully, would be THE GANG'S ALL HERE. The standard track for Fox when this was made was Density, and I've heard of prints being made with the original track negs. RPM  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 11-01-2006 12:35 PM                     It's a week ago now, but the film looked and sounded fine. Print was from BFI. I didn't get up to the box to look at the print after the show; the front of house staff were busy, so I couldn't really ask them at the time.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.