70mm Oppenheimer

[Henry Atkinson]

I've got some old 70mm mag-sound reels I use for testing- - I think they're on acetate film stock
from the early 1960's, and I do know that they're very prone to tearing if there's even a slight nick in
the one (or more) of the sprocket holes, or an uneven edge or splice. - - and it's done this on multiple
machines in several different states. I think, the film-stock is just old, dried out and a bit brittle.

That sounds about like our experience. Some of ours may be old enough to be acetate, but I think most of it isn't. But you hit the major thing I've observed - nicks and tears kill it, as do imperfect splices, or just old splices that become imperfect over the course of running. We've also had it tear on the bench when it rubs on the edge of a reel. Overall its just very fragile. Not sure how much of that is down to age and how much is down to the extra thickness (and in turn rigidity) by virtue of it being mag, but whatever it is, it generally is unpleasant to work with. For what its worth, we've had 70mm DTS prints, some almost as old, run perfectly fine on the same machines. Same threading path save for skipping the mag head.

[David Kornfeld]

That sounds about like our experience. Some of ours may be old enough to be acetate, but I think most of it isn't. But you hit the major thing I've observed - nicks and tears kill it, as do imperfect splices, or just old splices that become imperfect over the course of running. We've also had it tear on the bench when it rubs on the edge of a reel. Overall its just very fragile. Not sure how much of that is down to age and how much is down to the extra thickness (and in turn rigidity) by virtue of it being mag, but whatever it is, it generally is unpleasant to work with. For what its worth, we've had 70mm DTS prints, some almost as old, run perfectly fine on the same machines. Same threading path save for skipping the mag head.

Uhmmmmmmm.....no. I'm reasonably certain Ive handled more 70 than Mr Atkinson, so I can say with some reliability that if the film is tearing in this way then he is facing one or more of these options:

1. The print has not been properly inspected

2. There is something wrong in the mag section of the machine (and theres much that can go wrong)

3. There is something seriously out of alignment in the projector head

I have a piece of film from (checks notes) 1955 that I run in my theatre all the time for demonstration purposes. It hasnt broken yet.

Also, "for what it's worth": the DTS 70 prints would be on mylar, which makes a big difference. If you have DTS 70 footage on acetate, I'd like to hear what it is. The mag would most definitely be on acetate.

[Sam Chavez]

DP70 penthouses use two capstans and both have 70mm guidance flanges that need to be in perfect lateral alignment with each other or there's no place for the film to settle. If the penthouses got disassembled at some point, it's difficult to realign in the machine. Not only that, but they need to be over the top of the mag head tracks for maximum output. This is where more than a few techs went awry.

I have a test tone reel of slug film from "Annie" where the mag stripes were applied on the emulsion side and upside down relative to the picture. Drove a very good veteran projectionist up the wall.

[Steve Guttag]

When TAP was sending out test rolls on clear stock, it made height alignment much easier. With a dental mirror, one could easily see if the head/track alignment was good. I don't recall ever having a DP70 were the two stabilizers were not in alignment. I can see how it would happen, if the bearing separators were not matched in alignment but I just never came across it. It wouldn't strike me as too hard to get right.

Now, Century JJ penthouses...those are a lost cause. Their lateral guides would vary as the arm moved up/down. You could get alignment at the desired portion of its travel (where the lines lined up) but it was far from precise. Then, depending on the penthouse to projector relationship, if they were not precisely aligned, you could stress one side more than the other and get edge wave, which just added to the fun.

The beloved Bauer U2 could not hold the film stable across the head...it would weave about. I think it was a combination of how far the guidance was from the head combined with the pivot point of the guide arm being so far away that the roller itself could be moved by the film.

I've, personally, never found 70mm magnetic film to be particularly fragile and I've run a lot of it and of many vintages. Acetate, in general, if a tear starts, nothing stops it from tearing all of the way. Even polyester...while it is very hard to start (it stretches though), once the tear starts, there is nothing to stop it from tearing the rest of the way.

[Kyle Mikolajczyk]

Uhmmmmmmm.....no. I'm reasonably certain Ive handled more 70 than Mr Atkinson, so I can say with some reliability that if the film is tearing in this way then he is facing one or more of these options:

1. The print has not been properly inspected

2. There is something wrong in the mag section of the machine (and theres much that can go wrong)

3. There is something seriously out of alignment in the projector head

I have a piece of film from (checks notes) 1955 that I run in my theatre all the time for demonstration purposes. It hasnt broken yet.

Also, "for what it's worth": the DTS 70 prints would be on mylar, which makes a big difference. If you have DTS 70 footage on acetate, I'd like to hear what it is. The mag would most definitely be on acetate.

Hey David, Henry here is talking about the WPI DP70s if that wasn't clear (if you recall a few years ago you gave us a lovely tour of your booth). Anyway, we ran Spartacus about a decade ago (archival print, mag obviously) and it ran fine. For years we had maybe 6 70mm mag trailers (such as "The Jetsons", "Batman", and "Ruthless People") that was used as a training film. Simply put, I would not call any of the trailers in a shape that they should actually run after dozens of students have practiced with them over the years. WPI has not had hands on an actual Mag print in years, but now frequently gets Mylar/DTS prints and has no issues, even ran one of the new 2001 prints last year. I think in Massachusetts its just WPI and you with currently-installed mag readers, maybe WPI can get a print again but who knows...

[Shawn M. Martin]

I wasn’t aware the Udvar-Hazy Center still had their 70mm projector….

Looks like they don't, as the list has been updated and they're gone. Well that sucks.

[Leo Enticknap]

Was it ever figured out how to coat magnetic oxide onto polyester? I cannot recall ever encountering a polyester mag print. DTS started in 1992, and the mass conversion from acetate to polyester happened in 1996-99, roughly (as I recall, the only acetate prints being made later than that were coming from some European and Bollywood labs), and so DTS would have well and truly superseded mag as the default 5/70 audio format by the time of the conversion, I'd have thought.

[Sam Chavez]

I believe Teccon made mag test film on polyester stock. I still have some I acquired.

[Gordon McLeod]

We had several "ride type films" that were mag and on polyester stock back in the 80's

[Eric Richard]

Sorry if I missed this, but is there a list of 5/70 and 35 sites? I know some chains are listing that information on the websites, but looking for a complete list.

[Michael Coate]

is there a list of 5/70 and 35 sites?

We have a worldwide listing of the “Oppenheimer” 5/70 and 15/70 locales at In70mm.com.

Number of **** & 35mm prints being made by FotoKem for “Oppenheimer” release:

• 70mm IMAX - 30
• 70mm 5 perf - 113
• 35mm - around 80

Europe **** Release: 4x IMAX ****. 14x 5/70mm

CZECH REPUBLIC
• IMAX Theatre, Palac Flora – Prague (IMAX ****)

Denmark, 20. July 2023
• Imperial Bio, Copenhagen
• Kino, Gentofte
• BioCity, Århus

France
• The Grand REX, Paris

Germany, 20. July 2023
• Lichtburg, Essen
• Savoy, Hamburg
• Schauburg, Karlsruhe

Holland, 21. July 2023
• King Rotterdam

Norway, 21. July 2023
• Cinematek, Oslo
• Klingenberg, Oslo

Italy, 20. July 2023
• Arcadia Cinema, Melzo

Spain
• Phenomena, Barcelona

Sweden, 21. July 2023
• Royal, Malmo
• Filmstaden Bergakungen, Göteborg

United Kingdom, 21. July 2023
• London - BFI IMAX, British Film Institute (IMAX ****)
• London - The Ronson Theatre at the Science Museum (IMAX ****)
• Manchester - Vue Manchester IMAX & The Printworks (IMAX ****)

Australia & Canada **** Release: 7x IMAX 70mm. 8x 5/70mm

AUSTRALIA
• Brisbane - Palace St James
• Melbourne - Melbourne IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Melbourne - Astor St Kilda
• Melbourne - SUN Yarraville
• Melbourne - Village Rivoli
• Sydney - Ritz Randwick
• Sydney - Orpheum Cremorne

CANADA
• Calgary - Scotiabank Chinook & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Edmonton - Scotiabank Edmonton & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Langley - Cineplex Cinemas Langley & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Mississauga - Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Montreal - Cinéma Banque Scotia
• Regina - Kramer IMAX, Saskatchewan Science Centre (IMAX ****)
• Toronto - Cineplex Cinemas Varsity and VIP
• Vancouver - Park
• Woodbridge - Cineplex Cinemas Vaughan & IMAX (IMAX ****)


USA **** Release: 20x IMAX 70mm. 80x 5/70mm

ALABAMA
• Hoover — AMC Patton Creek 15
• Opelika — AMC Tiger 13

ARIZONA
• Glendale — AMC Westgate 20
• Tuscon - The Loft Cinema
• Tempe — Harkins Arizona Mills 25
• Tempe - Harkins Arizona Mills 25 (IMAX ****)

CALIFORNIA
• Burbank — AMC Burbank 16
• Daly City — Century Daly City 20
• Dublin - Regal Hacienda Crossings (IMAX ****)
• Hollywood - TCL Chinese (IMAX ****)
• Irvine - Regal Irvine Spectrum 21
• Irvine — Regal Irvine Spectrum 21 (IMAX ****)
• La Mesa — Reading Grossmont with Titan XC
• Long Beach — Regal Edwards Long Beach
• Los Angeles — Cinemark Howard Hughes Center 18
• Los Angeles — Regal Sherman Oaks Galleria
• Los Angeles — Regency Village
• Oakland - Grand Lake 4
• Ontario — Regal Edwards Ontario Palace
• Ontario - Regal Edwards Ontario Palace & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Sacramento - Esquire (IMAX ****)
• San Francisco — AMC Kabuki 8
• San Francisco - Alamo New Mission
• San Franciso - AMC Metreon 16 (IMAX ****)
• San Francisco — AMC Metreon 16
• San Diego — AMC Mission Valley 20
• San Jose — Century Oakridge 20
• Santa Clara — AMC Mercado 20
• Torrance — AMC Del Amo 18
• Union City — Century Union City 25
• Universal City - AMC Universal CityWalk 19 (x2)
• Universal City - Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood & IMAX (IMAX ****)

COLORADO
• Westminster — AMC Westminster Promenade 24

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
• Washington — Regal Gallery Place 14

FLORIDA
• Aventura — AMC Aventura 24
• Boca Raton — Cinemark Palace 20
• Coral Gables - Coral Gables Art Cinema 1
• Davie — Cinemark Paradise 24
• Ft. Lauderdale - AutoNation IMAX, Museum of Discovery and Science (IMAX ****)
• Tampa — AMC Veterans 24
• Lake Buena Vista — AMC DINE-IN Disney Springs 24

GEORGIA
• Atlanta - Plaza
• Atlanta - Tara
• Buford - Regal Mall of Georgia & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Canton — AMC Riverstone 15

ILLINOIS
• Chicago — AMC River East 21
• Chicago — Music Box
• Chicago — Showplace ICON
• Crestwood — AMC Crestwood 18

INDIANA
• Indianapolis - IMAX Theater Indiana State Museum (IMAX ****)

KANSAS
• Leawood — AMC Town Center 20

LOUISIANA
• Baton Rouge — Cinemark Perkins Rowe 16
• New Orleans — Prytania

MARYLAND
• Annapolis — AMC Annapolis Mall 11
• Silver Spring - AFI Silver
• Hanover — Cinemark Egyptian 24

MASSACHUSETTS
• Boston - AMC Boston Common 19
• Brookline - Coolidge Corner
• Somerville — Somerville

MICHIGAN
• Detroit - Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre, Michigan Science Center (IMAX ****)
• Grand Rapids - Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Grand Rapids — Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids
• Livonia — AMC Livonia 20
• Southgate — MJR Southgate 20
• Sterling Heights — AMC Forum 30

MINNESOTA
• Edina — AMC Southdale 16
• Plymouth - Willow Creek 12

MISSOURI
• St. Louis — Marcus Ronnie’s 20

NEVADA
• Las Vegas — AMC Town Square 18

NEW JERSEY
• Cherry Hill — AMC Cherry Hill 24
• Paramus — AMC Garden State 16

NEW MEXICO
• Albuquerque — Century Rio 24

NEW YORK
• Brooklyn — Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn 7
• Farmingdale 14
• New Rochelle — Regal New Roc City 19
• New York — Regal Union Square ScreenX & 4DX
• New York - Cinema 1,2,3 by Angelica
• New York - Village East by Angelika
• New York - AMC Lincoln Square 13 (IMAX ****)
• New York - AMC Lincoln Square 13

OHIO
• Valley View — Cinemark at Valley View

OKLAHOMA
• Oklahoma City — AMC Quail Springs 24

OREGON
• Portland — Hollywood

PENNSYLVANIA
• King of Prussia - Regal UA King of Prussia & IMAX (IMAX ****)

RHODE ISLAND
• Providence - Providence Place Cinemas 16 and IMAX (IMAX ****)

TEXAS
• Arlington — AMC The Parks at Arlington 18
• Dallas — AMC Northpark 15
• Dallas - Cinemark 17 & IMAX (IMAX ****)
• Houston — AMC Gulf Pointe 30
• Pflugerville — Cinemark Tinseltown 20
• Plano — Cinemark West Plano 20
• Tyler — AMC Tyler 14
• San Antonio - AMC Rivercenter 11 & IMAX (IMAX ****)

TENNESSEE
• Nashville - Regal Opry Mills & IMAX (IMAX ****)

VIRGINIA
• Alexandria — AMC Hoffman Center 22
• Chantilly - Airbus IMAX, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (IMAX ****)
• McLean — AMC Tysons Corner 16
• Woodbridge — AMC Potomac Mills 18

WASHINGTON
• Seattle — AMC Pacific Place 11

WISCONSIN
• Waukesha— Marcus Majestic Cinema of Brookfield

[Michael Coate]

There was some web-coding gibberish I needed to clean up in the pasted-in article text in my comment above, but some nonsense still managed to sneak through. The “IMAX ****” should be “IMAX 70mm” (i.e. 15/70 format). The other entries that lack any special notation are the 5/70 version. We did not list the 35mm locales.

You may also notice some entries that are out of alphabetical sequence along with some stylization inconsistencies. These will get cleaned up and corrected in subsequent updates (along with updates on newly-confirmed additions and/or deletions).

[Jim Cassedy]

Not really OPPENHEIMER related, but ~ ~
I went into the theater super early this morning and after cleaning & demagnetizing the
heads & rollers, I ran some 70mm mag sound loops & trailers I brought from home to
test our 70mm mag sound system, since I'm running at least one, (and possibly more)
magnetic sound prints next month right before OPPENHEIMER. Although I was told
that the mag sound here was working, I've never used it in the 2½ years I've been
here, so I wanted to verify its' operation personally rather than just take someone's
word for it. I had to re-connect a few cables in the sound rack, and find a power cord
for the pre-amp card cage, but once I got all it all re-connected, we had some super
mega mag sound! Just for fun, I ran two random reels of the LIFEFORCE print, and
both looked & sounded great !

Today's Fun Fotos!
A Fairly Full Reel Of Ferrous Fun
70mmLifeforceReel.jpg

We Still Had A "Format 42" Button On the CP-650
(At my last job, somebody had stolen the "42" preset for something
else & I had to re-program it back in)
70mmCP650.jpg

Ready To Test!
70mmMagSndThrd.jpg

I Ran Two Random Reels Which Looked & Sounded Great !
LifeforceScreenShot.jpg
-jc-

[Steve Guttag]

That isn't how a JJ penthouse should be be threaded. You had the stabilizers threaded on the return path...they should be on either side of the head. The weights and diameters are to prevent it from oscillating and it should self-tension over the heads (different masses on the flywheels.

[Jim Cassedy]

That isn't how a JJ penthouse should be be threaded. .

D'oh! You're right (of course!) It's been years since I've had to thread for mag sound. I knew something
didn't "seem right" to me when I was threading, and I noticed a bit of flutter when running my test loops,
but I chalked that up to the fact that the they were well used loops & were not in perfect shape. Oddly
enough, the feature sounded OK- - but you're 100% right- - I had it wrong.
<shame on me!> (I'm damn good, but not perfect!)