“One Battle After Another’’ Historic VistaVision London Screenings 2025 |
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| Written and photographed by: Mark Trompeteler FBKS, in70mm.com. Thanks to: Nigel Wolland, Michael Mannix, Barry Wright and Steffan Laugharne for their kind assistance in the preparation of this article. | Date: 19.11.2025 |
 At the time of writing,
the Odeon UK cinemas website featured the enticing copy
BTS At Your Service |
More in 70mm reading: “One Battle After Another’’ Historic VistaVision London Screenings 2025 P T Anderson's "One Battle After Another" in VistaVision in70mm.com's page about VistaVision 70mm at the Odeon Leicester Sq, London The Kodak View. The Fabric of Magic, Part 1 Film Projection Perfection. The Fabric of Magic, Part 2 in70mm.com News Peripheral Vision, Scopes, Dimensions and Panoramas in70mm.com's Library Presented on the big screen in 7OMM 7OMM and Cinema Across the World Now showing in 70mm in a theatre near you! 70mm Retro - Festivals and Screenings |
 I asked Barry Wright a few questions about BTS’s
involvement in this extremely rare short season of VistaVision
screenings:Mark Trompeteler (MT): Barry, I understand your Ballantyne VistaVision projector has been on the BTS inventory for some time. What has this projector been used for prior to this somewhat historic use? Barry Wright (BW): Our VV Projector is mainly used for rushes projection (dailies), for film crews to watch the previous days shooting. VistaVision has been used up until now for special effects shots, where the larger picture area and hence picture quality is required. It was used on location for “Batman Begins” and "The Dark Knight" to name but a few. It has never run more than a 1000’ roll at a time, so a Christie AW3 had to be re-designed and adapted to cope with the long running time and a film speed of 180 feet/minute. MT: I guess with a lack of spare parts for the projector, and the unfamiliarity of someone like Michael and his colleagues with using this VistaVision projector, what has BTS been doing to make the projector ready, train Michael and his colleagues, and support this special season of screenings? BW: We have had issues with spare parts, since there are none in existence. The manufacturer unfortunately no longer has spares or technical drawings. My Colleague, Jim Whittle did a considerable amount of engineering on the machine, upgrading the lamp house to suit a 4kW lamp, and the associated heat dissipation issues. Any parts we need we are having to make ourselves. The gate runners and sprocket shoes were originally made from Delrin, a hard plastic and we are currently making replacements. I trained Michael to use the equipment, and he took to running it quickly and efficiently with his team. They are used to running special film formats, the last being "Oppenheimer" on the Cinemeccanica Victoria 8 in 70M/M |
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 MT: I guess the running of a DCP on a digital
projector in the projection room parallel to the print running through
the Ballantyne is the ideal safety net in case of a print or Ballantyne
problem? To facilitate a season of screenings at
The Odeon nearly seventy years after
the last season of VistaVision screenings was a very rare request
indeed. I wonder if there have been any moments of concern for BTS in
this project or has it gone all relatively smoothly?BW: I had issues on the installation, mainly due to the steep rake at the Odeon. The Vistavision projector has only ever been run at zero degrees, so I had to reinforce the frame to avoid collapse, and load the back of the projector with 80kg of stage weights to avoid it toppling over. I managed to claim back a few degrees, by using a specially designed lens keystone corrector, since the Projector has a fixed 4” lens holder. MT: Anything else you would like to add about this rare BTS project? Thanks to you and Steffan once again for allowing me to attend and report on one of your projects. BW: For myself, Steffan and Jim, we have really enjoyed working on this project, and I hear there are a couple more VistaVision films in production; which may hopefully get a VistaVision release in special Venues. |
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 The
Ballantyne Projector, modified AW3 and platters for “One Battle After
Another.
Michael Mannix, Technical Manager at Odeon Leicester Square
in between.Cinema History Repeating Itself Regarding the studio, Paramount, that developed VistaVision, it is generally accepted that they primarily intended it as a high fidelity image-capture format. From its very inception and introduction as a high quality photography process, a relatively small number of venues world wide were equipped with projectors to screen the seven or so films of that period, that were actually “projected as photographed.” This short exclusive venue exhibition period was from 1954 – 1956. As a very rare example of cinematic history repeating itself the film “The Battle of the River Plate" ran for a season of “projected as photographed” VistaVision screenings at the Odeon Leicester Square from Tuesday 29th October to Tuesday 18th December 1956. This was following its Royal Film Performance at the nearby Empire Leicester Square (now Cineworld) in standard 35mm on 29 October 1956 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, and celebrity guests including Marilyn Monroe. The Odeon projection box in 1956 was equipped with two Kalee 35mm. horizontal VistaVision projectors using “changeovers.” |
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 The
two Kalee VV Projectors at either end of
the projector row on the Odeon Leicester Square Projection room in 1956
(Photo courtesy of Nigel Wolland.)Picture & Sound By prior arrangement with Michael Mannix, the Technical Manager of the Odeon, I was kindly allowed to visit him in the projection room in between the afternoon and evening performances. The set up was considerably more advanced and convenient than it was back in 1956. The projection room was dominated by especially manufactured oversized platter plates, which had been manufactured for the four venues showing these very rare new VistaVision prints. Holding 8833 meters / 28980 feet of 8 perf. 35mm. (running time 161 minutes / 2 hours 41 minutes) the plates allowed both for single person operation and no intermission being required in the screening of the film. A Christie AW3 platter support and feeder unit had been modified by Film Tech to hold the extended size plates and run at 8 perf. speeds. The rare print fitted extremely well onto the arrangement. The film fed into BTS’s Ballentyne projector. The horizontal film path and arrangement of sprocket wheels, gate and lens allowed for an easy and different method of lacing and an overhead oversight of the film path. Also it provides for easy sight of any minute emulsion debris or dust that might need cleaning away. I was surprised as to how on this projector the film path was open to the air of the room. After lacing it could not be isolated from the air, or any dust in the air, by virtue of a lid or panel that could be closed on a casing, which I seem to remember is often not uncommon with many a vertical film path projector arrangement. In the time I was there, in-between the two shows, Michael was fastidious in cleaning this horizontal film path. In the original VistaVision prints of the 1950s no optical track was printed on the films, allowing for the maximum use of the full fame dimensions to maximise picture quality. Sound then was provided by a separate synchronised magnetic track. In these modern prints a DTS time code was printed along the outside very edge of the print, once again allowing for full use if the native1.5:1 frame. Sound system being used was DTS (DATASAT) audio, with a discrete subwoofer channel. In the auditorium as a viewer I was aware of the surround speakers being utilised but no overhead Atmos speakers. Again Film Tech had built a special DTS time code reader to be placed within the film path. |
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 Michael Mannix, Technical Manager at Odeon Leicester Square.One Format After Another Paul Thomas Anderson has indicated that he chose to use the full uncropped 1.5:1 aspect ratio for his VistaVision presentations to showcase the format's maximum image clarity, minimal grain, and high resolution. As I described in the first part of these two articles this provides the cinemagoer with a beautifully rich deep detailed image experience that draws you into the film. It is not uncommon to compose the full 1.5:1 fame in order that it can also be cropped top and bottom to give a more modern widescreen look of 1.85:1. The amount of detail that VistaVision cinematography facilitates in its native aspect ratio has allowed Warner Brothers to enlarge and alter the film frame to a wide variety of different analogue and digital formats for the release of the film: • 8 perf. 35mm “projected as photographed” VistaVision 1.5:1 • 15 perf. 70mm IMAX 1.43:1 • 5 perf 70mm 2.2:1 • Digital IMAX 1.9:1 • 1.85:1 Dolby Vision with Atmos DCP • 1.85:1 DCP in 4K & 2K • 4 DX 1.85:1 DCP The commitment of Anderson, the production company, Warner Brothers, distributors, exhibitors and facilities companies to ensure that “One Battle After Another”, a celluloid originated film, is seen in so many ways to continue to promote cinema as a great experience to the public is heartening. To see it in pure VistaVision was very special. The continued international awareness and resurgence of high quality large format cinema is more than heartening to all us in70mm.com readers. |
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