The Metro Method: "GONE WITH THE WIND" printed to 70mm | Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: "Filmblätter" vom Februar 1968 (Heft 23) – Kapitel "Technik in den Filmblättern" | Date: 22.07.2026 |
 When a film that was made in 1939 makes a glamorous comeback in our time, this is surely something deserving of wonder. And that wonder is increased if one considers that this film – now almost 30 years old [article originally written in 1968, ed] – is being offered in a thoroughly modern guise, in wide-screen format (similar to that of CinemaScope) and stereo sound, as has now happened with the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film "Gone With The Wind". Yet the technicians who produced this ‘wonder’ had to overcome all manner of difficulties, most of which had less to do with the principle of the copying method and more to do with the effects of wear and tear, shrinkage and so on.• Go to "Vom Winde Verweht" Auf 70mm Umkopiert • Go to GONE WITH THE WIND printed to 70mm by the Metro Method • Go to “Gone with the Wind”: The North American 70mm Re-Release Engagements The possibility of creating a high-quality colour dupe negative depended above all on the most accurate possible registration of the original negatives. "Gone with the Wind" was originally made using the old colour film method (Technicolor) – that is, using three separate black-and-white negatives that were exposed simultaneously behind respectively red, green and blue filters. Re-using these three different negatives was naturally extremely difficult as a result of shrinkage, damage to the perforations and patched repairs, since these defects affected the accuracy with which the negatives could be matched. To bring these negatives, which one could almost call deformed, into a useable condition, the MGM laboratories developed what has become known as the "Metro Method". Starting from experiences with the ‘wet printing’ technique, which had already been perfected for print production for "Doctor Zhivago", a printing system was created that can be adjusted for many different shrinkage levels. A further process was developed to correct scenes in which severe displacements occurred. Next, a specially modified optical sound copying unit was used to combine the original 3-strip nitrate negatives (known in the industry as YCMs, as in the colors involved for printing: Yellow, Cyan and Magenta). A 35mm Eastman interpositive was then created from this, again using the wet printing method in order to minimize the possibility of scratches, surface graininess and so on. At this stage the aspect ratio was still 1:1.37, the standard for motion pictures. | More in 70mm reading: Converting "Gone With The Wind" from 35mm. Negative to vastly enlarged scope of new presentation in 70mm and stereophonic sound a tremendous technical achievement “Gone with the Wind”: The North American 70mm Re-Release Engagements Mit Der Metro-Methode: "Vom Winde Verweht" Auf 70mm Umkopiert Gerhard Witte's in70mm.com Library 70mm Blow Up List 70mm Engagements 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 |
Enlargement and reduction | |
 For the new version of the film, a 35mm projector was developed with a moveable mask in the film gate. This mask gives a field of view for the projection with the exact aspect ratio of 70mm film (1:2.2), and this aspect ratio remains constant regardless of the position of the variable mask. A total of nine up-and-down positions are available when selecting the desired screen capture. These variants can also be fixed with the aperture closed or alternatively can be changed using a motor – with two different speeds.The second of these options makes it possible to simulate the upward or downward panning of a camera in various scenes. The many possibilities for manipulation allow the images to be transferred to the new format while paying close attention to the dramaturgical considerations – the image content, the formal structure and the relationships of the different scenes. In other words, nobody’s heads are cut off and the focus is on the part of the picture that is relevant to the action. | |
Electronic Control | |
 While the working copies were being demonstrated, high-accuracy recordings were made by the operator. These contained both the exact foot numbering and the image settings and also the position data for the mask – plus, of course, whether the mask should be adjusted with the shutter closed or with slower or faster movement. This information, in the form of a binary code, was transferred to a control tape that then controlled the actual printing process in a copying machine specially designed for the purpose. The 35mm interpositive prepared previously was now enlarged onto a 65mm negative, and all movements of the mask were automatically repeated by the movements of the lens of the copying machine. The lens moves up and down to reproduce exactly the positions that were defined in the projector described above using the variable mask. The 65mm negative thus created is used for producing colour-corrected contact copies on 70mm colour stock. For this purpose, a printing machine is used that changes the density settings from one scene to the next, thereby achieving the required colour balance. This printing machine is controlled by a tape containing the exact exposure data. Next, a magnetic strip, onto which the soundtrack can finally be copied, will be affixed to the prints thus created. | |
The Sound | |
 Converting the original single-strip optical sound to six-channel stereo magnetic sound, however, posed almost as many difficulties as the image conversion. Although the optical sound strip had been renewed time and time again over the preceding decades, it was nevertheless affected by scratches, background noise and dirt. This interference could be largely eliminated using electronic processes. In line with this process, the result had to be described as ‘electronically processed for stereo reproduction’ rather than simply ‘stereo sound’.But the sensation that was aroused by the revival of this, one of the most popular films ever, made all of these technical efforts worthwhile. And the costs – producing the new negative alone required US$ 250,000 – will surely be recouped. A question remains: will other films be copied and made available in modern versions using this method – which was developed with "Gone with the Wind" - into a mature process? Or will this "enlargement through reduction" remain a sensational one-off? Whatever the answer, one film has been preserved in this manner and thereby not "gone with the wind" in the history of film. (W. Olf) | |
 • Go to The Metro Method: "GONE WITH THE WIND" printed to 70mm • Go to Mit Der Metro-Methode: "Vom Winde Verweht" Auf 70mm Umkopiert | |
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