Originally Posted by Libretio:
“I looked at your link, eyeblink (thanks for that!), and while I'm very familiar with in70mm.com (an excellent site, but not infallible, as I'm about to explain), but I'm not sure this entry confirms anything, and here's why:
I'd have to find confirmation of an Australian 70mm release for this title in a secondary source, since it's always best to double-check these things. Even so, a 70mm print doesn't automatically guarantee 6-track audio, despite what it says at in70mm.com.
Look at some of the European titles on that listing - I TRE CHE SCONVOLSERO IL WEST (VADO, VEDO E SPARO) and EL MAGNIFICO TONY CARRERA, for example. There were literally dozens of 70mm blow-ups released in Spain during the 1960's and 70's, yet there's no evidence the vast majority of them played in anything other than mono sound. '70mm' was ballyhooed on the ad-mats, but very few of them mentioned anything about multi-track sound.
In other words, in70mm.com is wrong to list 6-track stereo alongside all of these films. At best, they should say 'Unknown' for entries where the audio configuration has yet to be confirmed.
Which is why I'm reluctant to say for certain that HELLFIGHTERS definitely sported multi-track audio for some English-speaking territories, because there's no evidence to support it outside of the entry in this particular source.”
Here's another
source from the same site, which lists HELLFIGHTERS as playing in London in 70mm in 1969.
Interesting list. I saw quite a few of those on their releases from DUNE in 1984 onwards. (Though my first 70mm showing was APOCALYPSE NOW at the Prince Charles a year earlier.) I notice that at least three titles on there are blowups from black and white Scope - IN HARM'S WAY, IS PARIS BURNING? and THE LONGEST DAY. Presumably they were printed on colour 65mm stock as, as far as I know, b/w 70mm film didn't and doesn't exist, so I wonder how they looked like blown up? Grainy, I'd expect.
If we're talking about films and directors who do make good use of Scope, I'll nominate Fred Schepisi. All but one of his cinema features (THE DEVIL's PLAYGROUND is the exception) are in Scope and he - and his DPs, for all except LAST ORDERS Ian Baker - has used both anamorphic and Super 35. It's anamorphic for THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH up to EVIL ANGELS/A CRY IN THE DARK, Super 35 from SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION onwards apart from his co-directed patch-up job on FIERCE CREATURES which is anamorphic. I mention this as one of his films I haven't seen, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY, is on next week. By all accounts it's not great, but I'll give it a look. Radio Times says it'll be shown widescreen, but we'll have to see if that means 16:9 or 2.35:1.
I only saw the beginning, as my digibox had recorded it on the end of The Review Show, but TORMENTED was in 2.35:1 on BBC2 last night.