THE POWER TO DREAM, THE VISION TO INNOVATE
VISIONARRI
The Departed (2006). In 2003 came the ARRIFLEX 235, a compact 35mm MOS camera that was used to great effect in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), as well as the ARRIFLEX D-20, a film-style digital camera that represents the next stage in the company’s, as well as the industry’s history. Most recently, the release and extraordinary success of the ARRIFLEX 416 16mm camera in 2006 has proved that traditional markets remain buoyant and that the wealth of formats now available has simply widened the range of tools available to the modern cinematographer.
That same year, Director Richard Lester made use of ARRIFLEX IIB cameras for A Hard Day’s Night, his mad-cap mock-documentary that follows the Beatles as they prepare for a television appearance. The lightweight cameras allowed Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor BSC to keep up with John, Paul, George and Ringo as they dashed from screaming fans, while the reflex viewfinder permitted hand-held zoom and telephoto shots. The sheer freedom and energy of this filming style resulted in ground-breaking images and the film is credited with inventing a plethora of music video techniques. In the mid 1960s ARRI brought out the ARRFILEX 35IICT/B, which was fitted with a two perforation movement, due to the growing popularity at that time of Techniscope. This widescreen process had been developed by Technicolor Italia and combined a two perforation pull-down with a 2.35:1 gate, resulting in two images being exposed on top of each other within the four perforation Academy area. Sergio Leone was one director who took advantage of this costsaving system, putting it to use for his low-budget western A Fistful of Dollars in 1964. After the massive success of this film, Leone again used Techniscope ARRIFLEX cameras for the sequels For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), as well as the seminal Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). 1972 saw ARRI introduce the first ever self-blimped 35mm camera, the ARRIFLEX 35BL. Weighing a fraction of a blimped camera, the compact 35BL could be used hand-held and made mobile, sync-sound 35mm filming a reality. The first film to capitalise on its possibilities was Across 110th Street, which was shot that same year on location in Harlem, New York. Soon the 35BL was a firm favourite of cinematographers and was used on a vast number of films over the next few decades. Haskell Wexler ASC used one for his Oscar-winning work on Bound for Glory (1976), while Vittorio Storaro shot with 35BLs for all three films that won him the Best Cinematography Academy Award: Apocalypse Now (1979), Reds (1981) and The Last Emperor (1987). Stanley Kubrick, a lifelong camera enthusiast with an extraordinary 50 50
DOP JOST VACANO in the submarine set on Das Boot with a purpose built gyro-rig and prototype IIIC. First Assistant Peter Maiwald holds the remote focus unit (1981) GRAHAM HILL films a training lap with an ARRIFLEX 16ST mounted on the car (1952) ARRI DEVELOPED its largest lamphead so far, the ARRI GIGANT 20kW (1952)
knowledge of motion picture technology, used ARRIFLEX cameras on every film he possibly could after discovering the ARRIFLEX 35IIA while directing and photographing his second feature Killer’s Kiss in 1955. He shot A Clockwork Orange on his own ARRIFLEX 35IICs in 1971 and bought 35BLs when they were released, using them for Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980) and Full Metal Jacket (1987). For his final film Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Kubrick shot with an ARRIFLEX 535B, having made use of the developing ARRI product line for almost half a century. In 1981 ARRI unveiled the final incarnation of the 35mm body design that began life in 1937. The ARRIFLEX 35IIIC was developed at the request of German Cinematographer Jost Vacano BVK,ASC who had been hired to shoot Wolfgang Peterson’s World War II U-boat drama Das Boot. The IIIC featured a single lens mount and a pivoting viewfinder that allowed Vacano to capture running low-angle shots within the cramped submarine interior. In 1982 the subsidiary ARRI Video, now known as ARRI Film & TV was set up and made a name for itself in postproduction for commercials, dramas, domestic and international feature films. Today it offers a complete postproduction workflow, providing everything from lab services to state-of-the-art image and audio post services.
The 35BL’s replacement came in 1990 with the release of the ARRIFLEX 535, a silent studio camera boasting a wealth of electronic functions. Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus ASC made use of the camera’s ability to perform exposurecompensated speed ramps on Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula in 1992. Janusz Kaminski ASC chose the 535 for Spielberg’s visually stunning Schindler’s List while Vittorio Storaro combined the 535 with an ARRIFLEX 765, the 65mm camera released in 1989, on Bertolucci’s Little Buddha (1992). The 1990s brought a number of other important developments, most notably the ARRIFLEX SR 3 16mm camera in 1992, which quickly made its mark on the television drama industry, and the versatile ARRIFLEX 435 in 1994, which became a staple on promo and feature sets. ARRI moved in a new direction in 1998 with the launch of the ARRILASER, which was complemented by the ARRISCAN in 2004, placing ARRI at the head of the field in the rapidly expanding world of DI transfers and opening up new possibilities for postproduction workflows. The turn of the twenty-first century has seen ARRI step up the pace further still, on its release of cutting edge products. The innovative ARRICAM Studio and ARRICAM Lite cameras debuted in 2000 and have since been used on many major features including Chicago (2002), King Kong (2005) and
In order to use cameras, filmmakers have always needed light for exposure and over the last ninety years the ARRI brand has become well known for its robust, well made lighting products. Since developing the first mirror facet reflector in 1924, to the ARRI GIGANT in 1952, the ARRISONNE 2000W in 1972 and the ARRI Studio range in 1988, ARRI has strived to produce the lighting equipment to meet the varied demands of the technicians who apply the technology. The newest and brightest fixture, the ARRIMAX 18/12, launched in 2005 has taken lighting to new levels using a unique concept for beam control, eliminating the need for spread lenses. The ARRIMAX’s work can be seen on Indiana Jones 4, Batman: The Dark Knight and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. In the very beginning innovation, reliability and durability were Arnold and Richter’s business principles and that same mind-set remains today. In order to best serve creative professionals ARRI has always adapted to the latest trends and has developed the appropriate technology accordingly. In a rapidly evolving industry ARRI not only provides state-of-the-art technology, but equally as important, worldwide service and technical support. Despite the awards and accolades in recognition of technical achievements, ARRI believes that it is all about empowering creative professionals to realize their imagination and vision. That philosophy still stands today and will continue for the next ninety years and beyond. I Mark Hope-Jones
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