American Cinematographer - May 2000 - 12

Ancient Romehas always been an idealsettingfor

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epic motion pictures. After all, the great civiliza¬
of yore offers dramatic angles that
Hollywood insiders can certainly relate to and savor:
elaborate schemes of conquest and revenge hatched
by omnipotent rulers; the marshalling of countless
minions in the pursuit of a "grand vision"; and the
chance to stage massive battles featuring thousands
of participants.
Director Ridley Scott is no stranger to largescale moviemaking, with a resume that includes strik¬
ing period dramas (The Duellists, 1492: Conquest of
Paradise); mythological fantasy [Legend]] and gripping science fiction (Alien, Blade
Runner). This time around, he's teamed with a talented group of collaborators (includ¬
ing cinematographer John Mathieson and production designer Arthur Max) to
modernize the "sword and sandal" genre with Gladiator. Our in-depth coverage of the
picture examines the project from three key angles: cinematography ("Death or Glory,"
page 34), directing ("Veni, Vidi, Vici," page 46) and production design ("Rebuilding
Ancient Rome," page 54).
Since our theme this month is postproduction, we've also included several arti¬
cles that explore some after-the-fact artistry. "Urban Angst" (see Production Slate,
page 26) details the cutting-edge post work employed on the indie film Urbania, which
was shot in Super 16 and then transferred to video for offline editing. "Indelible
Compressions" (page 96) reveals how DVD technology is spurring renewed efforts in
film preservation, particularly among cinematographers supervising the revival of their
work in the new format. Finally, "A Test of Hi-Def" (page 102) assesses the results of
an experiment that MGM and The Post Group undertook on the comedy feature
Return to Me: the use of high-definition technology for dailies, postproduction work
and preview screenings. Although the project's director of photography, Laszlo Kovacs,
ASC, expressed some serious reservations about this new process, it signals a poten¬
tial trend that other cinematographers should certainly track.
This issue also present the second installment of our two-part series "Taking
Stock" (page 118), a comprehensive analysis of both Fuji and Eastman Kodak's motion
picture emulsions by cinematographers Jay Holben and Christopher Probst. This
month, Probst assesses Kodak's Vision stocks and presents information that will
surely prove valuable to camera crews everywhere.
Meanwhile, the warm glow of the 14th Annual ASC Awards is still lingering in
the air. For those of you who couldn't attend, "A Night to Remember" (page 88) revis¬
its the event in a festive photo spread. In addition, the article "Must-See TV" (page
60) offers interviews with this year's nominees in the television categories.
tion

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American Cinematographer - May 2000

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