Leah Levy Soltas

Everyone, I found the article that appeared in an edition of American Cinematographer that my father once showed me regarding this Kubrick lens topic. The entire article can easily be found on line but I cut and paste the lens related info here taken from the article's page 2. I don't understand much about it but just thought you all might be interested. Cut and Pasted from an ASC article/Oct 99 (I think) Understanding that filmmaking is as much a mechanical craft as it is an artistic endeavor, Kubrick has always kept abreast of technical innovations which he could possibly implement in his productions. However, many of his aesthetic and conceptual ideas reached beyond off-the-shelf technology. Haskell Wexler, ASC told Kubrick that Ed DiGiulio, president of Cinema Products Corporation in Los Angeles, was responsive to the demanding requirements of filmmakers, prompting the director to call DiGiulio about his technical needs for Clockwork. After their discussion, DiGiulio purchased a standard Mitchell BNC for Kubrick, which Cinema Products overhauled. DiGiulio also supplied a joystick control for smooth operation of zoom lenses, and a BNC crystal motor. Interestingly, the BNC was not modified for reflex viewing, allowing Kubrick tremendous flexibility in the use of special lenses. For this film, Kubrick envisioned shots that would utilize extremely long, continuous zooms. "Stanley started chatting with me about getting a 20:1 zoom lens, and I said, ’We could do it,’" DiGiulio has reported. He explained to Kubrick that his company could take an Angenieux 16mm 20:1 zoom and put a 2x extender behind it so that it would cover the 35mm format. However, there would be a loss of two stops of light. "The next day I get a telex that’s a yard long in which he explains to me that the 35mm format he’s shooting in is 1.66:1," DiGiulio remembered. "Then he recites Pythagorean theorem to show me how X squared plus Y squared equals the diagonal root of the sum of the squares—and to point out that [in] going up from a 16mm format, I didn’t need a 2x extender, that I could do it with a 1.61x. Therefore, I didn’t have to lose two stops—maybe a stop or stop and a half. Here he is lecturing me, and I’m saying, ’Why this smart ass, another one of these wild-ass directors.’ I called my old buddy Bern Levy, who was working for Angenieux at the time, and I said, ’Bern, I’ve got this wacko director who wants to do this.’ Bern said, ’Well, you know, Ed, as a matter of fact we do have a 1.6x extender.’ And I said, ’Oh, shit.’ This extender existed for some other application, but the bottom line is that I was able to take a 16mm zoom lens, put this extender on it, and give Stanley the exact lens he wanted." One outstanding use of this lens system is Clockwork’s signature opening shot, which begins as a tight close-up on Alex’s sneering face and then slowly zooms out as the camera dollies back, revealing his trio of thuggish companions and the bizarre interior of their favorite haunt, the Korova Milkbar. "That shot is one of the great opening sequences," actor Malcolm McDowell told Neon magazine. "Of course, it’s because of Stanley’s technical ability. He saw it the next day and came in all excited. He said, ’You raised your glass, didn’t you? To the audience?’ I said, ’Yes, to the camera.’ He didn’t notice it during filming. But what an opening." Not incidentally, Kubrick chose to shoot Clockwork with a 1.66:1 aspect ratio partially due to his disgust over the treatment that 2001 suffered in theaters. Improper projection had often all but ruined his precise Super Panavision 70 compositions, compelling him to finally switch to a relatively fail-safe, near-Academy frame. None of the filmmaker’s subsequent films were wider than 1.85:1.

Dear Jeff and everyone on this topic string, My father was Bernard Levy of Angenieux. Over the 2015 holidays, I was googling my father's name and Angenieux and found these topic entries (on your site) regarding this "special" lens designed for your dad and Kubrick's multiple use of it. I am writing to you all since, although I am not in the business, I remember so vividly my father telling me the story about working with your father, Jeff, and his needs for this very special lens. He described so precisely that he developed the lens with your dad in order to accomplish a certain aesthetic for the film. Bern was so proud to be able to accommodate your father and get this equipment designed and developed for him. When I read this string it made me so happy to see that what my dad was able to design for Angenieux so many years ago is still spoken about. Bern passed away almost five years ago. My condolences regarding the recent loss of your father. Their generation of equipment and film makers was breathtaking. They will always be remembered for their greatness. Best regards, Leah Soltas