Camera Profiles – Arriflex 35-II Series

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CinemaTechnic Camera Profiles – Arriflex 35-II Series

CinemaTechnic Camera Profiles | Arriflex 35 II Family

Updated 7 April 2020

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We are also now working on the 35IIC Medical Camera conversion project again after an over 10 year hiatus. The conversion will include a PL mount (EF mount option), HD Video Assist viewfinder, and a newly developed crystal motor.

Please get in touch at our email below to let us know of your interest in any of these projects:

cinematechnic@mac_com

Arriflex 35, 35II, 35 IIA, 35 IIB, 35 IIC, 35 IIIC

arriflex_35-2c_290w

Overview

The Arriflex 35 II is one of the most significant motion picture cameras of all time.

The camera is best known as the definitive model Arriflex 35IIC which one of the most well known cine cameras, and there is no argument that this is the camera that “put ARRI on the map”.

Despite the “digital revolution” that began 10 years ago, the venerable ARRI 35IIC continues in service today. We currently have multiple customers that are shooting with these cameras. The are truly The Camera That Would Not Die…

The Arriflex 35-2C/B is still a widely used camera, almost legendary for its ruggedness and reliability.

-Alan Gordon Enterprises, Inc. 1985 Master Sales Catalog

A partial list of significant feature films shot with the Arriflex 35IIB and 35IIC:

A-Camera (primary camera)

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 (35IIB Techniscope)
  • Bullitt 1968
  • Easy Rider 1969
  • A Clockwork Orange 1971 (see images below)
  • THX 1138 1971 (35IIB Techniscope)
  • The French Connection 1971
  • American Graffiti 1973 (35IIB Techniscope)
  • Enter the Dragon 1973
  • Koyannisqatsi 1982

B-Camera (handheld, Steadicam, etc.)

  • Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope 1977 (Pan-ARRI 35IIC)
  • Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back 1980 (Pan-ARRI 35IIC)
  • Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi 1983
  • The Fifth Element 1997
  • The Big Lebowski 1998
  • Y Tu Mamá También 2001
  • Black Hawk Down 2001
  • Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 2003
  • Cinderella Man 2005
  • Transformers 2007
  • Furious 7 2015
 
Arriflex_35mm_1937
Original Arriflex 35 – 1937

History of the Arriflex 35

The original Arriflex 35  was designed and developed by Arnold & Richter, A.G. of Munich Germany. The company was founded in 1917 as film laboratory equipment and accessory manufacturers. The name ARRI derives from the first two letters of each founder’s name August Arnold and Robert Richter. ARRI introduced their first camera the Kinarri in 1924. 100 Kinarris were sold. After a great deal of research and development, they developed the mirror reflex viewing system in 1931.

After perfecting their mirror reflex system, ARRI introduced the Arriflex 35 in 1937. It was the world’s first 35mm reflex motion picture camera. The mirror reflex viewing system it introduced was so superior that it is used on all professional motion picture cameras, in all formats, to this date.*

Although the Arriflex 35 was not available in time to be used in Leni Riefenstahl’s “Olypmia”, the camera was used for much of the later German WWII documentary and propaganda footage. This material was captured after the war and served as evidence at the Nuremberg trials, making the Arriflex 35 a historically significant camera even before it came to use in the U.S. film industry.

Basic Description

The Arriflex 35 is built around a cast aluminum shell of asymmetrical triangular design. The front of the camera employs a three-lens rotating turret, as did all cameras of the time. Early models had three ARRI standard mounts. Later models had one ARRI Bayonet mount and two standard mounts. Many cameras were later upgraded with a PL mount “hard front” which is non-rotating.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder is mounted in the film compartment door, which is detachable. Except for the ground glass and a single mirror, the entire optical viewing system is located in the film door. It consists of a straight tube viewfinder. The IIA and IIB cameras had fixed eyepices, the IIC model has a detachable eyepiece. The same eyepiece was used on the ARRI 16BL and 16 SR I/II cameras. Later model eyepieces designed for the 35BL-3 and 35BL-4 cameras can be fitted, as can replacement eyepieces from P+S Technik and Kish Optics.

Electronics

The 35IIC has no internal electronics (except for optional items such as pilotone generators). The motor mounts to the bottom of the camera and can be used as a handgrip. ARRI supplied either constant speed (24 or 25 fps) or variable speed DC motors. The motors were very simple with no control electronics.

The inside of the camera is simply a film chamber with the gate, the single pull-down claw (no registration pin is used) and chrome plated brass film guides. The film sprockets are part of the magazine, although the partially protrude into the camera when the magazine is fitted.

Film Transport

The film transport and mirror shutter mechanism was designed by Erich Kastner, ARRI’s chief engineer, and August Arnold. It incorporated a single claw acting on the perfs next to the 35mm soundtrack area. The claw was actuated by a cam that allowed the claw to dwell in the perf at the end of the stroke, just long enough to stabilize the film without the use of a registration pin. The gate has a spring loaded side rail that applies pressure to the film edge to effect horzontal (weave) and vertical (jitter) stabilization. This also design made the 35-II compact and lighweight.

Magazines

The interchangeable magazines, 200, 400 and 500ft magazines mount to the top of the camera.

The 200 foot and 400 foot displacement magazines were designed for the camera. These magazines had the sprockets located at the magazine throat. Most cameras at the time had the sprockets inside the film chamber of the camera. The sprockets in the mags kept the film loop constant. Once the mag was properly loaded, it was very easy to thread the camera’s film loop and start shooting. This allowed for much faster re-loads when shooting. The 35-II is one of the easiest to thread 35mm cameras ever made.

The Early History of the Arriflex 35

The introduction of the Arriflex 35 took place in 1937 at the Leipzig Trade Fair in Germany. It was originally designed as a hand-held newsreel camera. It had the sad task of recording the rise and fall of Hitler’s regime: the Axis pacts, the invasion of France, the Russian disaster, Musolini’s death and the Nuremberg trials. Many World War II documentaries include much German material shot with Arriflexes.

American soldiers brought back captured cameras introducing the Arriflex to the US. The camera was “knocked off” and the nearly identical Cineflex PH-330 was made for the US military.

The original ARRI factory on Turkenstrasse street in Munich was bombed during WWII. The factory was rebuilt after the war and production on a new version of the camera, the 35 II, began in 1946.

Arriflex_35IIB_small
Arriflex 35 IIB – 1960

The Arriflex comes to Hollywood

The Arriflex 35 II is significant because it made new styles of filmmaking a practical reality.  The camera was at the heart of both the French New Wave and Hollywood New Wave movements:

“..the Arriflex [35 II] prompted important innovation in three key areas: it greatly facilitated and encouraged location shooting; it gave cinematographers new options for intensifying visual style and content; and it stimulated low-budget and independent production.”

-Norris Pope, Chronicle of a Camera

The first Hollywood feature film to use the Arriflex was Dark Passage, 1945 directed by Delmer Daves, who had tested the captured Arriflexes for the US Air Force during his service in the war.

ARRI began to import the Arriflex to the United States in 1947. Director Robert Flaherty used them on the film Louisiana Story 1948. Soon the camera was so popular that ARRI could hardly keep up with the orders.

The original Arriflex 35 was only made between 1946 and 1952.

The Arriflex 35 IIA was introduced in 1953 and featured an improved steel film gate. The 35 IIBV introduced the variable shutter option in 1960.

The definitive 35 IIC version was introduced in 1964. It featured an improved pull-down claw and larger ground glass, compatible with the Anamorphic Cinemascope format, and a larger diameter viewing system with a detachable eyepiece. The IIC became the most popular model of the series.

The Arriflex 35 II was adopted by the BBC, the Italian RAI, Polish Film News, and all the film units of the US Military. The new communist government of China knocked off the camera and began producing clones of the 35 II in Nanking, China.

The 35 II was one of the very few 35mm reflex hand-held cameras available at the time. As new filmmaking styles emerged in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the 35 II became even more popular. The camera was used extensively by all “New Wave” filmmakers around the world, freeing them from being tied down with heavy studio cameras such as the Mitchell BNCR, which although they were excellent cameras, required two men to lift, making handheld filming impossible.

Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, released in 1971, was shot almost entirely on the ARRI 35 IIC. There are many photos from the set of the film showing 35-IIC’s, both hand held and used inside the ARRI blimphousing.

Over 17,000 35 II’s were produced beginning in 1946 making this the best-selling model ARRI has ever had. By comparison, only about 1400 ARRI 35-3 models, which replaced the 35 II were made, despite the fact that the 35-3 is an industry standard worldwide.

Stanley Kubrick shooting with Arriflex 35IIA
Stanley Kubrick shooting his second film, Killers Kiss, with an Arriflex 35IIA in 1954. Kubrickfilms.com

The many different models of the 35-II

The Arriflex 35-II is one of the most successful 35mm motion picture cameras ever built. About 17,000 35 IIs had been built when ARRI ceased production of them in 1978 (not counting the 35-IIIC).

Arriflex 35: Original version, 1937, newsreel camera in WWII

Arriflex 35 II: 1946 Manufactured in new ARRI factory

Arriflex 35 IIA: 1953 introduced 180º shutter, steel gate

Arriflex 35 IIB: 1960 introduced new transport claw design, fixed 180º shutter

Arriflex 35 II BV: 1960 introduced variable shutter 0º-165º

Arriflex 35 II HS: 1960  high speed version (to 80fps)

Stanley Kubrick shooting Clockwork Orange with Arriflex 35IIC
Kubrick shooting the famous “Singing in the Rain” scene in A Clockwork Orange with a 35IIC in 1970. He has used a IIC to some extent on every one of his films since. Courtesy Warner Brothers

Arriflex 35 II C: 1964

Improved viewing system with larger viewfinder optics which allow veiwing of the full anamophic format. Introduction of interchangeable ground glass system. Viewfinder door with de-anamorphoser available. Interchangeable eyepiece.

35IIC/B Turret
ARRI Arriflex 35IIC/B Bayonet Lens Turret

Arriflex 35 II C/B:

Equipped with a single stainless steel ARRI Bayonet and two ARRI Standard lens mounts on 3 lens turret (pictured above). Allows compatibility with zoom lenses such as the Angenieux 25-250mm T3.9 and prime lenses such as the Zeiss Super Speed Mk.I (T1.4, sometimes incorrectly called “B-Speed”) and  Zeiss Standard Prime Mk.II (T2.1). The 35IIC/B turret can also be retrofitted to any 35IIB or 35IIC.

NOTE: We have one 35IIC/B Bayonet lens turret available for sale.

Arriflex 35 II C GS/B:

Equipped with Pilotone output and start marking system (obsolete system for sync sound). This camera must be used inside a blimp for sync sound shooting.

Arriflex 35 II C HS/B:

High speed model, 80fps maximum, with specially prepared movement and 80fps tachometer. Used 32VDC motor.

Arriflex 35 II C T/B:

Techniscope™ format model. Uses 2-perf pulldown and half-height gate to give Anamorphic aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with normal lenses, and reduces film use by half. Used to shoot THX-1138, American Grafitti, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and many other features during the late 60’s and early 70’s.

George Lucas shooting with Pan-ARRI 35IIC
George Lucas shooting Star Wars: A New Hope with a Pan-ARRI 35IIC and Panavision Anamorphic lens. Courtesy TIME and Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Pan-ARRI 35IIC:

Arriflex 35IIC cameras modified to be compatible with the Panavision system. These were rental-only cameras, available through Panavision, and were never available for sale. These cameras incorporate the PV-35 lens mount and custom bracketry to ensure compatibility with Panavision lenses and accessories. These cameras were used extensively as B and C cameras on many well known films shot with Panavision cameras and lenses.

George Lucas with Pan-ARRI 35IIC Bantha
George Lucas shooting Star Wars: A New Hope with a Pan-ARRI 35IIC. Courtesy TIME and Lucasfilm Ltd.
Arriflex 35-3c on CinemaTechnic bench
A rare Arriflex 35IIIC with Cinematography Electronics motor on the workbench at CinemaTechnic Hollywood

Arriflex 35 III C: 1982

Final refinement of the 35 II design. Featured PL mount (no turret). Hinged film door with new optics, three viewfinders available: Straight Door, Pivoting Door, and Hand-Held Door. Crystal sync handgrip motor of new design, 12VDC, forward-reverse 5-50fps. These cameras were very rare, less than 100  were made. See photo of camera number 22 above.

arri_35-iic_medical_x-ray_camera
Arriflex 35IIC Röntgen Medical X-Ray Camera (High Speed version)

ARRI 35IIC Röntgen Medical  X-Ray Camera: 1964

The earliest versions of the ARRI Röntgen camera were based on the 35IIB. Later versions (pictured above) featured a 35IIC Highspeed film transport and a new body casting similar to the 35IIIC and having a hinged film door.

Designed for use as a Cineradiology camera, the ARRI Röntgen  camera was mounted to an X-Ray console and used to shoot Black & White 35mm film records of moving X-Ray images (used to diagnose heart problems, for example).

Differences between the ARRI Röntgen and the 35IIIC  are a smaller lens mount plate with ARRI Standard mount and the film door hinged at the back rather than at the front.

35IIC Medical Cameras have all the updates to the movement seen in the 35IIC. Production started in 1964  and probably continued in production through the late 1970’s.

These cameras are usually either gray, gray-beige or light green in color and have no lens turret and no viewfinder system. It is possible with some modifications to fit a ground glass holder and viewing system. Usually video-assist only viewing systems are fitted.

Many of these cameras are set up as High Speed cameras and have the 35IIC-HS gate, anti-buckle roller and 80 fps tachometer.

CinemaTechnic provides conversions for the 35IIC Medical cameras so that they can be used for cinematography.

This model was supeceeded by the ARRITECHNO in 1970. ARRITECHNO cameras cannot be used for cinematography since they cannot be modified to incorporate a viewing system.

More info about the ARRI Röntgen on 100.ARRI.com

NOTE: We are currently looking for information about a type of ARRI Medical Camera that was modified for a NASA project called VERTEX. The camera was used to film the separation of rocket booster stages as part of the U.S. space program. If you have any information about this project please get in touch:

cinematechnic@mac_com

The 35IIC today

A very large percentage of the 35IIC cameras produced were still in use well into the 2000’s. It is probably equalled in this regard only by the Mitchell NC series of cameras. No other camera (other than the Mitchell) with a basic design dating back to the mid 1930’s had such a long run as a working camera. This is a result of the simplicity and durability of the basic design. Some film professionals consider the 35IIC to be ARRI’s best design ever.

Successors: The 35-3, 435 and 235

The 35IIC was superseded by the Arriflex 35-3 in 1979, and that venerable camera design was replaced by the ARRI 435ES in 1995. Fortunately, ARRI chose to keep the basic design of the 400 ft / 120 m 35IIC magazines on the newer cameras. In the case of the 35-3, the magazines are identical to the late model 35IIC mags. The 435 has it’s own 150 fps compatible lightweight carbon fiber magazines, but it can use IIC type mags, and the IIC can use 435 mags (except the 1000 foot / 300 m mags).

In the mid 2000’s ARRI introduced the 235, a lightweight 35 mm camera that for the first time in modern cameras, takes a look back to the simple lightweight 35IIC for it’s inspiration. Again, compatibility with 35IIC mags is maintained. This is now the fourth generation of completely redesigned ARRI MOS camera that is compatible with the 35IIC magazines.

Today the 35IIC is mostly used as a “B” or “C” camera, taking care of handheld or Steadicam duties, shooting second unit shots, or placing itself in danger doing those shots that are too risky for a valuable camera such as the ARRI 435ES.

Potential owners or users of the 35IIC should keep the following in mind:

The 35IIC is NOT a silent camera.

It is NOT quiet enough to shoot sync sound. A crystal motor will NOT reduce the sound level of a 35IIC. You CANNOT shoot your sync sound movie on a IIC without a blimp (yes, I have been e-mailed that question several times!) Unless you go the trouble of putting it in a totally encompassing soundproof blimp, you will not be shooting any kind of dialog.

I would strongly advise anyone and everyone to avoid the use of a blimp and simply use a silent 35mm camera for your sync-sound shooting. No one is going to wait for you while you fuss with the blimp. They were used in the past because the only silent cameras available weighed 200 lbs / 90 kg. Unless you have the budget to rent an ARRICAM LT, your 35mm silent camera will be so heavy you’ll want the IIC on set anyway.

However, if you are shooting in a noisy environment where your sound is going to be no good anyway, you can use a IIC with a crystal motor and use the location sound as a scratch track. The scratch track serves as a guide in looping the dialog in the studio.

Whatever you do * DO NOT * shoot your movie with any MOS camera without a crystal motor and without recording scratch track. No matter how bad the background noise or camera sound is on your location sound, it is better than having nothing.

Stanley’s One Mistake

Stanley Kubrick shot his first movie “Fear and Desire” this way, on a Mitchell without recording location sound. Creating the soundtrack without a reference in post-production cost FOUR TIMES the cost of shooting. Kubrick later admitted it was essentially the biggest mistake he had ever made. Fortunately for the art of film, it was practically the last mistake he ever made.

Lens Mounts

A 35IIC fitted with the Bayonet turret can use either ARRI Bayonet or ARRI standard lenses.

A 35IIC fitted with a PL Hard Front can accept the current industry standard PL mount lenses, as well as both types of lenses mentioned above.

35IIC’s can also be fitted with Panavsion and BNCR mounts. A IIC with a Panavision mount is called a Pan-ARRI IIC and was the first Panavision modified Arriflex. They are still in the Panavision rental catalog and available for rental today.

The 35IIC can also be fitted with a Nikon F mount to allow the use of inexpensive 35mm still format lenses.

Spare Parts

Spare parts for the 35IIC no longer available from ARRI. There is a very limited stock of spare parts at independet repair centers and rental houses. I have own jealously guarded little stash of IIC spares at CinemaTechnic. Feel free to get in touch if you need a spare part

Get Your Camera Inspected!

Make sure that any used camera you buy is checked out by a qualified professional camera technician. Most technicians that knew how to work on the ARRI 35IIC have long since retired. I am probably one of the few that hasn’t yet.

Don’t just buy an old 35IIC on eBay and expect that you will just be able to put film in it, and everything will be fine. These cameras are reliable and durable but they do need regular service.

Couldn’t resist – another picture of Stanley with one of his 35IIC’s. I know other A-list film directors used and and still use 35IIC’s. One of them even told me this when I met him a few years ago. But for some reason the images of them with their IIC’s are not easily found, whereas there are plentiful images of Kubrick with his IIC’s.

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Updated 2020-04-07

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