A History of Technovision

One of the rarest and most desirable sets of lenses in the Scheimpflug inventory

is our prized set of Technovision anamorphic primes. A special blend of Cooke Speed

Panchro taking lenses, Japanese cylindrical glass and modern focusing elements and

mechanics, the Technovisions embody a rich history of European continental

filmmaking.

Technovision was founded in the mid-70s by Polish entrepreneur Henryk

Chroscicki. Chroscicki and his partners had spent years servicing the European film

industry with Totalscope and Totalvision-brand optics, derived from the original

anamorphic lenses invented by Henri Chretian in the 1950s. However, by the early 70s,

the Totalscope system (as well as most other early anamorphic systems like

Dyaliscope, Franscope and Ultrascope) had become outdated and the Italian film

industry which had supported it turned to spherical 2-perf Techniscope in order to create

high quality widescreen images.

Chroscicki, being a highly successful film producer as well, understood the need

for a modern, sharp anamorphic system for the Italian market and in 1976, established

Technovision in Rome. In order to create a better anamorphic lens, Chroscicki reached

out to Japan, where ‘Scope photography was universal across the industry and massive

amounts of research was being done into improving lenses. A company called Shiga

Optics supplied Technovision with anamorphic cylinders which Chroscicki’s engineers

combined with Cooke Speed Panchro and Zeiss Super Speed taking lenses to create

an extensive range of prime focal lengths. They also added rear anamorphic elements

to Cooke 5:1 and 10:1 Varotal zooms to create a complete line-up suitable for

productions of any size and scale.

The lenses were first deployed on legendary director Luchino Visconti’s final film,

L’Innocente (1976), which was the first film shot entirely on Technovision’s optics. This

was followed shortly by the iconic Giallo horror film Suspiria (1977). But Technovision’s

international reputation was established by Vittorio Storaro’s use of the lenses on

Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus Apocalypse Now (1979).

Coppola on the set of Apocalypse now (1979).

Storaro was a well-established cinematographer at the time who had already

shot The Conformist and Last Tango in Paris for Bernardo Bertolucci. But shooting a

Vietnam War epic would require immense technical and logistical support, so he turned

to Chroscicki, who supplied the famously drawn-out and bloated production with

multiple sets of standard and high speed lenses for the many large scale action

sequences. Apocalypse Now is widely considered a landmark in cinematography, due in

no small part to Storaro’s deep, rich and very contrasty chiaroscuro imagery. Storaro

would continue to use Technovision cameras and lenses for much of his career, which

includes his Oscar-winning work in Warren Beatty’s Reds and Bertolucci’s The Last

Emperor, which famously utilized a 25mm anamorphic to capture the expanse of

China’s Forbidden City.

Chroscicki also managed to establish a branch of his company in Paris, France

which brought Technovision into the French film industry. The process was utilized by

Thierry Arbogast in the films of Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita and Leon the

Professional) and later by Darius Khondji who used Technovision lenses along with the

optically similar JDC Xtal Express on The Immigrant, The Interpreter and Cheri. Khondji

has credited Chroscicki with supporting the beginning of his career as a

cinematographer.

Still from "Innocente" shot on Technovision Anamorphic glass.

Technovision also sold lenses around the world especially to Russia, India and

Hong Kong where several sets were delivered to Jackie Chan’s company in the mid-80s

and used on action films like Rumble in the Bronx, Operation Condor and Supercop.

They were also a worldwide dealer for Cooke zooms, many of which they modified to be

faster and wider. Techno-Cooke spherical and anamorphic zooms can be found on the

shelf at many different rental houses.

Shot on Technovisions "Leon the Professional"

Technovision was sold to Panavision in 2004, shortly after Henryk Chroscicki’s

passing, but the original lenses are still available from D-Vision in Italy (formerly

Technovision Rome) and TSF Camera in France. In 2018, P+S Technik followed their

successful recreation of the Kowa Prominars by releasing a new line of Technovision

primes and zooms inspired by the original lenses. However, in contrast to the 2x

squeeze Academy 35 design of the original lenses, the new set is 1.5x squeeze and

designed to cover full frame sensors.

Scheimpflug is proud to carry the only original set of Technovision anamorphic

lenses on this side of the Atlantic. The lenses came to us from India and spent many

years in our inventory in rather distressed mechanical condition. The original lenses had

simple, compact housings and some of the lenses rotated and extended during

focusing. The original set had the massive 20 and 25mm wide angle lenses and then

only 32, 50 and 85mm primes, each with a different taking lens and T-stop. Despite this,

they delivered outstanding visual imagery and developed a small but passionate

following among our clientele. But we knew that in order to reach their full potential, the

lenses would have to be upgraded considerably.

Still from Never Ending Story shot on Technovision Anamorphic glass

Starting in 2023, we began the process of rehousing them. Rehousing

anamorphic lenses was and still is an extremely niche business compared to the

worldwide proliferation of rehousing companies doing spherical still and cine lenses.

After some research we turned to Lensworks Rentals in LA to create our dream

anamorphic set. Lensworks had been building their own Neo-AO anamorphic lenses

based on the original Japanese Shiga design combined with Cooke Speed Panchro and

Canon Rangefinder glass, so they were an ideal match for the task at hand. The goal

was to recreate the quality and feel of the vintage Techno-Cooke sets used on

Apocalypse Now and other films, but in a modern housing with an extended range of

focal lengths. Original period-correct Shiga cylinders and Speed Panchro primes were

sourced to build brand new 40 and 100mm prime lenses, and the existing focal lengths

were all mounted with vintage Panchro taking lenses.

Finally, the vintage components were combined with newly manufactured front

focusing elements which replaced the scratched and mold-stricken originals. The new

focusing groups come down to under 3 feet on all the rehoused lenses while being

internal focus. The new housings are durable machined aluminum with a standard

134mm front diameter on the 32mm and 114mm front diameters on the 40, 50, 75 and

100mm. The 20 and 25mm lenses have remained stock with their massive square front

elements and complete the line-up for those who require an unparalleled wide angle

panorama. The lenses are optimized for the traditional 18x22mm anamorphic 35mm

film frame and perform best on digital cameras that recreate that format such as the

Alexa Mini, Alexa 35 and Red Helium and Komodo cameras.

The Technovision anamorphics deliver an instantly recognizable vintage

anamorphic look with warm tones, gentle barrel distortion, crisp multi-colored horizontal

flares and gorgeous waterfall bokeh. They can transform any composition into a moving

painting with the texture of an impressionist masterpiece. They are especially stunning

in strong backlight, which creates a magnificent blooming effect that wraps around the

actors. Like all vintage anamorphic lenses of the period, they benefit greatly from being

stopped down which improves sharpness and definition considerably and creates the

epic widescreen look that made these lenses so sought after. Additionally, the incredible

close focus our set is capable of allows for striking portraits and close-ups without the

need for diopters. Both the 75 and 100mm come down to almost 2 feet which is much

closer than most vintage anamorphics were capable of. This allows for more flexibility

and faster workflow on set. Previously challenging shots like inserts and car interiors

become routine thanks to Lensworks’ improvements to the original design.

Still from Apocalypse Now shot on "Technovision Anamorphic Glass."

The Technovision Anamorphic lenses at Scheimpflug Rental carry the lineage of

the many iconic motion pictures shot with the original optics inside of a brand new

housing with all the benefits of a modern mechanical design. This combination gives

cinematographers access to an unrivaled vintage character straight out of the 70s and

80s that is almost impossible to find anywhere else. We encourage our clients to come

and test them out in our rental facility. We guarantee that they will be your new favorite

anamorphic set!