The 35-millimeter (mm) format for movie production became a de facto

The 35-millimeter (mm) format for movie production became a de facto standard around 1913. The mid-1920s through the mid-1930s, however, saw a resurgence of wide-film formats. During this time period, formats used by studios ranged in gauge from 55mm to 70mm. Research and development then slackened until the 1950s, when wide-screen film-making came back in direct response to the erosion of box-office receipts because of the rising popularity of television. This Cinerama (1952) is generally considered to mark the beginning of the modern era of wide-screen film-making, which saw another flurry of specialized formats, such as CinemaScope. In 1956, Panavision developed Camera 65 for MGM Studios; it was first used during the filming of Raintree County. Panavision soon contributed another key technical advance by developing spherical 65mm lenses, which eliminated the “fat faces” syndrome that had plagued earlier CinemaScope films.

Some forty “roadshow” films were filmed in wide-screen formats during this period. But wide-screen formats foundered due to expense, unwieldy cameras, and slow film stocks and lenses. After the invention of a set of 35mm anamorphic lenses, which could be used in conjunction with much more mobile cameras to squeeze a widescreen image onto theatrical screens, film technology improved to the point where quality 70mm prints could be blown up from 35mm negatives.

1. It can be inferred from the information in the passage that wide-film formats were

(A) in use before 1913.
(B) not used during the 1940s.
(C) more widely used during the 1920s than during the 1930s.
(D) not used after 1956.
(E) more widely used for some types of movies than for others.


2. The passage mentions all the following as factors contributing to the increased use of wide-film formats for moviemaking EXCEPT:

(A) spherical camera lenses.
(B) Panavision’s Camera 65.
(C) television.
(D) anamorphic camera lenses.
(E) movie theater revenues.


3. Which of the following statements is most strongly supported by the passage’s information?

(A) If a movie does not suffer from the “fat faces” syndrome, then it was not produced in a wide-film format.
(B) Prior to the invention of the 35mm anamorphic lens, quality larger prints could not be made from smaller negatives.
(C) The same factors that contributed to the resurgence of wide-film formats in the 1950s also led to the subsequent
decline in their use.
(D) The most significant developments in 35mm technology occurred after the release of Raintree County.
(E) Movie-theater revenues are not significantly affected by whether the movies shown are in wide-screen format.