Main scope filmography
American Widescreen Museum
• The following films are all confirmed as having been shot with spherical lenses (either 35mm or HD) and cropped in post for a 2.39:1 release print: LAST TIME FOREVER (2006), LIKE DANDELION DUST (2009), MARIE-LINE (2000), MATHA (2011), MÉDÉE MIRACLE (2007), METÉORA (2012), MINDFLESH (2008), NACKT (2002) and NAOMI (2010).
• The copyright year for DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES has been changed from 1967 to 1966, confirmed by my own personal viewing of the film in recent days.
• Back in the 1980's and 90's, dozens of films emerged from IFD and Filmark studios in Hong Kong, designed for international distribution, especially in English-speaking territories. Each one of these productions were barrel-scrapingly cheap, and were created via the acquisition of unsold or unfinished movies from Thailand, Taiwan or the Philippines, which were then re-edited and 'augmented' by about 15 minutes of newly-shot footage intended to create an entirely new and separate 'product'. Trying to identify the films used as 'building blocks' for these new entries has often defeated even the most dedicated researcher, though new discoveries are being made all the time. Just recently, thanks to pioneering work highlighted by the excellent website Golden Ninja Warrior Chronicles, new details have emerged about individual titles, all of which are currently listed at the scope filmog in various stages of incompleteness.
The first one in this update is GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR, which turns out to be the HK version of Taiwanese film PI LI NU WANG FENG (1985). Taiwanese sources do not provide an English title for this particular film, nor do they list a director, which is highly unusual, to say the least. And here's where it gets complicated: The HK print (GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR) includes a small amount of footage from NINJA TERMINATOR (1985), another cut-and-paste effort built around massive amounts of footage from Korean film THE UNINVITED GUEST OF THE STAR FERRY (1984).
• Currently listed as a S.Korean film, GRUDGE OF THE SLEEPWALKING WOMAN (1983) turns out to be a Korean/Taiwanese co-production.
• The film currently listed as Lovely Rita, Saint Patronne des cas Désespérés is actually LOVELY RITA: SAINTE PATRONNE DES CAS DÉSESPÉRÉS (2003), and was filmed in spherical/cropped format.
• Correspondent S. Martin writes to let me know that LUV (2012) was shot in HD with Hawk anamorphic lenses.
• Online footage confirms MANIAC (1963) was shot with anamorphic lenses, not spherical.
• The film currently listed as Morderca Zostawia Slad should be listed as MORDERCA ZOSTAWIA ŚLAD (1968) - a small detail, but any project like the scope filmog is built on such small details - and the director credited as Aleksandra Ścibor-Rylskiego. However, the shooting format remains unidentified.
• Similarly, the film currently listed as Na Komete should be listed as NA KOMETĚ (1970). And once again, the shooting format remains unidentified.
• According to this article, NEW STORY OF AN OLD SOLDIER (1959) was "the first color wide-screen stereophonic movie made in China". It's already featured in the list as having been shot in 'Anamorphic', but I've added a note about the stereo soundtrack.
• According to this entry at the Hong Kong Movie Database, NINJA COMMANDMENTS - copyright year 1986, not 1987 as currently listed - comprises newly-shot footage intercut with extensive material from Taiwanese film MA! DON'T DIE ON MY BACK (1981), which has just been added to the filmog as a separate film in its own right (see 'New Entries' post for 6 Apr 2012).
• The Thai film used as 'building blocks' for NINJA DESTROYER (1986) may have been produced as early as 1970.
• The on-screen title of Ninja in the Killing Fields is actually NINJA IN THE KILLING FIELD (1986), which is built around extensive footage from the 1983 Thai film 123 COMMANDO (see 'New Entries' posting for 6 Apr 2012).
• The on-screen title of Ninja Phantom Heroes U.S.A. is actually NINJA PHANTOM HEROS U.S.A. This is an AKA for NINJA PHANTOM HEROES (1987), another cut-n-paste job built around footage from Hong Kong film STRUGGLE FOR LEADER (1983).
• The film used as 'building blocks' for NINJA POWERFORCE (copyright year changed from 1987 to 1990) is the 1989 Taiwanese drama THE RETURN (see 'New Entries' posting for 6 Apr 2012).
• NINJA: SILENT ASSASSIN and NINJA STRIKE FORCE (both 1987) were built around footage from Taiwanese movies, though the films themselves remain unidentified.
• NU STIGER DEN! (1966) was shot with anamorphic lenses, though the format remains unidentified.
• TÊTE DE TURC (2010) was listed in the blog entry for 26 Mar 2012 as having been shot spherical/cropped, but S. Martin writes to let me know it was actually shot with anamorphic Panavision lenses (see interview here). He also confirms that the 1995 film VICTORY was spherical/cropped rather than Panavision. Many thanks for that!
These entries now run as follows:
DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES
(aka: The Fearless Vampire Killers)
UK - 1966 - col
D: Roman Polanski
Panavision
GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR
(see: Pi Li Nu Wang Feng)
GRUDGE OF THE SLEEPWALKING WOMAN
몽녀한
(aka: Snake Woman)
S.Korea/Taiwan - 1983 - col
D: Kang Beom-ku
Anamorphic
[See also: Scorpion Thunderbolt (1986)]
HECTOR SERVADAC'S ARK
(see: Na Kometě)
THE KILLER LEAVES A TRACE
(see: Morderca Zostawia Ślad)
KILLER NINJAS
(see: Ninja in the Killing Field)
LAST TIME FOREVER
USA - 2006 - col
D: Adam Bonfanti
LIKE DANDELION DUST
USA - 2009 - col
D: Jon Gunn
LOVELY RITA: SAINTE PATRONNE DES CAS DÉSESPÉRÉS
France - 2003 - col
D: Stéphane Clavier
LUV
USA - 2012 - col
D: Sheldon Candis
Hawk Scope (HD)
MANIAC
UK - 1963 - bw
D: Michael Carreras
Megascope (anamorphic)
MARIE-LINE
France - 2000 - col
D: Mehdi Charef
MATHA
Sri Lanka - 2011 - col
D: Boodee Keerthisena
MÉDÉE MIRACLE
(aka: Medea Miracle)
France/Italy - 2007 - col
D: Tonino De Bernardi
METÉORA
France/Greece/Germany - 2012 - col
D: Spiros Stathoulopoulos
MINDFLESH
UK - 2008 - col
D: Robert Pratten
MORDERCA ZOSTAWIA ŚLAD
(aka: The Killer Leaves a Trace)
(aka: The Murderer Leaves a Clue)
Poland - 1968 - bw
D: Aleksandra Ścibor-Rylskiego
Anamorphic
THE MURDERER LEAVES A CLUE
(see: Morderca Zostawia Ślad)
NACKT
(aka: Naked)
Germany - 2002 - col
D: Doris Dörrie
NA KOMETĚ*
(aka: Hector Servadac's Ark)
(aka: On the Comet)
Czechoslovakia - 1970 - col
D: Karel Zeman
NAOMI
התפרצות אקס
Israel/France - 2010 - col
D: Eitan Tzur
NEW STORY OF AN OLD SOLDIER
老兵新传
China - 1959 - col
D: Shen Fu
4-channel stereo
Anamorphic
NINJA COMMANDMENTS
Hong Kong - 1986 - col
D: Joseph Lai San-lun, Chen Jun-wuan
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from Taiwanese film Ma! Don't Die On My Back (1981, qv), intended for international distribution]
NINJA CONNECTION
(see: Ninja in the Killing Field)
NINJA DESTROYER**
Hong Kong/Thailand - 1986 - col
D: Godfrey Ho Jeung-keung
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from an unidentified Thai film (evidence suggests a production date of 1970), intended for international distribution]
NINJA IN THE KILLING FIELD
(aka: Ninja Connection)
(aka: Killer Ninjas)
Hong Kong/Thailand - 1986 - col
D: Godfrey Ho Jeung-keung [as: York Lam]
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from Thai film 123 Commando (1983, qv), intended for international distribution]
NINJA PHANTOM HEROES
(aka: Ninja, Phantom Heros U.S.A.)
Hong Kong - 1987 - col
D: Godfrey Ho Jeung-keung [as: Bruce Lambert], Lee Chiu
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from Hong Kong film Struggle for Leader (1983, qv), intended for international distribution]
NINJA, PHANTOM HEROS U.S.A.
(see: Ninja Phantom Heroes)
NINJA POWERFORCE
(aka: Ninja Operation 4: Thunderbolt Angels)
(aka: Thunderbolt Angels)
Hong Kong - 1990 - col
D: Joseph Lai San-lun, Cheung Chi-chiu
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from Taiwanese film The Return (1989, qv), intended for international distribution]
NINJA: SILENT ASSASSIN**
(aka: Black Ninja)
(aka: Ninja Operation: Knight and Warrior)
Hong Kong - 1987 - col
D: Godfrey Ho Jeung-keung
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from an unidentified Taiwanese film, intended for international distribution]
NINJA STRIKE FORCE**
(aka: Ninja Operation 2: Way of Challenge)
Hong Kong - 1987 - col
D: Joseph Lai San-lun
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from an unidentified Taiwanese film, intended for international distribution]
NINJA TERMINATOR
(aka: Ninja Heat)
(aka: Silver Fox and Ninja Terminator)
Hong Kong/S.Korea - 1985 - col
D: Godfrey Ho Jeung-keung, Kim Si-hyeon
Anamorphic
[Comprised of newly-shot material intercut with footage from Korean film The Uninvited Guest of the Star Ferry (1984, qv), intended for international distribution. See also: Pi Li Nu Wang Feng (1985, qv)]
NU STIGER DEN!*
(aka: Up He Goes!)
Denmark - 1966 - col
D: Annelise Hovmand
Anamorphic
ON THE COMET
(see: Na Kometě)
PI LI NU WANG FENG**
霹靂女王蜂
(aka: Golden Ninja Warrior)
Taiwan - 1985 - col
Anamorphic
[Taiwanese sources do not provide an English-language title, nor do they indicate the name of this film's director. The Hong Kong version, Golden Ninja Warrior, includes a small amount of footage from Ninja Terminator (1985, qv), itself a mish-mash of newly-shot material intercut with footage from Korean film The Uninvited Guest of the Star Ferry (1984, qv)]
TÊTE DE TURC
(aka: Turk's Head)
France - 2010 - col
D: Pascal Elbé
Panavision
THE UNINVITED GUEST OF THE STAR FERRY
스타페리 불청객
S.Korea - 1984 - col
D: Kim Si-hyeon
Anamorphic
[See also Ninja Terminator and Pi Li Nu Wang Feng (both 1985)]
VICTORY
UK/France/Germany - 1995 - col
D: Mark Peploe
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