Napol’nheimer? Oppenparte? Whatever you choose to call it, the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) recently received 20 reels of 70-millimeter (mm) polyester film: “Napoleon” (directed by Ridley Scott, 2023, 11 reels) and “Oppenheimer” (directed by Christopher Nolan, 2023, 9 reels) and they are now part of the Library’s collection.
The Copyright Office: the Journey of the 70 mm Deposits Begins
Materials come into the Library of Congress through various pathways. In the case of “Napoleon” and “Oppenheimer,” their arrival began with receipt in the U.S. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress.
These film reels are copyright deposits. More information about copyright registration and deposit can be found on Copyright Registration for Motion Pictures Including Video Recordings (Circ. 45).
The 70 mm Copyright Deposit Saga Continues: Inspection in the Moving Image Research Center
The 20 reels of film were then transported from one floor of the Library’s Madison Building to another: from the U.S. Copyright Office where they were received, to the Moving Image Research Center where they were further examined.
Once received in the Moving Image Research Center, the staff expert usually inspects film deposits by looking at the basic physical condition of the film after shipping to make sure there is no obvious damage. The expert can reject a film print, but this has been rare in recent years.
The Moving Image Research Center staff expert typically rehouses film deposits into cans and titles them with grease pencil, then sends them down to the Library’s Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia in a locked transport cart (nicknamed “the cage”). Because 70 mm film deposits are rare, film reels may be shipped inside cardboard shipping cartons, with flat pieces of cardboard and a little bubble wrap between each reel, or the reels may get a special delivery from a staff member by car or van who can drive the materials from Washington, D.C. to Culpeper.
“Napoleon” and “Oppenheimer” (the film reels, that is) passed inspection and then made their move from D.C. down to Culpeper for – more inspection!
Culpeper, Virginia: 70 mm Copyright Deposit Reels Unite
In Culpeper, the 70 mm reels were inspected further on a film inspection bench, using the largest reels in the equipment supply. The films are rehoused as needed, and in this case, the need was for film cans that can store 2000 feet of film per reel. It’s so unusual for the Moving Image Section to receive 70 mm film that the staff even needed to do some creative sourcing of film cans! Luckily, Preservation Specialist David March managed to source a small supply, and the 11 reels of “Napoleon” and 9 reels of “Oppenheimer” now all have appropriate housing.
Cataloging the films in both the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center’s internal systems and in the Library’s public catalog are part of the final steps for making copyright deposits accessible and available. While “Napoleon” and “Oppenheimer” are not yet described in the Library’s public catalog, here is a record for another 70 mm film “Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets,” directed and written by Kieth Merrill, 1984:
The films are stored in the Moving Image Safety Vaults. The term “safety” is a term used to describe non-nitrate films, which are stored in the Nitrate Vaults. Some of the tenants in the 70mm neighborhood of the vaults include the films “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “The Deer Hunter,” and “My Fair Lady.” While the Moving Image collection amounts to almost 2 million items, the portion of those items that are 70 mm film is quite small, with only about 150 reels in the vaults. So you can understand why we were so excited to receive these two new features!
Modern 35 mm film prints, when they’re still created (which is becoming more and more unusual), typically have a few different soundtrack types on them so theaters with different sound systems will have one soundtrack type that works for them. 70 mm film prints are even more unusual these days, and there is only one soundtrack type on modern 70 mm film prints: DTS, which stands for Digital Theater Systems. This is actually just a very small strip of light and dark alongside the image of the film that serves as a timecode to synchronize with separate discs, on which the 6 sound channels are stored. The picture here shows both the size difference between 35 mm film (left) and 70 mm film (right), as well as showing that cue track between the sprocket holes and the film edge.
(For you film fans: sound on film began with a remarkably similar technology, with large-format records that played the film’s soundtrack, driven by a motor connected to the projector. It’s all been done before!)
An Epilogue? 70 mm Copyright Deposits Into the Future
As previously mentioned, 70-millimeter film is rarely sent in as the format for copyright deposit. That’s why receiving two deposits within the same year is such an exciting event for the Moving Image Section. NAVCC sends its deepest thanks to the Copyright Office Motion Picture Examining Team for their diligent work to help us receive these prints, which will now be stored in climate-controlled vaults and conserved for decades to come.
Thank you to Dorinda Hartmann, Erin Palombi, and Kelly Chisholm for their assistance in writing this blog post.
For more information related to this blog or any Library of Congress holdings, please see Ask a Librarian, and if you plan to come in to view or listen to any collection items, please reach out to our reference staff in the Moving Image Research Center and the Recorded Sound Research Center.