The Arriflex 35BL is a 35mm

motion picture camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either onto film stock or an image sensor, in order to produce a moving image to display on a screen. In c ...

released by

ARRI Arri Group () (stylized as "ARRI") is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. It ...

in 1972.

Function

The Arriflex 35BL was the first silent 35mm camera (BL stands for blimped). It uses a fixed butterfly reflex shutter, which gave the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

an exact representation of the recorded frame. It recorded up to 100 frames per second, which was revolutionary in documenting sporting events. It uses a dual registration pin system. It also has an

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

-styled analogue footage counter. The camera uses both and

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

History

The development of the 35BL began in 1966, since there was no handholdable, silent,

reflex In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus. Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...

35 mm camera at that time. The release of this camera, together with the Panaflex Lightweight released in 1975, changed the filmmaking process profoundly and made big camera setups like the Mitchell BNCR obsolete. The Arriflex 35BL was released just in time to document the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, in Arri's hometown

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. This led to a huge boost in popularity of this camera. It was also one of Arri's longest running product lines, being produced from 1972 until 1990, when the Arriflex 535 replaced it. The 35BL series has been used on many notable films, starting with '' Across 110th Street'', then ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 epic historical drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel '' The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Narrated by Michael Hordern, and starring Ryan O'N ...

'', ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...

'', '' The Shining'', and ''

Return of The Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

''.

Models

Arriflex 35BL I

* released in 1972 * up to 100 fps * Arri bayonet lens mount * external blimps for certain lenses, like the Zeiss Super Speed Primes

Arriflex 35BL II

* released in 1975, alongside the

Arriflex 16SR The Arriflex 16SR is a motion picture camera product line created by Arri, introduced in 1975. This 16SR camera series is designed for 16 mm filmmaking in Standard 16 format. 'SR' Stands for Silent Reflex. In 1982, Arri released the 16SR2, for i ...

* only up to 50 fps, new motor with higher torque, overall more silent

Arriflex 35BL III

* released in 1980 * uses the new acoustic isolated PL Mount, which made lens blimps obsolete * new 180° half moon shutter replaced the bowtie shutter, Shutter can be manually adjusted * similar eyepiece to the one used in the Arri 35 III is installed

Arriflex 35BL 4

* released in 1986 * new viewfinder system, brighter image in the eyepiece, Arriglow is introduced, which illuminates the frame lines, to make framing of dark scenes easier. * only up to 40 fps, but sound level reduction to 22 dBA.

Arriflex 35BL 4S

* released in 1988 * new film movement block, even quieter operating noise * discontinued in 1990 with the release of the Arriflex 535

References

{{reflist

External links

* https://tfma.temple.edu/sites/tfma/files/site-pdfs/35BLManual_ADA.pdf (Manual) * https://shotonwhat.com/cameras/arriflex-35-bl-camera (list of movies shot on the 35 BL) Film and video technology Movie cameras