The Totalvision Company () was a French corporation that specialized in the design and manufacturing of lenses, cameras, and projection systems primarily focused on anamorphic optics. It was founded in June 1954. Totalvision was created and managed by Georges Bonnerot and Elie Libman students of Professor Henri Chrétien. Circa 1956, the company experienced significant expansion to foreign markets. Totalvision cameras equipment and lenses were sold in East Germany (DDR), Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, China, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Totalvision was a competitor of Cinemascope in Europe, providing cheaper licensing fees to European markets while presenting cinematographers with equipment of equal or better quality. The system comprised a wide range of anamorphic lenses, from 32mm to 150mm, that created little distortion and made CinemaScope almost obsolete in Europe.
France Cinematographers such as: Claude Renoir, Louis Page, Lucien Joulin, Michel Kelber and Henri Alekan used Totalvision equipment for their work. All cameras were equipped with specifically designed couplings allowing a single primary and anamorphic focusing. Totalvision created an affordable 16mm anamorphic projection lens under the brand of Ruralscope which was marketed and sold to movie theaters in rural France.
Italy Polish-born director of photography/cinematographer Henryk Chroscicki bought rights to manufacture Totalvison's equipment in Italy and effectively became a rental house and a distributor for Italian filmmakers. More than 200 major films, including La Dolce Vita, and 300 documentaries have been shot with Totalvision equipment under the brand name of Totalscope. Based on his ownership of rights for Totalvision equipment, Henryk Chroscicki developed the anamorphic lens system Technovision which made its first appearance in 1974.
Films Made with Totalvision
Name Year Director Country Move and I'll Shoot () 1958 Mario Mattoli Italy Lui, lei e il nonno 1959 Anton Giulio Majano Italy First Spaceship on Venus () 1960 Kurt Maetzig East Germany Mother Courage and Her Children () 1961 Peter Palitzsch East Germany Die Liebe und der Co-Pilot 1961 Richard Groschopp East Germany A Monkey in Winter () 1962 Henri Verneuil France Die schwarze Galeere 1962 Martin Hellberg East Germany The Flying Dutchman () 1964 Joachim Herz East Germany Mir nach, Canaillen 1964 Ralf Kirsten East Germany Preludio 11 1964 Kurt Maetzig East Germany Schwarzer Samt 1964 Heinz Thiel East Germany Karla 1965 Herrmann Zschoche East Germany Hands of a Gunfighter () 1965 Rafael Romero Marchent Italy La longue marche 1966 Alexandre Astruc France The Sons of Great Bear () 1966 Josef Mach East Germany Frozen Flashes () 1967 János Veiczi East Germany Frau Venus und ihr Teufel 1967 Ralf Kirsten East Germany Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors 1967 David L. Hewitt USA Encrucijada para una monja 1967 Julio Buchs Spain Mord am Montag 1968 Hans Kratzert East Germany Heißer Sommer 1968 Joachim Hasler East Germany Mit mir nicht, Madam! 1969 Roland Oehme East Germany Lesbo 1969 Edoardo Mulargia Italy Verdacht auf einen Toten 1969 Rainer Bär East Germany Im Himmel ist doch Jahrmarkt 1969 Rolf Losansky East Germany Netzwerk 1969 Ralf Kirsten East Germany Tödlicher Irrtum 1970 Konrad Petzold East Germany Tecumseh 1972 Hans Kratzert East Germany
See also Arriscope Aspect ratio Cine 160 Letterbox List of film formats Pan and scan 21:9 aspect ratio
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