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 is cited by Hermann Simon as an example of a "hidden champion". The Arri Alexa camera system was used to shoot several films that won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, including Hugo (2011), Life of Pi (2012), Gravity (2013), Birdman (2014), The Revenant (2015) and 1917 (2019).
History
Early history Arri was founded in Munich, Germany on 12 September 1917 by August Arnold and Robert Richter as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik. The acronym Arri was derived from the initial two letters of the founders' surnames, Arnold and Richter. In 1924, Arnold and Richter developed their first film camera, the small and portable Kinarri 35. In 1937, Arri introduced the world's first reflex mirror shutter in the Arriflex 35 camera, an invention of longtime engineer Erich Kästner. This technology employs a rotating mirror that allows a continuous motor to operate the camera while providing parallax-free reflex viewing to the operator, and the ability to focus the image by eye through the viewfinder, much like an SLR camera for photography. The reflex design was subsequently used in almost every professional motion picture film camera and is still used in the Arri Alexa Studio digital camera. The first Hollywood film to employ an Arriflex was the 1947 Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film Dark Passage in 1947. Over the years, more than 17,000 Arriflex 35s were built. The design was recognized with two Scientific and Technical Academy Awards in 1966 and 1982.
Rise and Appeasement under Nazi Rule (1926–1938) In its early years, ARRI grew steadily: by 1927, the company had 20 employees, and five years later, it had already doubled that number. When August Arnold and Robert Richter were not using their technology to produce films or segments for the newsreel (Wochenschau), they rented out their equipment to other film producers for a fee. This idea of renting equipment would later lead to the founding of ARRI Rental, now a major branch of ARRI's global business. In 1928, the company developed the KINARRI 16, the first 16mm camera—a hand-cranked amateur model soon replaced by an improved version with a spring mechanism. In 1934, ARRI released a mobile sound camera, but due to patent issues, it was only used for the production of two films. From 1927 onward, the company filmed the Reichsparteitage of the NSDAP, and after the party took power in Germany, ARRI ingratiated itself by sending letters presenting the firm as a longtime supporter. Richter and Arnold both joined the NSDAP in 1933. They hoped to gain protection, commissions, and recommendations for the renewed production of feature films under party-affiliated organizations. The company hired directors and screenwriters who were aligned with the cultural policies of Nazi Germany, but after only three feature films produced in 1934–35 it abandoned feature-film production. These films were Grenzfeuer (1934), written and directed by Hanns Beck-Gaden; Die Frauen vom Tannhof (1934), directed by Franz Seitz Sr. from a screenplay by Joseph Dalmann; and Es waren zwei Junggesellen (1935), directed by Seitz, with a screenplay by Dalmann and Joe Stöckel. In 1938, ARRI was commissioned to shoot a film documenting the destruction of the Old Main Synagogue in Munich. In 1937, ARRI presented the ARRIFLEX 35 at the Leipzig Spring Fair, the first mass-produced reflex film camera. Engineer Erich Kästner played a decisive role, bringing the rotating mirror shutter to production readiness in motion picture cameras. For the first time, the ARRIFLEX 35 allowed users to view the precise frame and focus distribution through the viewfinder without parallax error. The basic design of this camera is still used today in ARRI's digital ALEXA line.
Second World War (1939–1945) From 1939 onwards, the German military became a major customer for ARRIFLEX cameras, which were used for propaganda purposes. Sales to the film industry were largely restricted. Although ARRI was not classified as an armaments manufacturer, in 1942 production was relocated from Türkenstraße in Munich to Brannenburg, approximately 70 km away. On 13 July 1944, ARRI's Munich headquarters was completely destroyed in an Allied bombing raid. During the war, a copy of the ARRIFLEX—called the Cineflex—was developed in the United States, primarily for military applications. After 1945, when ARRI was again able to deliver precision-engineered ARRIFLEX cameras from U.S.-occupied Bavaria, the American copy disappeared from the market. Following the end of the war, ARRI immediately began rebuilding its headquarters in Munich. The reconstruction took place in several phases and lasted approximately ten years.
1950–1989
In 1952, Arri introduced the Arriflex 16ST, the first professional 16mm camera with a reflex viewing system. In 1965, a self-blimped 16mm camera was released: the Arriflex 16BL. The Arriflex 35BL followed in 1972 as a lightweight, quiet alternative to the rather heavy and cumbersome blimped cameras of the time. Also in 1972, Arri pioneered the development of daylight luminaires with the Arrisonne 2000 W. The Arriflex 16SR, launched in 1975, featured a redesigned viewfinder with a through-the-lens light meter. The Arriflex 765, a 65mm camera, was released in 1989, partly in response to the growing industry demand for 70mm release prints.
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