Company founder August Arnold, was usually ahead of the times, especially in lighting. Colleagues remember Dr. Arnold telling them for years that he had one word about the future of cinema lighting: “Daylight.” His first practical implementations of daylight fixtures were early HMI units at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Iterations of the 35BL followed, project-managed by Otto Blaschek, who had joined ARRI in 1947 under Kaestner. The big breakthrough was the 35BL 3 in 1980. A collective cheer was heard from cinematographers and camera assistants: it had a new PL mount, quieter operation, and no longer required a lens blimp for silent shooting. The various 35BL models worked on major features, including "Barry Lyndon" (1975, John Alcott ASC, BSC), "Taxi Driver" (1976, Michael Chapman ASC), "Apocalypse Now" (1979, Vittorio Storaro ASC, AIC), "The Shining" (1980, John Alcott ASC, BSC), "Fanny and Alexander" (1982, Sven Nykvist ASC), and many more.