Narrated
by Lowell Thomas. Directed by Robert L. Bendick. (1952/127 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Stinky the Destroyer😾
Everyone who loves the visual & sonic eye candy of today's blockbusters probably owes ol' Fred Waller a tip of the hat.
Once upon a time, television was the scourge of Hollywood, threatening the studios' livelyhood by beaming moving images right into people's living rooms...for free. Studios fought back the only way they knew how, with technical advances that tiny black & white boxes simply couldn't reproduce. This was when 3-D and widescreen came into prominence, not-to-mention hucksters like William Castle peddling such glorious gimmicks as "Emergo," "Percepto" and - my favorite - "Coward's Corner."
Then
there was Cinerama, a technique developed by Fred Waller that
utilized three projectors to present a single image on a super-wide
curved screen. Depending on where you were seated, the result was as
close to a completely immersive experience as you could get, the picture
filling your entire field of vision. Cinerama wasn't without its
limitations. The way films were required to be shot was not
conducive to close-ups, which generally meant the process lent itself
best to documentaries.
However,
if it weren't for the visual and audio advances introduced by
Cinerama, chances are we wouldn't have eventually gotten CinemaScope, Todd-AO,
Panavision, 70mm, Dolby, THX, IMAX or HD, to say nothing of motion
simulator theme park rides and massive curved screen TVs. This is Cinerama was the world's first look at this technical milestone.
 |
| This is Cinerama re-release one-sheet. |
This
is Cinerama is not-so-much a movie - or even a documentary - as
it is a promotional tool that was used to show people what they were
missing by being couch potatoes. And the public
responded by making it the highest grossing film of 1952.
It
goes without saying that watching the film at home is an entirely
different experience. No matter how big your TV is, This is
Cinerama is simply not going to look or sound as
impressive as it did on all those super-screens popping up in the
1950s. It helps, of course, if one remains aware of Cinerama's
impact at the time. From a historical perspective, this is
one of the most important films ever made.
That
doesn't always make it interesting. In fact, after the iconic opening
scene - a rollercoaster ride from the view of the lead car - the first half is kind-of meandering as it moves
from one location to the next - mostly in Europe - capturing operas,
bullfights, dancers and a humorously out-of-place performance by the
Vienna Boys Choir. But after a brief intermission (this disc retains
the film's original roadshow presentation) interest picks up
significantly as the film returns to the wonders in its own
backyard, such as a water-skiing show in Florida and, most
impressively, a coast-to-coast aerial tour of the United States.
 |
| Smile! |
Aesthetically,
This is Cinerama is a bit dated, with some of the human subjects looking like they just stepped out of a Devo album cover.
However, even six decades later, some of the imagery remains colorful and visually
jaw-dropping. The film has been released on Blu-Ray before. This
time, however, it's been restored using the original three-panel
negatives, meaning the frame overlaps are clearly visible. But they were always noticeable in every Cinerama film back then, and seeing them
here is part of the disc's charm. That, coupled with the "Smilebox"
presentation (simulating the old curved screens) and outstanding audio
make this disc the closest thing possible to the original theater
experience.
Flicker
Alley has also included a bunch of informative bonus
features that are just as entertaining as the movie itself, maybe even
more so for passionate cinephiles.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
"THE
BEST IN THE BIZ" - This is
an hour-long retrosoective dicumentary focusing on many of the
composers who score various Cinerama films.
"RESTORING
THIS IS CINERAMA" - An
extremely detailed summary of how this new restoration was
accomplished, narrated by Dave Strohmaier, by one of the guys in
charge.
ALTERNATE
OPENING TO ACT II OF THE EUROPEAN VERSION - This
has not been restored, which helps demonstrate how good the new
restoration of the film itself really is.
"CINERAMA
EVERYWHERE: French-made short
"CINERAMA!
AT THE NEW NEON" - This my
favorite extra, a short about a theater in Ohio who began reviving
Cinerama movies after a guy named John Harvey built himself a
Cinerama projection system in his home.
RADIO
INTERVIEW - With Fred Waller
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By John Sittig (of
Cinerama Inc), Dave Strohmaier, Randy
Gitsch (historian & producer from The Cinerama Restoration Team)
and Jim Morrison (an original crew member).
2002
TRAILER - Made for the 50th Anniversary showing at the Cinerama
Dome.
"BREAKDOWN
REEL" - This film was
shown to audiences whenever there were one of the reels broke
(featuring Narrator/Co-porducer Lowell Thomas).
TV
SPOTS
BOOKLET
INSERT - With
an essay by Randy Gitsch (Producer from The Cinerama Restoration
Team).
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
No comments:
Post a Comment