I can't take that f'ing piano any more.

@MrPGC137

4 жыл бұрын

I agree; I wanted to drive a sledgehammer through the piano and go, "Just...shut...UP!!!"

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

@@MrPGC137 Awful films deserve awful music. This one certainly achieved the distinction in both respects.

@MrPGC137

3 жыл бұрын

@@jslasher1 Well, the film itself would've been OK, but that ear-rape "music" just crapped all over it.

@MrPGC137

3 жыл бұрын

@Maverick Kairo And...another advertisement for Flixzone (that nobody wanted...)

@MrPGC137

3 жыл бұрын

@Alonso Sawyer You guys work for Flixzone, I take it... In the advertising & promotional dept. no doubt...

That was tremendous. This documentary should be shown at every film school. The history, the making of the new film, and the perspective of those involved were very unique to this antiquated form of film-making. Thanks for putting this together.

The piano is making me crazy.

I watched its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World in cinerama at the Plaza cinema in Sydney Australia and immediately fell in love with the cinema experience. I was seated 3rd row from the front and in the centre of the row. I got motion sickness during the mountain scenes where the car just flew out there and I threw up all over my father. Krakatoa was advertised to screen in cinerama at the Plaza cinema but it never eventuated and to this day I have never seen this film. Thanks again for the memories.

A good many of you conveniently forget that Fifth Continent Australia P/L shot a couple of short-subject 3-strip films in Kinopanorama® as far back as 1995. The first one, titled "Bounty". was screened in Bradford UK in 1996. The Cinerama endeavour was produced some 17-years after the fact.

My mom took me to see The Seven Wonders of the World in Cinerama on my 10th birthday, and later I saw How The West Was Won at the original Warner Hollywood Cinerame theater, the same one I'd been to in 1956. This is a wonderful short documentary both showing a new audience how it was done and recreating the experience by shooting it in 3-strip Cinerama. And now this is 10 years old! Time keeps on slippin' into the future!

I saw 2001 when it came out with a 5th grade class trip at a theater in Montclair NJ and it was an experience I will never forget, I still have the souvenir book.

@ThePoreproductions

8 жыл бұрын

+Peter Matuszak I saw the new Star Wars movie (Force Awakens) the other night, in 3D IMAX, and that's an experience I will never forget.

@jimcrawford5039

6 жыл бұрын

20001 was not a Cinerama but Ultra Panavision 70. Only 2 dramatic films were made in Cinerama, How the West Was Won & Brothers Grimm.

@brucetaylor5917

6 жыл бұрын

2001 shot in Super Panavision 70mm 2.20:1 non-anamorphic. Ultra Panavision is 70mm 2.76:1 anamorphic.

@johnnydaller

5 жыл бұрын

I also saw 2001 in Cinerama! It was definitely Cinerama. At the end of the credits (on some DVD releases), you will see the Cinerama logo.

@MrPGC137

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnnydaller MGM continued to use the name "Cinerama," and occasionally called it "super Cinerama," in the end-credits and some of the promotion-materials, but they were just using the name. The 3-camera, 3-negative, 3-projector, louvered-screen Cinerama process itself was NOT used for "2001." It was filmed, as the others have said, with enormous Mitchell 65mm cameras (which only MGM had at the time) equipped with anamorphic lenses, which with soundtracks added for theater projection, resulted in a 70mm projection print. The 3-camera Cinerama process had been discontinued long before Kubrick even started "2001" and it's doubtful he'd have used the complicated and cumbersome process in any case. (The film had enough technical challenges to overcome as it was.)

as an ex Cinerama projectionist I thank you for making this documentary. As a matter of interest I still have a small roll of film stock from How the West Was Won. That is one third of it.

As a former IA certified film projectionist of 7 years - ( 89-96) I absolutely loved this. For all of us who weren't there, ( cause we hadn't been born yet ) thank you & your entire production staff for making this happen, and giving us a look back & recapturing the magic to the way in which Cinerama was done. I've stood in an IMAX Projection booth next to an that sideways running 70mm film projector & watched a show from that vantage point once in Ft. Lauderdale. But never seen this up close and personal. Awesome job guys. Just awesome ! From the bottom of my soul - my heartfelt Thanks.

So glad I had a chance to experience Cinerama first run, THEN again as an adult at the New Neon Movies revival in Dayton, Ohio. God bless Larry Smith for his dedication in bringing back the full three strip experience for a new generation. (Even Quentin Tarantino attended.) Glad Larry found work at the National Archives. Right man for the job.

I feel so lucky to have seen real Cinerama at the Seattle Cinerama before it shut down.

Definitely an eye opener for those wo like the real history of cinema as a unique art

Thank you for sharing, it made me cry.

Thanks for this commemoration of an astonishing process.

I love this! A wonderful job, Dave Strohmaier and Doug Knapp and crew! Thank you so much! I love CINERAMA!

I was lucky enough to see How The West Was Won perhaps ten years ago in the three projector system when I was in Hollywood for a 3D Film Festival (that was also amazing)...it was pretty much the best cinema moment of my life...as I could really appreciate the majesty and beauty of this process at 55 years old.

Oh the memories rekindled by viewing this wonderful production! ... back to the 50's and the Mcvickers and the Palace Theaters in Chicago.

I was in grade school in the 50's and our school had a special field trip to Cincinnati. It was the first film with Lowel thomas and I remember the roller coaster scene.

Fascinating!!!! Such a piece of Hollywood history :) Loved this!

The silent film about Napoleon used a similar process in the 20s. I was surprised they even make camera film. Imagine having to chemically process the negatives and hope all three reels comes out similarly enough to be used together.

Incredible expérience ever!Merci beaucoup for this incredible expérience! Once in a century! MERCI BEAUCOUP from Paris France.

At 21:16, he says, "The only reason things get abandoned is if something..................cheaper or easier to use comes about!". I was just waiting for him to say "better" but instead he nailed it! Most technological advances are really developments for doing the same thing - or close to it - more cheaply! The consumer public have shown repeatedly they are willing to accept compromises in quality for better economy and convenience.

Outstanding creation! I tip my hat to all involved; you folks have created a milestone event that both defines the imagination behind Hollywood film making and a preview of the genius behind future engineers whose creations will allow film makers to use new, never before thought of, innovative technology that will continue to dazzle the movie-going public.

Just awesome, love your work guys!

I would have loved getting in action the Cinerama film camera! BRAVO! MERCI BEAUCOUP from Paris France

I remember being absolutely devastated when my Mum dropped me off at the Cinerama theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, to see a matinee showing of 'The Brothers Grimm' -- only to be turned away (after Mum had left!) because it was sold out. So I went up the road to the Civic (the theatre used by Peter Jackso0n in his King Kong remake) to see something entirely child-unsuitable with Paul Newman in it, I believe. I managed to get in to see 'The Brothers Grimm' another day. Yes, it was pretty spectacular -- if you happened to be sitting in the 'sweet spot'. If you weren't, the action galloped into and out of frame in a seasick parabolic sweep. There was also the problem of the projectors going in and out of sync with each other. A much more satisfying experience: seeing a 70mm print of '2001: A Space Odyssey' with fabulous stereo sound, probably ten years later in the same refitted theatre. Nothing quite like seeing that particular Kubrick film on a gigantic screen.

One of the best ever cinematographic incredible invention Cinerama 35 mm camera! BRAVO! An incomparable incredible legend! Thanks so much for your incredible film. Nothing goes like CINERAMA nowadays in august 2019. Merci beaucoup! Emmanuel from Paris France

I had to give up after 5 minutes because of the piano playing. A shame as I was interested in seeing your little film.

!!!! WHAT A JOB... NO WONDER YOU WON AN AWARD FOR THIS DOCUMENTARY!!

The Academy aspect ratio for motion pictures since 1932 to 1953 was 1.37:1, not 1.33 to one as stated. Briefly, with the introduction of optical sound in 1929, the aspect ratio was approximately 1.29:1 -- reduced from the original 1.33:1 of the silent days to make room for the soundtrack. The public and theater managers disapproved of the 1.29:1 aperture as looking too much like a square, so the Academy of Motion Pictures provided the "Academy Aperture" that would be inserted into existing projectors to crop the frame down to 1:37:1. This solution avoided changing the frame spacing on the film that would have obsoleted every camera and projector then in existence.

My Brother was an Extra in "Brothers Grim".. MGM gave everyone (And Family) Passes for the Premier .. I was 8 years Old and saw The CINERAMA presentation of the Movie >> Hooked me for the rest of my life!

Man...I wish I was there to get involved with this project and to watch the movie afterwards

beautiful

Love everything about this

Nice job Mike ..I found it very informative and interesting

All's I will say is this: The Cinerama better NEVER be torn down or even closed down much longer. This is an icon of Hollywood and these mealy mouthed LA leaders better step up NOW. We've had enough iconic LA landmarks losses over bad decision making all in the name of squeezing more of the unwanted's in.

The Cinerama theater in Queen Street in Auckland NZ was my childhood retreat for wonderment and excitement. It was the way I learned there was a big, wide world out there. My love of the projected image was born watching Cinerama films. It's cumbersome nature made it's demise inevitable however. The transition to 70mm meant a variety of lenses could be used and for a while the curved screen continued with Ultra Panavision - 2001: a space odyssey was screened that way as was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

I’m so glad I got to see 2001 in, Apparently from reading the comments, Super Panavision at the Uptown Theatre by DC when they brought it back there in the mid 70s I also saw This Is Cinerama at the same theatre (I believe) either before or after that. They were movies I had to promote to my family and friends to go with me to see. The experience was Unforgettable! Only the Roller Coaster sequence at the beginning of TIC was exciting and the rest was spectacular but a test of my 13 year old attention span lol

I remember "How the West Was Won". I also saw the first Cinerama film in the 50's. I also was a projectionist. I showed many 35mm films also worked with a combo 35 and 70 mm projector. I also remember CinemaScope with its anamorphic lens adapter.

I love Cinerama ❤

Music is too loud

A few picky points: When optical sound on film was introduced it took up 2 mm of the picture area and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science decreed a new projection gate aperture that would also be 2mm shorter, replacing the classic silent movie ratio of 1.33:1 with 1.375: 1 (often written 1.37:1). That is Academy Aperture or Academy Ratio. Credible technical sources I've seen say the original 3-panel Cinerama had as aspect ratio of 2.59:1:1, not 2.76:1 as this film says. However, 2.76:1 was the ratio of Ultra Panavision 70, a single-strip process with anamorphic squeeze like Cinemascope (but less). Since Ultra Panavision 70 releases were often shown in Cinerama theaters and advertised as "Cinerama," an impression arose that true Cinerama was that ratio as well. (And to be fair, the difference isn't obvious.) While I'm at it, the vast majority of Cinemascope films were intended for 2.35:1 projection, but the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) changed the anamorphic projection ratio to 2.39:1 in 1970, and that has been the standard ever since, including for the wider of the two DCI projection aspect ratio standards, no matter how may DVD cases and IMDb entries say "2.35:1." Of course, other ratios are easily achievable by cropping the image, and in practice many real-world theaters deviate from the official standards in their screen dimensions.

@wtxrailfan

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, because some Internet troll commenting on KZread knows more about it than the people actually making the Cinerama movie.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

@@wtxrailfan I'm sure the people who shot the film have vastly more practical knowledge of the subject than I ever will, but at the same time, back when I shot film and video for a living I didn't know every technical detail of the equipment I was using and most of the time it wasn't necessary. (And I'm still learning.) You might find these technical specs for Cinerama interesting: www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/cinerama_specs.htm . If you can point to a specific mistake in what I wrote I would sincerely appreciate any corrections

ADDENDUM: I think contemporary digital technology can greatly improve the Cinerama experience, because now we can digitally "tweak" the panel join lines into a seamless picture. I think there is still a potential to do a picture in full three strip film based Cinerama. It would obviously be some kind of adventure/drama/thriller type story, while financing would have to be a crowd funding type enterprise, or even a mixture of public and private financing. Imagine a good screen play, shot by a good A.S.C. cinematographer willing to take a chance on the medium with a good director and real stars in it ? Who owns Cinema the company ? Does it even exists as a corporate entity anymore ?

@jmalmsten

6 жыл бұрын

One of the latest films to use something like cinerama that I can think of was a couple of shots in Gladiator where they shot at least one shot with three 35mm cameras (maybe vistavision?) So they could film it steady, add a lot of effects elements and then do digital pan and tilts inside that wide angle to get full resolution moving shots for the final prints. I'm sure others have used similar techniques later, but Gladiator is the latest one I can actually name.

@MrPGC137

4 жыл бұрын

@@jmalmsten VistaVision was a different process altogether, involving a single 35mm film-strip going through the film-gate sideways. This had the advantage over other systems of the time, in that it didn't require special lenses or film-gauges (like 65mm), and existing cameras could be easily modified to take a horizontal film-gate, and the resulting image was not only bigger, but much brighter, with higher definition and without the distortion of, say, CinemaScope. (Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and DeMille's "Ten Commandments" are two noteworthy films using this process.) The only downside of VistaVision was that it used up a heck of a lot of film; the average movie using the process required more than twice the footage to beexposed. Though largely discontinued with the advent of Panavision, VistaVision did occasionally get pulled out of mothballs for special purposes until well into the '80s. Steven Spielberg used the process for some of the special effects shots in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

@jmalmsten

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrPGC137 ok, but read the comment fully. The gist of it was that in the behind the scenes footage of Gladiator they show that they filmed some battle scenes using three cameras set up just like Cinerama. They then stitched the results together to get a giant plate they could move around in post to get fake but realistic pans with no tracking needed. I only mentioned VistaVision as a possible source format because it was filmed in the tail-end of the era when VistaVision was pretty much only used in effects houses because of how it survived multiple effects passes in optical printing and the build up of grain was not noticeable when reduced to standard vertically fed 35. And it would not be that big of a stretch of the imagination to see a need to film it in 3x Vistavision to keep the clarity when the final scope frame was effectively just maybe a fifth of the giant plate blown up. But again, I admit that may just be my own armchair specialist speculation. It is entirely possible that standard vertically fed 35 mm, probably scanned at the normal 2K times 3 strips were deemed clear enough for the job. And Ridley is no stranger to grainy film, plus digital compositing and film outs could render most advantages of larger gauge film moot . All of that was in my mind when I haphazardly included "(Vistavision maybe?)". I spend waay too much time researching old film formats considering I am not getting paid for it. And one of these days I might even be correct in my speculations. :D

@MrPGC137

4 жыл бұрын

@@jmalmsten If anyone needs to learn to read, it's you, pal. In any event, I'm not going to endlessly argue in circles over points of established fact with an ignoramus who's too stubborn & too pig-ignorant to admit when he's wrong (that's you, in case you missed my meaning.) I've already stated the facts and several times. If you're too emotionally maladjusted to accept them and stand corrected, that's not my problem or responsibility. So if you want to continue arguing in circles to prove yourself right when you know you're wrong, you'll have to do so alone (or with your much-needed therapist.) As for "Gladiator," using several cameras to film elaborate action-scenes is nothing new; it goes back to the earliest days of moviemaking, for the simple reason that elaborate action-scenes take a very long time to set up, and therefore cost a great deal of money to film, especially if they have to do retakes. It is therefore more cost-effective to use several cameras to film an entire sequence all at once, in one take, getting all the footage possible from as many angles as possible, and then piecing it together in the editing room, rather than re-doing an action sequence again and again, setting up the camera in different locations for each shot. That is how movies are made, and that is how they've always been made. So I'm sorry if you're too immature (despite your age, whatever it is) to simply acknowledge the fact that someone else is better-informed on a given subject than you are, but since that is so, then all I can suggest is that your time would perhaps be better spent in sessions with a qualified therapist, rather than endlessly, pointlessly arguing on the internet with experts.

@jmalmsten

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrPGC137 I... I am honestly unclear on what point we are contesting? So I am a bit confused about this violent reaction.

I just see this... actualy i search for keyword: cinerama because i just watch douglas trumbull documentary.. you guys doing an awesome work!..

You are the best in Cinema History! MERCI BEAUCOUP from Paris France

Thanks. Great insider documentary. Cinerama was, and still is, impressive.

Thanks for sharing, Looking at the camera reminded me of a book I read called Ski-plane Adventure by Harry Wigley who founded the company I once worked for. Back in 1957 for part of the New Zealand "South Seas Adventure" he had built the pods for the Cinerama cameras and batteries . With the cameras in, this weighed slightly over 300 pounds. A similar but smaller pod to house the batteries was hung on the racks of the opposite wing...he states it is amazing that the aeroplane a single engine" Auster" managed to fly at all. The cameraman was a chap called Paul Hill. Quote from the book...As the Bowen Falls were close to sea level and the Auster performed quite well at that height, it was possible to do a few trial runs past them and after each of these Paul Hill said" Closer, closer", until my wing was almost dragging through the waterfalls. When he was satisfied over the course we were taking, he started the cameras and sat placidly up in his seat as we flew in as close as possible. When he had finished I turned to Paul and said "Was that close enough?. He drawled Yes, I guess so, but I forgot to bring my towel with me. There is a photo in the book of the Cinerama cameras on a overloaded Auster on the Tasman Glacier.

@MikeCelestino

10 жыл бұрын

We have one of these camera pods ("blimps") in the projection booth at the Dome. Very cool.

There is always a chance of a digital Cinerama... Its not film strips, but there is hope.

@aurahyel4700

9 жыл бұрын

Really?!

@captiannemo1587

9 жыл бұрын

It should be possible to design such a digital camera.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

@@captiannemo1587 In fact, it's possible to set up two or more digital projectors fed from a computer to produce an ultrawide image on a curved screen. This can even be done at home. A very wide-angle lens (ideally anamorphic) used in conjunction with a high-resolution camera can then capture a very wide image, though something like Todd-AO is probably easier than Cinerama.

The idea of three strip Technicolor Cinerama is mind boggling.

Misleading to say that audiences had never seen widescreen before Cinerama. There were a number of experiments, and the first complete widescreen film was "Happy Days", released in 1929. A number of others followed, including "The Big Trail" in 1930. The Big Trail 1930 John Wayne Full Adventure Western Movie 720p

@WHNvideoproduction

9 жыл бұрын

I believe "first of the modern-day widescreen film processes" is accurate without having to go into too much detail, as quoted directly from the movie, but yes, you're correct.

@boinx1234

9 жыл бұрын

What Happens Next Productions Since there were earlier attempts at widescreen, even a three-camera Cinerama-like process used in "Napoleon", perhaps it would be better to make that clear.

@jimcrawford5039

6 жыл бұрын

The big trail was shot in 70 mm Fox Grandeur as well as standard 35 mm. It must have been awesome on the big screen in 1930!

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

The last reel of Abel Gance's silent classic NAPOLEON in 1927 anticipated by using three projectors to achieve an overall aspect ratio of 4:1. (Cinerama was "only" 2.59:1 because its three panels were actually taller than wide, using 6-perf pulldown rather than 4, and they also slightly overlapped.) (I originally managed to type 5-perf, but it's of course 6. My thanks to jslasher1 for catching my error.)

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

@@DGaryGrady 6-perf pull-down, not 5-perf.

CinemaScope and VistaVision were developed around the same time. Cinerama was a different, more complex process, and arguably superior, but they all resulted in widescreen films presented in theatres in the early 50s. But whereas less than a couple dozen films were shown in Cinerama, hundreds were presented in CinemaScope.

Have seen three strip cinerama great

I saw How the West Was Won in 1962, at the Indian Hills Cinerama Theater in Omaha, NE. I recall at seven years old, asking my Dad, "Why are there vertical lines in the screen?" He gave me a good quick answer. As a 2001: a space odyssey fan, I have had to correct several people who claim they saw that film in 3-strip format. I watched about half of this excellent documentary but had to stop. Why? That loud annoying back ground music was wearing me out! OK to have some music but, my gawd, turn it down. A major distraction. I do look forward to watching the rest. Looks great!

Here in the UK, all the magic of the cinema has been lost. Todays modern technology has been used simply to cut corners and reduce staff. Cinemas no longer 'present a film, they just shove it on the screen. I ended my career in the cinema in 1987 when I realised how things were going and sadly can only dream of what would have happened if todays technology had been combined with the dedication and showmanship of the past, rather than just worrying about how much popcorn was sold last month. I never saw a movie presented in '3 strip' but the 70mm Cinerama presentations were still worth a night out at the cinema and a 'night out' it was!!!!!!!!!!!!

How much we love Cinerama. . I can remember the famous roller coaster scene and several other incredible moments of this one of a kind movie system. Congratulations to you all nice people who love the system and want to keep it alive as long as possible.

Thanks for reminding me to shoot a minimalist rom-com in Cinerama, thus entirely defeating the point of the format itself. But to be fair, I'd love to go see a Cinerama film in its intended form. I'd be alright with the Smilebox projection format, but then again...

@supermasterPIK

6 жыл бұрын

Brother of Roland Emmerich?

Fascinating indeed. The poor piano music track is decidedly distracting and is a detriment to an otherwise captivating documentary, however.

This is genius 🎥

Good documentary, would someone bring back true 4 channel music quad cd-4 lp's, anyone got a copy of "The Sound of Music" original soundtrack in quad lp ? Yep it was issued and great to hear music coming at you from all directions. Back in the 1970's there was a CD-4 quad lp disc mastering centre in LA ...known as the JVC cutting centre.

Have to correct the man at 1:00. Cinerama was 2.59:1. Ultra Panavision 70, which replaced it, was 2.76:1.

Wow, there's so much that can go wrong with this format, from the filming to the editing, to the projection. Risky, expensive, difficult, but it looks like they succeeded! I remember seeing The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm in Cinerama, it was fascinating! Thanks for posting this documentary.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

George Pal's THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM has been for years the only Cinerama production that wasn't re-released or available on DVD or Blu-ray, but I understand it is finally being restored and may appear in 2021. The Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles is currently closed because of the pandemic, but next year I suspect it will reopen and will very possibly show that film, possibly in digital projection (that last being nothing more than my own guess). There's a Cinerama theater in Seattle but I don't know if it will ever reopen.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

@@DGaryGrady COVID-19 has wrecked havoc on just about everything, including film screenings. Unaware of any restorations [we can only hope and pray] of "WWOTBG". From what source did you cull this info?

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

@@jslasher1 There's some information here: www.in70mm.com/news/2020/grimm/index.htm A trailer for the restored version was shown last year in the UK and, quoting from the link: "We are remastering the film in both letterbox and SmileBox formats for eventual Blu-ray and DVD release from the Warner Archive Collection sometime later in 2021. FYI all the 1950s travelogues I have done exist in both straight SmileBox, SmileBox with curtains, and Letterbox digital masters. “Grimm” will grace the Cinerama Dome screen in Hollywood sometime next year [i.e., 2021] before the eventual home video release."

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

@@DGaryGrady Sincere thanks for this information. Much appreciated. I will notify our KWPA members accordingly.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

@@jslasher1 Out of curiosity, are you speaking of the KWPA radio station on Whidbey Island?

How can we see this!!?? Does the Cinerama Theater in Seattle (where they have a 3-strip Cinerama festival almost every year) know about this movie?

I remember taking my younger brother to watch it a mad mad mad mad world in cinerama, we split our sides laughing all the way through the film. We will never forget our experience of feeling you were in the picture too. Ps wasn't there another type of cinerama using a very wide film which was bent round in the projector Ann using just one very large projector?

@wilsjane

7 жыл бұрын

In the later days, Cinerama used a 70mm process where a single film was projected carrying 6 magnetic sound tracks. It had a narrower aspect ratio, but the lack or the film being joined up more than compensated. It also helped to avoid the 'keystone' problems of 3 strip, where spherical objects became elliptical as they moved towards the edges of the screen and a cartwheel became 'egg' shaped. The demise of Cinerama was a sad day for the entire film industry, which I feel happened when the retrograde step of dropping the 70mm camera. It was first slowed to 24fps (from 30) and then production companies started to produce 70mm prints by optical transfer from a 35mm negative. The reason for slowing the camera was that a second shot had to be taken for the general cinema and to make television screening possible.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

There was indeed a version of Cinerama under development that would use 35 mm film running horizontally through the camera with a curved focal plane and very wide images, probably about 63 x 24 mm or 14 perforations. This would have eliminated a lot of the artifacts of shooting on three strips of film through three lenses, but there were a lot of technical problems with the idea and as far as I know the process was never perfected or used. An easier alternative would have been to use a 7-perf pull-across and an anamorphic lens with a 2x squeeze as with Cinemascope, yielding the same aspect ratio without needing to move film through the gate that fast. In fact, Technicolor's Techniscope used horizontal cameras transport (actually built by Mitchell) with 8-perf pull-across and a 1.5x squeeze, achieving an aspect ratio of 2.25:1.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

@@wilsjane There were a number of 70mm single-strip variants on Cinerama, starting with Mike Todd's Todd-AO, which was shot in a 2.20:1 aspect ratio (versus 2.59 for Cinerama) on 65 mm film and printed up on 70 mm stock for release, the extra width used for magnetic sound tracks. Todd-AO ran at 30 fps but wasn't used for too many features. Original Cinerama was 26 fps, by the way. Though Mike Todd had been involved in Cinerama, he left the company and his Todd-AO was a competitor. Ultra Panavision 70, shot on 65 mm film with a 5-perf pulldown and an anamorphic squeeze of 1.25x, had an aspect ratio of 2.76:1, and later "Cinerama" releases were Ultra Panavision 70 productions were shown as "Cinerama" in Cinerama theaters though they used a single projector and special optics to deal with the curved screen. In other theaters they were called Ultra Panavision. Super Panavision was Ultra Panavision without the anamorphic squeeze and had an aspect ratio of about 2.20:1, the same as Todd-AO (or now I think of it it might have been 2.21:1; I should be writing this on more sleep....) I think some Super Panavision releases might also have been shown in Cinerama theaters. There wasn't all that much true Cinerama production happening. You're right about some 70 mm releases starting off as 35 mm, but remember that finer grain film stocks were becoming available. (Also, while Techniscope used 35 mm film, it also ran it horizontally through the camera a considerably larger frame that conventional 35 mm.)

That piano music playing all the time is a pest!

@RickeyMoore

7 жыл бұрын

I want to hear a gunshot and a thud. No more piano,

With today's technology you could shot with 3 cameras and assemble the panels to a 8 k picture.

At 19:40 Please tell me who made or makes that camera dolly?

Can be fun to try a 3 strip 35mm cgi movie like a Pixar one we just need to make 3 render with the good aspect ratio for each virtual camera and the process can be seamless or even transfert with a 70 mm print with a wide angle lens.

Cinerama is not completely gone. It's just on a temporary hiatus till another deep pocketed visionary comes along who can afford to acquire ownership of Cinerama and continue the research and development of it, and move it forward into the twenty first century as a digital medium that is also backwards compatible with its former medium. It'll be back...Never to go away again! But be back to stay! IMAX is okay when done right. But Cinerama is "Da BOMB"! The best medium ever used!

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

Talk is cheap, but money is expensive. Of course, it would be great it see it return.

Who added the cheesy piano track? I don't remember it being in the original showing that I saw?

On which of the Cinerama BluRays does "In the Picture" appear? I recall reading that it's on one of them. Also, I still hoping that there is a chance that Mr. Strohmeier and crew will find a way to restore "Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm." When I was in high school, back in 1962, I worked at a Cinerama theatre in Wichita, Kansas, and fell in love with all the Cinerama films. Thanks!

@RockMusicBear

7 жыл бұрын

I'm curious too!

@MikeCelestino

7 жыл бұрын

William Wandel Both "In the Picture" and our short documentary "The Last Days of Cinerama" are on the "Cinerama's Search for Paradise" blu-ray / DVD combo set put out by Flicker Alley a couple years ago. Thanks for watching! - Mike

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

"WWOTBG" is more than worthy of restoration. The sad fact is that Warner Bros does not consider it to be commercially viable.

Film is not going anywhere anytime soon, not to say digital is bad but it's a tool like film is a tool also and both can be used to obtain a desired effect on a movie. Sometimes you want the sterile and clean look of digital video with other films benefit more organic and different touches which real film can provide be it the softer touch of 35mm or lower or 70mm's crystal clear images. Yeah lucas was right digital is just another tool to be used.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

Nothing will ever surpass true film negative. Digital is a sad step-back.

This piano music is very irritating! Get rid of it please! The rest is ok.

Saw HTWWW at Denver's Cooper Cinerama theater 3-4 times as a kid in the mid-60's. The film and sound were an incredible experience and the last time I was there, I was able to beg a tour of the Baker projection booth before the show started. What a lesson! Later, I went onto become an IA projectionist and worked both in Norfolk and Tulsa as a 35-mm operator. In 1999, I visited Denver and was able to spend several hours with two of the Denver Cooper's former projectionists, Chuck Weber and John Rabe, both now deceased. I transcribed our discussion and if interested, you can read it here: iatse354.org/denver.htm . There's now a good deal of information on the projection aspects of Cinerama, inside the Library of Congress' Media Digital Library in the "International Projectionist" publication list at mediahistoryproject.org/technical/index.html . If you're a Cinerama aficionado, it's well worth your time. Check the editions generally from 1952 onward. And more than anything, thanks for this great documentary and kudos to the folks that are preserving this format of motion picture production. As the saying goes, "You had to see it to believe it."

I REMEMBER THIS FORMAT -- WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS CONCEPT ????? FROM U.K. (2021).

Does anyone think that it might be possible to show a film like STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, or OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL in Cinerama?

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

In short, yes. In fact even HOW THE WEST WAS WON had one segment (the river rapids) sequence shot in single-strip Ultra Panavision 70 and then converted to three-strip Cinerama. Moreover, after the early 1960s Cinerema theaters showed "Cinerama" movies that were not three-panel Cinerama but rather Super or Ultra Panavision 70 single-film productions. At least some (especially those in Ultra Panavision) were optically adjusted in printing to look better on the deeply curved Cinerama screen. However, what's lost in projecting a film this way is the ultra-wide filming angle that matched the viewing angle of the curved screen (and human vision). By the way, some large television and computer screens are curved, if not to the same degree as a Cinerama screen, so you can at least go a little in the Cinerama direction at home. In a dark-enough room it's even possible to make a deeply curved projection screen with picture projected from a pair of very carefully aligned digital projectors -- there's even off-the-shelf software for this. Two projectors, each capable of 16:9, can in principle give you an aspect ratio up to 32:9, or 3.55:1 (wider than Cinerama or even Ultra Panavision 70 but night quite up to Abel Gance's 4:1 used in the last reel of NAPOLEON). Perhaps more practical would be to use projectors in 4:3 mode yielding up to an 8:3 aspect ratio, or 2.66:1, closer to Cinerama (2.59:1) or Ultra Panavision 70 (2.76:1).

Where is the film where we can watch what you shoot.

Very tough job to shoot in Cinerama

I look my sister to watch this farrago. After it was over, not soon enough I would like to add, she asked me if the Director was attempting to emulate Edward J Wood Jr.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

Ha, ha! Not a bad assessment if you ask me.

@josephcarlbreil5380

3 жыл бұрын

@@jslasher1 And, then, there is the god-awful music.

This is a fascinating subject, but not very well served by this doco. It had more the feel of a "make-over" reality show about a team trying to resurrect the equipment. For me, it failed to show how it really worked, what its obvious faults were, and how it was rapidly superseded by anamorphic lens technology. I felt cheated of all that! Having people talking about the camera without showing it to us properly was a fundamental flaw. Some film makers are so scared of being "boring" or "teachy", they omit the heart of the subject matter. Sorry! I know this was well intentioned...

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

Spot-on commentary. Thanks for putting everything in perspective.

I have seen 2 Cinerama movies. The first was "How The West Was Won" the other was "It's A Mad,Mad,Mad,Mad World". "HTWWW" was spoiled by the fact that you could see the seams of the panels and the middle panel had the shakes. By the time I saw "IAMMMMW" there were no panels. I have since learned that this was not a true Cinerama movie. Having watched this very interesting doco, and hearing what can't be done with the camera I can see why Hollywood killed it. Could you imagine a movie in #D and Cinerama ?.

Two words: cinerama animation. Oops,ouch, just kidding fellas. Thanks for the labor of love.

@pawfan

3 жыл бұрын

Don't worry! To see an animated feature done in Cinerama would be a treat someday...A LOT of work to do it, but it can be done.

From my experience the cons far outway the pros of Cinerama.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

You are more than correct, Mr Borg. This is why the Soviets re-designed the first Kinopanorama® camera [a clone of the first and only Cinerama camera], and introduced the PSO-1960 camera, with interchangeable focal-length lenses, in 1961. This camera, despite some flaws, is still in use today [despite being put back in storage at present due to COVID-19 restrictions].

How can such an interesting and professional video have such AWFUL background amateur piano music ! It completely ruins the documentary.

@fredemny3304

9 ай бұрын

It wasn't in the original when I saw it. Some idiot saw fit to add it at a later date. It makes a complete mockery of a serious documentary. 😟

This must of been a real bitch to operate 3 projectors. 15.70 Imax more reliable and expensive. Curious how long the Imax theatres will be operating.

I was a kid when I saw the first Cinerama film "This is Cinerama" at the Empire theater in Paris, this was in 1955. It was so impressive that I remember it as if it was yesterday, later I saw all of the other real Cinerama films (but the Brothers Grimm) and also the first two "Kinopanorama" films which was a russian copy of Cinerama. I was highly disappointed when I saw the first Ultra Panavision 70mm film on the same screen, the Cinerama effect had totally disappeared because it wasn't shot anymore with a wide enough angle (146°). This is what killed Cinerama. I have seen many variants of Imax (inludind 3D) at the Futuroscope in France, but despite huge definition, none matched Cinerama for peripheral vision.

@DGaryGrady

3 жыл бұрын

Excellent point about Cinerama's horizontal viewing angle. I don't know what IMAX cameras capture but I suspect it's narrower than 146 degrees.

@78Dipar

3 жыл бұрын

@@DGaryGrady It's much narrower than 146°. Imax 65mm cameras used standard lens made for Hasselblad still cameras, but the widest angle available lens had a 104° diagonal angle.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

Several Kinopanorama® films were screened at the Kinopanorama® cinema located in Paris.

@78Dipar

3 жыл бұрын

@@jslasher1 I know, I have seen the first two Kinopanorama films at the Paris Kinopanorama theater (closed in 2002).

The piano music is very boring!

Hi. I love the music made for the documentary. Do you guys know where I can find it?

@WHNvideoproduction

9 жыл бұрын

Yes! The music is by our co-director's extremely talented brother, James M. Garren. You can find and download all of his tracks for this movie and others at jamesmgarren "dot com" or search his name on MySpace. Thank you!

@ericpa06

9 жыл бұрын

Thank You

@fredemny3304

9 ай бұрын

If it's that cringy piano music you're referring to, I do hope it died of shame and was buried years ago. 😡

It won't be the last picture ever shot in Cinerama if I have anything to say about it.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

We're still waiting, Mr Job.

@markjob6354

2 жыл бұрын

@@jslasher1 I still haven't completely given up on the idea, but I would want to have a new custom camera blimp built to silence the understandably loud thrashing three strip camera. To my understanding there is only one restored cinerama camera in existence (??). Ken Stone is a really great camera engineering genius, so get him to build a new Cinerama Camera Blimp Enclosure. Hello Mr. Strohmaier, is there no way to digitally scan the three strip camera negatives into Avid files for editing via Media Composer ? Just an idea, but what about working in reverse with a single strip Ultra Panavision 5 perf / 65 mm negative filmed image and then outputting to a master 3 strip Cinerama master negative ? Since Abel, Baker, and Charlie strips came from a single 2:76 Aspect ratio negative, then would not the panel join lines all match perfectly and be visually inperceptable ? Just pondering while I'm rendering 😃

Had to stop watching at 6:00 because of the 4 year old banging on the Piano, for Christ's sake forget what they told you at Film School, you don't need music when people are talking!

If the content isn't great,no technology will improve it

Cinerama wasn't the first, Fox Grandeur from 1930 was first, well few movies only and few theaters and no success

Not a bad documentary, if it weren't for that STUPID, LAME, ANNOYING-AS-HELL "music" on the soundtrack. Within the first five minutes it was getting on my last nerve, and within the first ten, I felt like driving a sledgehammer through the keyboard & going, "Just...shut...UP!!!" Honestly, it sounds like a not-very-talented-or-motivated 6-year-old practicing his first piano-lessons, over and over and over again... (For his sake, I hope that 'composer/performer' didn't quit his day-job; he should stick to selling insurance or bagging groceries or whatever...) And then, right when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it does: At about the 22:39 mark, it passed from being merely nerve-wrackingly annoying to becoming "Dear God, make it stop!!!" *AGONIZING,* and I had to mute the audio altogether just to get through the rest of the video. GHASTLY! Other than that, not a bad documentary.

@fredemny3304

9 ай бұрын

I saw this documentary when it first came out, and I'm pretty sure that execrable piano music is a later addition. The question remains...WHY?

I've seen this documentary before, and it didn't have the bloody awful piano accompaniment. Why ruin a great documentary with this cacophony?

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

Great documentary? Hmmmm.

HAHA, that's the most convoluted shit I have ever seen. I am sure the 70mm was much better because you can actually see what's being filmed.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

I would leave out the crude language, but I get the gist of your comments.

so when is this cinema gonna be demolished into rubble to make way for new homes for the homeless as cinema is non-essential.

this documentary is a crap..! is just a bunch of dudes talking and talking about how good the thing was ..! I expected to see how it worked.

@jslasher1

3 жыл бұрын

How right you are. Nice to see someone who can see through all this rhetoric.

Brilliant : I LOVE to see old technology being revived - WELL DONE ! I have a couple of thoughts : it ought now to be possible to mount three digital cinema cameras onto a plate in the same relationship as the three elements of the Cinerama camera , using prime lenses , to obtain the same perspective . This would have the advantage of being much lighter , and SILENT , so you could record live sound . Instead of peering through the viewfinder , you could have three monitors on the rig , showing what each camera is seeing , angled so as to approximate what would be projected ; then present in a Cinerama venue using three digital projectors ; editing the three channels ought to be not much harder than a single one in any of the currently available editors . Second , has anyone thought of making a cartoon in Cinerama ; it would no doubt be a masterpiece of CGI , but could Disney , for example , make a Cinerama version of Cars , screened in 3 strip Cinerama , using 3 digital projectors ? Same with Planes , or classics like Roadrunner and Wile-E-Coyote ... For new material to shoot ; how about a digital Cinerama shoot of something like a NASCAR race with a forward and reverse camera running on the track ? Could something like three Go-Pros be configured into a fighter jet to get some Top Gun style sequences ( with Go-Pros you could probably shoot Cinerama style footage with an extremely compact rig , only needing a small 'fishplate' to keep the three cameras correctly aligned ) ; same with some highway footage with such a rig on a motorcycle . How about mimicking famous movie scenes ? The Mount Rushmore scenes from North by Northwest ( could you shoot the backgrounds again and drop Cary Grant into the Cinerama background ? Maybe that's asking too much ) ; films like Vertigo , or The Birds , where the stars are running down the street being attacked by birds ( how did Hitchcock do that ? ) . Could you get a Go-Pro Cinerama kit onto Space-X to get some orbital Cinerama footage ? That would be the most impressive thing ever . How would some footage of earth from space look on a Cinerama screen - that would be right up there with the original Cinerama promo films . Going back to old technology ... how amazing would a 65mm Cinerama camera be ?