This Is CINERAMA Sept 25

[Donat96]

This is CINERAMA Blu-ray

Coming from Flicker Alley.

In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of its premiere, Flicker Alley is proud to present THIS IS CINERAMA, exactly as seen by over 20,000,000 viewers in its original roadshow version. You will travel around the world with Cinerama, from Venice to Madrid, from Edinburgh Castle to the La Scala opera house in Milan, and concluding with a flight across America in the nose of a B-25 bomber.

This Is Cinerama / Directed by Robert L. Bendick / 1952 / 127 min. / Color / Sound

Presented in the "Smilebox" curved screen simulation

On the evening of September 30, 1952, the shape and sound of movies changed forever with the introduction of Cinerama. This unique widescreen process was launched when television was deemed as major threat to US film exhibition. Fred Waller, Cinerama's creator, had indeed labored that long on his dream of a motion picture experience that would recreate the full range of human vision. It used three cameras and three projectors on a curved screen 146°deep.

Bonus Features Include:
-Audio commentary track: With John Sittig (Cinerama, Inc.), Dave Strohmaier (Cinerama Historian), Randy Gitsch (TIC Locations background), and special audio recording from Jim Morrison (original crew member).
-This Is Cinerama Breakdown Reel - 9 min.
-Alternate Act II Opening for European Versions - 2 min.
-This Is Cinerama Trailer re-created HD - 3 min.
-TV Spots: This is Cinerama and Seven Wonders of the World –- 1 min. each
-Tribute to the New Neon Movies: A video short celebrating the Cinerama revival in Dayton Ohio, 1996-1999, in which a lone projectionist sets up Cinerama for special screenings to people from all over the country. - 14 min.
-Tribute to the New Cooper: The first Super Cinerama Theater - 4 minutes
-Special Photo Galleries: featuring behind the scenes shots, the original program booklet and press memorabilia newspaper ads, and publicity stills
-Fred Waller Radio interviews audio only: Original 1952 radio interviews with Fred Waller on the eve of opening night. - 15 mins.

Trailer:

This is Cinerama, Trailer - YouTube

[Omen2002]

That actually looks kinda neat. I liked the trailer specially when it goes widescreen and the curtains open. That had to be something to see in the theater back then.

[EricJ]

The cover looks like a 50's New Wave French film, though--Couldn't we have a Cinerama-movie cover in, y'know, color?

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by EricJ

The cover looks like a 50's New Wave French film, though--Couldn't we have a Cinerama-movie cover in, y'know, color?

Did the original film even have a painted poster?

[Deciazulado]

This is CINERAMA Blu-ray

[Marcuslaw]

Unless I'm mistaken, you can pre-order this directly from Flicker Alley for $29; a full $10 less than amazon.

[NoirFan]

I was relieved to see that this will be dual-layer.

[Cinemave]

I'll definitely pick this up. I enjoyed HTWWW in Smilebox. Now if they would release The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, I'll be happy.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Omen2002

That actually looks kinda neat. I liked the trailer specially when it goes widescreen and the curtains open. That had to be something to see in the theater back then.

I didn't see "This Is Cinerama" in its original release, but I did see "How The West Was Won" in its original release and even without starting the film on only one projector and then expanding to the three, it was amazingly impressive from a PQ and AQ perspective. So much so that I went back to see it again a few months later in spite of roadshow ticket prices being almost like seeing a Broadway show in those days. And it was one of my early audio experiences (along with West Side Story and several other 70mm films) that made me want to pursue audio engineering (which I eventually did).

But there is no way that you can reproduce Cinerama in the home, no matter how large the screen. There's a big difference between "Smilerama" and actually having a deeply curved screen (146 degrees in most Cinerama installations). The big change in Cinerama theatres from what came before was that there was no proscenium and no stage. The screen extended from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. And the screens were really big: 90 feet wide in some cases.

The reality is that especially before HTWWW, all of the Cinerama movies were travelogues, much like the early days of IMAX were. HTWWW was successful (although in reality, at least half the movie was actually shot 65mm and optically expanded to three 35mm strips of film rather than being shot with Cinerama cameras) and that led to other scripted films, although everything after HTWWW was shot 65mm, frequently in Ultra Panavision, so there was a 1.25 squeeze to give a 2.75:1 AR on film (although this is reduced in perception, since there's a deeply curved screen). So almost none of the Cinerama films, either real Cinerama or fake Cinerama, were very good movies, they were just great experiences.

And even with that, critics and consumers really criticized the visible lines between the projectors. They improved that a bit over time by having a moving gobo on the edges of the frame that tried to make it less visible, but even the trailer that was posted, you see distortion as objects move across the frame line.

Does anyone really want to see Windjammer or Cinerama South Seas Adventure? And of the "fake" Cinerama films, does anyone want to see Circus World, Mediterranean Holiday, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Hallelujah Trail, The Battle of The Bulge, Khartoum, Grand Prix, Custer of the West or Ice Station Zebra? They were terrible movies. The only "Cinerama" film that has stood the test of time aside from "HTTWW" is "2001" and for some people, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".

[Cinemave]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Does anyone really want to see Windjammer or Cinerama South Seas Adventure? And of the "fake" Cinerama films, does anyone want to see Circus World, Mediterranean Holiday, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Hallelujah Trail, The Battle of The Bulge, Khartoum, Grand Prix, Custer of the West or Ice Station Zebra? They were terrible movies. The only "Cinerama" film that has stood the test of time aside from "HTTWW" is "2001" and for some people, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".

I think the only two non-travelogue films in true Cinerama were HTWWW and Brothers Grimm. Films like The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Hallelujah Trail, The Battle of The Bulge, Khartoum, Grand Prix, Custer of the West or Ice Station Zebra were shot in 70mm, and shown on Cinerama Screens in Cinerama theatres, but were not shot with three separate rigs. These films had great roadshow releases with reserved seats, etc., but were technically not Cinerama films.

[Tns49]

See other older threads on this.

e.g. http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=108186

note that two movies released in Cinerama are coming out Sept 25, 2012 from Flicker Alley. This Is Cinerama and Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich. The second was filmed in the rival Cinemiracle but widely released in Cinerama. Currently definitely cheaper from Flicker Alley directly rather than Amazon.

[The Duke]

Has Flicker Alley released on Blu-ray previously? In looking through their catalog the only other BD I see is The Most Dangerous Game/Gow the Headhunter, which is also a pre-order. I'm interested in both This is Cinerama and Windjammer, and ordering direct from them is definitely the way to go, but I'll wait for a review and/or member impressions.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Cinemave

I think the only two non-travelogue films in true Cinerama were HTWWW and Brothers Grimm. Films like The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Hallelujah Trail, The Battle of The Bulge, Khartoum, Grand Prix, Custer of the West or Ice Station Zebra were shot in 70mm, and shown on Cinerama Screens in Cinerama theatres, but were not shot with three separate rigs. These films had great roadshow releases with reserved seats, etc., but were technically not Cinerama films.

You are absolutely right - HTWWW and Brothers Grimm are the only two narrative films to have been filmed in the real 3-panel Cinerama process.

[Vw Driver]

This looks quite interesting for the landscape parts and to see how the cities looked back then. I will probably wait for a price drop on this, by at least half.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Vw Driver

This looks quite interesting for the landscape parts and to see how the cities looked back then. I will probably wait for a price drop on this, by at least half.

I wouldn't count on that Vw Driver. Diehard CINERAMA fans worldwide have been waiting for this baby since the beginning of home video...it's been a total MIA in every format until now. Until Blu-ray and especially SmileBox there wasn't any credible way to present them anyway.

I pre-ordered both This Is Cinerama and Windjammer day one from Flicker Alley directly at $29.95, and I see both titles are still available from the label at that introductory price. I doubt you'll see them go much lower. Specialty titles like this tend to be available for a while with very little movement on price, and then suddenly one day, just become 'unavailable'. These are definitely not high volume runs...

[Tns49]

Originally Posted by The Duke

Has Flicker Alley released on Blu-ray previously? In looking through their catalog the only other BD I see is The Most Dangerous Game/Gow the Headhunter, which is also a pre-order. I'm interested in both This is Cinerama and Windjammer, and ordering direct from them is definitely the way to go, but I'll wait for a review and/or member impressions.

They have released a few other Blu-ray. "A Trip to the Moon" and "Inferno".

The restorations on which these are based have been shown in digital. This is Cinerama looks to be in pretty good shape after the restoration. Windjammer was at first thought to be lost in three panel. The restoration finally had to use composite elements including a 35mm scope print. http://www.in70mm.com/news/2009/windjammer/index.htm

[NoirFan]

If Amazon's price doesn't drop under $30 in the next week or so, I may order this directly from Flicker Alley for $29.96 shipped.

[popeflick]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

You are absolutely right - HTWWW and Brothers Grimm are the only two narrative films to have been filmed in the real 3-panel Cinerama process.

I'm going to the LA screenings of HTWWW and TiC at the cinerama dome in two weeks. Cannot wait!

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by The Duke

Has Flicker Alley released on Blu-ray previously? In looking through their catalog the only other BD I see is The Most Dangerous Game/Gow the Headhunter, which is also a pre-order.

Inferno

[rafaelsalguero]

why its so expensive??? its a steelbook? limited edition numbered? digibook??