Question on Rollercoaster 1977, Two-Minute Warning 1976, and The Hindenburg 1975 - Page 2

Ya, that scene with the airplane was the 'cliffhanger' at the end of night one on the network broadcast. Another scene they added was Marjoe Gortner's wacko character spying on a scantily-dressed woman in her apartment (I am a bit spotty on this and don't remember the full details, but it stuck with me as it was pretty sleazy for a network addition). And the FM simulcast in "Sensurround" wasn't just in L.A. I vividly remember tuning in to a New Orleans radio station to recreate Sensurround at home, but it really didn't work.

i remember the vhs version of midway containing the coral sea battle. the dvd version didn't.

In Queens, New York, where I grew up, we had a theater equipped with Sensurround. Can't recall the name (it was near Lefrak City), but they made a big deal out of it at the time. I saw Earthquake and Rollercoaster there. Most of us really didn't notice that the huge speakers in the front of the theater enhanced our viewing experience in any way.

I enjoy Earthquake for its camp value (Ava Gardner is Lorne Greene's daughter? Seriously) and special effects--Al Whitlock was a genius, and because Heston is Heston. But are there many hundreds of other films that really deserve a blu release over Earthquake? I'd say certainly so.

That jives with my recollection of Earthquake.  I saw it when new at the Chinese, and remember feeling that the Sensurround didn't quite live up to my expectations.  Based on later viewings here and there on television (haven't ever watched it straight through since that first time), I can easily agree with the camp value of the movie.  Still, I'd love to have a good Blu-ray transfer to round out the Charlton Heston "sci-fi" films.  And while I understand that Sensurround isn't something that can be achieved by just sending LFE to the subwoofer in a home theater setup, it sure seems like some measure of it could be realized.

We were very gullible in the 70s/80s. I too remember the gimmick of tuning into the FM station to recreate the sensorround feeling! Its right up there with the 3D glasses from 7-11 when they showed THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON on local stations in the 80s.

I'm a sucker for gimmicks-still am. It added to the fun of these older movies and I welcomed them. I even remember the clear screens and crayons they used to sell for a cartoon show that must have driven parents crazy when the screens were put up to the tv and kids filled in with crayons!

William Castle lives!

All I know is if Ralph Kramden were alive today Alice would finally have a television set . He once ranted to her when she asked for one that he's "Waiting for 3-d television"! before he buys one. With that statement , and "To the moon, Alice!" 15 years before we got there, Kramden is the 20th century Nostradamus!

EARTHQUAKE may NOT look good on Bluray the more I thin about it. What was state of the art sfx 40 years ago may look freakish in such detail and scrutiny as Blu will allow. We may forever see the compressed for television "scrunch" that al the "Universal extravaganzas had.

I have fond memories of those early days of FM simulcasts in L.A.  First and foremost, for the Metropolitan Opera telecasts and other concert programming, it was the most exciting development for classical music, and then came the more novelty type of event such as this.  I don't remember the Earthquake one, but I'll never forget one evening in the early-mid 1980s when I drove out to do some shopping, got back in the car to come home, turned the car radio on, and what do I hear but a long silence -- well, not quite silence, because it wasn't dead air, there was some very recognizable ambience, perhaps someone breathing -- and then, "Dave, what are you doing?  Stop, Dave."  Holy moley, they were simulcasting 2001.  I sat, stunned, in the parking lot at the Del Amo Mall, listening in amazement.  It was a magical moment, and that is no joke.  As soon as I got home I turned on the big 25" TV and the stereo receiver to enjoy the rest of the movie.  As I recall, it was KFAC, the main classical music station, who carried those first simulcasts, then I imagine KUSC or maybe KCRW got on board with them, not sure -- but damn, it was an exciting time.

What a thrill that had to be! I love simulcasting-the twain shall meet! Wow! To first HEAR a movie as visceral and important as 2001 first had to be so surreal.
Alas-the thrill is gone these days. I scrounge the multiple cable channels I recieve and find nothing thrilling. My lat excitement was finding out DirectTV had METV and I could bask in the brilliance of MTM with commercial interruptions!

On the other hand, I saw ROLLERCOASTER at the exhibitors' screening, where it ran 130", and loved it. When it was finally released, it had been shorn of 11 minutes, which muddled much of the plot; also deleted was the final exchange (not really a spoiler): a cop asks, "Did you get his name?" and Segal wearily replies, "Who cares?" (A nifty touch because the character never is named.) I'd love to see THAT version put back together.

Mike S.

All three are anamorphic in R2, but they are also sped-up, and who wants that?

No one I know.