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Bill McCamy

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Gasim de Paris
I've already bought most of Flicker Alley's Cinerama Blu-rays. This thread has me double dipping for both "This is Cinerama" and "Windjammer." I remember as a child being thrilled by both movies in SF and am looking forward to the new discs after reading the comments here.

Were all the earlier Flicker Alley releases single projection prints, and should we expect to see "new, improved" versions or was it just these two?

Also, Flicker Alley has both discs on sale currently.
 

Brian Kidd

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I've already bought most of Flicker Alley's Cinerama Blu-rays. This thread has me double dipping for both "This is Cinerama" and "Windjammer." I remember as a child being thrilled by both movies in SF and am looking forward to the new discs after reading the comments here.

Were all the earlier Flicker Alley releases single projection prints, and should we expect to see "new, improved" versions or was it just these two?

Also, Flicker Alley has both discs on sale currently.
It was just these two. Dave Strohmaier could fill in the details, but from what I understand, the original releases sold well and showed that there was a market for the Cinerama films, so it was decided it was worth the money at that point to fund scans of all three panel elements for the other films. From what was said in the restoration featurette on the new release (and also found on The Best of Cinerama), when they decided to take on the first film, they just didn't have the money to afford three scans, so scanning the 70mm version put together for the film's re-release back in the 1970's was the best they could do. I'm really glad they were able to go back and revisit these films. The results are beautiful.
 

Strohmaier

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All the Cinerama travelogue titles have now been remastered from 3-panel elements as well as the Cinerama owned 70mm titles. "Golden Head" is done and will come out in the fall.

We have gone back to our masters and fixed some flicker and other minor things on these earlier titles but there won't be any new release of those. Our new theatrical DCPs now reflect those changes.

Thanks for everyones support over the years.

On my way to Copenhagen and Oslo next week to show Windjammer in theaters, and take a ride on the Christian Radich after the show. I know that ship like the back of my hand. Maybe they will make me captain!

Dave
 

RolandL

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Dave will be restoring the remaining titles that were promoted as being "In Cinerama" but have not been released on Blu-ray. All will be in the smile-box process, 5.1 sound and lots of extras:

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Mediterranean Holiday
La Fayette
The Flaming Years
The Black Tulip
Song of Norway
The Great Waltz
Run Run Joe



After completion, he will restore Cinerama titles that have been released on Blu-ray but poor PQ transfers:

The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Hallelujah Trail
Battle of the Bulge



Then, Cinerama titles on Blu-ray but only mono sound - should be 5.1:

Krakatoa East of Java
Custer of the West


Later, MGM Camera 65/Ultra Panavision titles that have not been released on Blu-ray or with poor PQ transfers

Raintree County
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Fall of the Roman Empire


Last but not least, The Alamo



Or, after looking at this list he will retire.
 

JohnMor

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All the Cinerama travelogue titles have now been remastered from 3-panel elements as well as the Cinerama owned 70mm titles. "Golden Head" is done and will come out in the fall.

We have gone back to our masters and fixed some flicker and other minor things on these earlier titles but there won't be any new release of those. Our new theatrical DCPs now reflect those changes.

Thanks for everyones support over the years.

On my way to Copenhagen and Oslo next week to show Windjammer in theaters, and take a ride on the Christian Radich after the show. I know that ship like the back of my hand. Maybe they will make me captain!

Dave

Thanks for your dedication and terrific work on behalf of these films!
 

zoetmb

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Dave Strohmaier and Randy Gitsch presented this restoration at the Museum of Modern Art in New York a few months ago. They also presented a talk about the restoration. While impressively restored, it's impossible to replicate the experience of seeing this on the massive screen in one of the original Cinerama theaters. I never saw "This Is Cinerama" in it's original run, but I did get to see "How The West Was Won" in 3-strip at the Loew's Cinerama in NYC and both picture and sound blew my mind. That and "West Side Story" at the Rivoli were two of the biggest factors in me wanting to be part of the industry and I eventually became a recording engineer.

Like early IMAX, "This Is Cinerama" is not a great film, but it is an interesting experience, although I doubt a great many younger people would be interested.
 

Jonathan Perregaux

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In the interest of originality, I’d like to offer a review of this new Blu-Ray by my cat, Frosting.

Alas, she does not write. But I know art appreciation when I see it, even if it is punctuated by periodic butt licking. And Frosting was definitely appreciating Cinerama. Several times, she jumped on my chest and looked up and around at the music filling the room. She was into it.

The crazy part came later. She spent the entire last half-hour of the feature completely mesmerized by the aerial photography. She got down on the floor, stared up at my big TV, and got totally lost. She was ducking and staring and getting closer and just drinking it all in.

FOR THIRTY MINUTES.

Then Frosting really blew my mind by sitting through the entire end credits until the curtains closed and the picture faded to black. Heck, I don’t even sit through end credits. But my cat did.

Only when it was truly over did she get up and walk off.

I have never seen a cat get thoroughly absorbed by something on TV that did not involve Richard Attenborough narrating. I credit the astonishing new restoration.

Two dew claws way up.
 

Kiwitutor

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Peter
Righty-o. A visit to a Cinerama cinema is now on my bucket list (3-strip presentation preferably). Maybe I'll email the Seattle Cinerama for some possible future showings. You lot are costing me a fortune!
 

Angelo Colombus

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Received over the weekend both This is Cinerama & Windjammer and did a quick a/b comparison with the older release. The new discs are a big improvement in picture and sound and worth double dipping. The extra on the newer print of the film is very interesting.
 

Patrick McCart

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I've now watched all of the Flicker Alley Cinerama releases except for Windjammer (which is next up). I never would have imagined having these on home video. While it's far from replicating the experience on a huge curved screen, they're fun films. This is Cinerama does come off a bit creaky since it really is just a feature-length tech demo, but the Cypress Gardens/water ski sequence is quite impressive. The remastering work is usually gorgeous and the sound is astonishing. Not perfect, but the fact anything could be done with faded negatives (and faded prints for the subsequent titles) on such a low budget is amazing.

Now that I've seen all of them, I'd actually have to say that Cinerama Holiday and South Seas Adventure are my favorites. It's amazing how they went from "tech demo" to really taking advantage of the format by the next film. It makes me wish I had a projection setup to really get the most out of these.
 

RolandL

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If I’m recalling correctly, I believe I saw Zhivago at the Boyd.

just noticed this to be my 14,000th message.

If you did see it at the Boyd it was on their deeply curved Cinerama screen which was not removed till 12/1/71. I just added some updates to the Boyd - http://incinerama.com/boyd.htm.

Any guess how the Philadelphia Boyd theatre handled the presentation of 3-panel Cinerama and flat 35mm/70mm films? 10/05/53 to 03/16/58 3-panel Cinerama
04/05/58 to 10/19/58 35mm/70mm on flat screen?
10/29/58 to 10/25/59 3-panel Cinerama
11/24/59 to 07/17/62 35mm/70mm on flat screen.
08/08/62 to 12/01/63 3-panel Cinerama
12/19/63 to 11/30/71 35mm/70mm on the Cinerama screen.

The info I have gathered says the Cinerama equipment (three projection boxes and Cinerama screen) were removed after 10/25/59 and re-installed before 8/8/62 but with one projection box in the orchestra for all three Cinerama projectors. But, what did they do from 4/5/58 to 10/19/58? I’m guessing between 03/17/58 and 04/04/58 they removed the Cinerama screen, installed a flat screen, and projected from the balcony projection box starting 04/05/58. Then between 10/20/58 and 10/28/58 they removed the flat screen and installed the Cinerama screen.
 
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RolandL

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I was just wondering if maybe the Cinerama screen was installed from 10/05/53 to 11/30/71. I can't find any articles that mention the removal of the Cinerama screen till 12/17/71.
 

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