Cinerama’s Golden Head and Tale of Old Whiff (1 Viewer)

[Douglas R]

The list of film titles released in 70mm Cinerama not on Blu-ray Region A (in English) is getting smaller!

Mediterranean Holiday (Flying Clipper - Region B)
La Fayette
The Flaming Years
The Black Tulip (Die Schwarze Tulpe - German and French)
Song of Norway
The Great Waltz
Run Run Joe

I had the misfortune of seeing RUN, RUN, JOE. I think it was the last film to be shown in Cinerama at the London Casino. Why it was given the 70mm (blow up from 35mm) Cinerama treatment is baffling.

 

[john a hunter]

I think it lasted about a week Doug, then disappeared for ever!

 

[cinemiracle]

I had the misfortune of seeing RUN, RUN, JOE. I think it was the last film to be shown in Cinerama at the London Casino. Why it was given the 70mm (blow up from 35mm) Cinerama treatment is baffling.

RUN JOE RUN ranks as one of the very worst films that I ever saw. I tossed out the dvd that I had after watching it only once. It was very common in Europe in the sixties, to blow up 35mm films to 70mm .

 

[Douglas R]

I think it lasted about a week Doug, then disappeared for ever!

I was lucky (?) to see it then! Fortunately I don’t recall anything about the film other than coming out of the Casino thinking how bored I’d been.

 

[cinemiracle]

The list of film titles released in 70mm Cinerama not on Blu-ray Region A (in English) is getting smaller!

Mediterranean Holiday (Flying Clipper - Region B)
La Fayette
The Flaming Years
The Black Tulip (Die Schwarze Tulpe - German and French)
Song of Norway
The Great Waltz
Run Run Joe[/QUO

Numerous 70mm films were shown on full size Cinerama screens world wide,in the sixties/seventies. I guess your list is limited to those shown in London at the Casino cinema? One had to pay Cinerama Inc. in order to use the Cinerama logo for these films. Most films however, were not advertised as being in Cinerama due to copyright reasons. GONE WITH THE WIND and THE KING AND I were shown on full size Cinerama screens in New Zealand.The list is endless. The dvd of RUN JOE RUN did advertise the film as being in Cinerama in the credits. The Rivoli cinema in NYC had a D-!50 screen installed in the sixties but never advertised their 70mm films as being projected onto the D-150 screen. I was always very impressed when I saw 70mm films there.

 

[Douglas R]

The incinerama website lists every film which played at the Casino Cinerama, along with posters and flyers.

http://incinerama.com/ctcasino.htm

 

[john a hunter]

I checked out this site again. Thanks for the reminder Doug.
Great to see the special presentation of Windjammer included but not the one off late Saturday night showing of Mutiny on the Bounty.
However , I can now say that first I saw HTWWW on Saturday 3 November 1962 at 5.30pm.

 

[cinemiracle]

From their Twitter post the other day. Good news.


View attachment 53807

Any extras for the release? Can't find them anywhere.

 

[OliverK]

The incinerama website lists every film which played at the Casino Cinerama, along with posters and flyers.

http://incinerama.com/ctcasino.htm

I am completely shocked that Song of Norway seems to have run for a whopping 60 weeks!
For me it is easily the worst large format movie I have ever watched and for me seeing it once is enough for a lifetime. when we screened it at a festival nobody seemed to be very fond of it so I am really puzzled how taste in movies could have been so much different.

On the other hand the much superior The Last Valley ran only 2 weeks and the equally silly but more funny Krakatoa only 3 weeks - very hard to comprehend...

 

[RichMurphy]

I am completely shocked that Song of Norway seems to have run for a whopping 60 weeks!
For me it is easily the worst large format movie I have ever watched and for me seeing it once is enough for a lifetime. when we screened it t a festival nobody seemed to be very fond of it so I am really puzzled how taste in movies could have been so much different

Tastes differ of course, but I am rather fond of SONG OF NORWAY. While it's one of those "so bad it's good" movies for me, it did boast some beautifully photographed scenery. My opinion may have been swayed by the fact that NORWAY played here in the DC area in 70mm in two theaters (both long gone) with excellent projection and sound systems. Yes, I actually saw it twice, and would happily buy a decent Blu-Ray.

As for the worst large format movie, I would nominate THE MASTER. Not only did it not use the large format to any advantage, but Joaquin Phoenix's repeated violent outbursts were so predictable as to be laughable.

 

[RolandL]

Any extras for the release? Can't find them anywhere.

From Amazon:

BONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE:
Fortress of Peace - A short film directed by John Fernhout, portraying the Swiss Army fighting against an unnamed, unseen enemy which originally screened theatrically in front of The Golden Head.
A Tale of Old Whiff - Originally in Smell-O-Vision, a 70mm cartoon where a dog, named "Old Whiff", searches for a dinosaur bone.
Restoration of The Golden Head - A featurette narrated by David Strohmaier about the new restoration of this Cinerama title.
Restoration of the animation, A Tale of Old Whiff - A featurette narrated by David Strohmaier about the restoration of this animated classic.
Image Gallery - Featuring original production, exhibition and promotional materials.
Trailer Gallery - Featuring restored Cinerama titles.

 

[RolandL]

The list of film titles released in 70mm Cinerama not on Blu-ray Region A (in English) is getting smaller!

Mediterranean Holiday (Flying Clipper - Region B)
La Fayette
The Flaming Years
The Black Tulip (Die Schwarze Tulpe - German and French)
Song of Norway
The Great Waltz
Run Run Joe

Numerous 70mm films were shown on full size Cinerama screens world wide,in the sixties/seventies. I guess your list is limited to those shown in London at the Casino cinema? One had to pay Cinerama Inc. in order to use the Cinerama logo for these films. Most films however, were not advertised as being in Cinerama due to copyright reasons. GONE WITH THE WIND and THE KING AND I were shown on full size Cinerama screens in New Zealand.The list is endless. The dvd of RUN JOE RUN did advertise the film as being in Cinerama in the credits. The Rivoli cinema in NYC had a D-!50 screen installed in the sixties but never advertised their 70mm films as being projected onto the D-150 screen. I was always very impressed when I saw 70mm films there.


Hi Peter,

The list above is for films that were promoted as being "In Cinerama". Not just shown at the London Casino theatre.

Mediterranean Holiday - multiple US Cinerama theatres
Lafayette - London Coliseum
The Flaming Years - London Coliseum
The Black Tulip - London Coliseum
Song of Norway - multiple Cinerama theatres in the UK
The Great Waltz - London Casino
Run Run Joe - London Casino

Other films were re-released at Cinerama theatres and promoted as "on the Giant Cinerama Screen!"

 

[RolandL]

I am completely shocked that Song of Norway seems to have run for a whopping 60 weeks!

Played for a long time at other movie theatres also (34 weeks at the LA Cinerama Dome, 22 weeks at the Toronto Glendale theatre) with reserved seat pricing. Someone must have liked it.

 

[OliverK]

Played for a long time at other movie theatres also (34 weeks at the LA Cinerama Dome, 22 weeks at the Toronto Glendale theatre) with reserved seat pricing. Someone must have liked it.

Apparently it was indeed moderately successful given its production costs but to me it is still puzzling that this movie was more successful than every other single strip large format movie that ran in the casino in cinerama, all of which I would prefer to Song of Norway.

But then today the Transfomers movies get both bad reviews from critics and most people on imdb and still all grossed more than 600 million world wide at the box office. Obviously there are still enough people who like this kind of movie so why should there not have been an audience for Song of Norway back in the day no matter how much it was panned by critics and most moviegoers?

 

[OliverK]

Tastes differ of course, but I am rather fond of SONG OF NORWAY. While it's one of those "so bad it's good" movies for me, it did boast some beautifully photographed scenery. My opinion may have been swayed by the fact that NORWAY played here in the DC area in 70mm in two theaters (both long gone) with excellent projection and sound systems. Yes, I actually saw it twice, and would happily buy a decent Blu-Ray.

As for the worst large format movie, I would nominate THE MASTER. Not only did it not use the large format to any advantage, but Joaquin Phoenix's repeated violent outbursts were so predictable as to be laughable.

I guess that proves that tastes do differ and I would be happy for you if it came out on Blu-ray. Still it would probably be one of the very few large format movies that I'd pass on unless it would be something that looks ridiculously good. For some reason the print I saw was not very good by the way, it lacked the sharpness that I expect from western large format productions.

 

[john a hunter]

Song of Norway did look and sound magnificent at the Casino.
Like Rich I saw it twice and would get a BD of it in a heart beat although as a critic said,it was like drowning in custard!
It was probably held at the Casino for longer that it should as there was nothing or little to follow it.!

 

[Douglas R]

Song of Norway did look and sound magnificent at the Casino.
Like Rich I saw it twice and would get a BD of it in a heart beat although as a critic said,it was like drowning in custard!
It was probably held at the Casino for longer that it should as there was nothing or little to follow it.!

I didn't get to see "Song of Norway" but I did see Andrew Stone's follow-up "The Great Waltz" which I remember as being rather dull and old-fashioned. That film seems to have completely disappeared. I've never seen a TV showing and it seems not to have ever been on DVD.

The worst presentation I saw on the Casino Cinerama screen was the 70mm blow-up of "The Bridge on the River Kwai". The picture quality was appalling.

 

[RichMurphy]

I didn't get to see "Song of Norway" but I did see Andrew Stone's follow-up "The Great Waltz" which I remember as being rather dull and old-fashioned. That film seems to have completely disappeared. I've never seen a TV showing and it seems not to have ever been on DVD.

THE GREAT WALTZ, which I suspect Andrew L. Stone intended as a follow-up to NORWAY, surfaces occasionally on TCM here in the States in a very low-definition transfer. Although filmed in 35mm, the film looked great in the theatres, again mostly due to the lavish European locations and interiors. I am sure the 70mm blowup that London apparently had looked great.

You are correct that the film has never been on DVD. Unfortunately, I checked with Warner Archive several years ago and they had no plans to do anything with the film's current state. As for NORWAY, I recall that Kino has the rights to NORWAY now but they don't know what to do with it.

 

[cinemiracle]

From Amazon:

BONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE:
Fortress of Peace - A short film directed by John Fernhout, portraying the Swiss Army fighting against an unnamed, unseen enemy which originally screened theatrically in front of The Golden Head.
A Tale of Old Whiff - Originally in Smell-O-Vision, a 70mm cartoon where a dog, named "Old Whiff", searches for a dinosaur bone.
Restoration of The Golden Head - A featurette narrated by David Strohmaier about the new restoration of this Cinerama title.
Restoration of the animation, A Tale of Old Whiff - A featurette narrated by David Strohmaier about the restoration of this animated classic.
Image Gallery - Featuring original production, exhibition and promotional materials.
Trailer Gallery - Featuring restored Cinerama titles.

Thanks for that Roland

 

[cinemiracle]

I didn't get to see "Song of Norway" but I did see Andrew Stone's follow-up "The Great Waltz" which I remember as being rather dull and old-fashioned. That film seems to have completely disappeared. I've never seen a TV showing and it seems not to have ever been on DVD.

The worst presentation I saw on the Casino Cinerama screen was the 70mm blow-up of "The Bridge on the River Kwai". The picture quality was appalling.

The 70mm blow-up of GONE WITH THE WIND and shown on a full-sized Cinerama screen,would have to be a low point in 70mm.