This Is Cinerama 60th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD Review (2 Viewers)

[rsmithjr]

Did anybody see Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World in 70mm the other day.

Yes, we saw it on Sunday at the dome. Full house, very enthusiastic crowd.
The film holds up very well although there are many references that a modern audience doesn't get.
Issues include:
1. Sound poorly adjusted at the beginning (balance) but they adjusted this about 15 minutes in.
2. Light on their 70mm equipment is very very poor. This is a known problem with the dome, seemingly easily fixed. Does anyone know why this is so bad?
3. I am not sure that this was a true "Ultra Panavision 70' presentation. The print may be spherical rather than anamorphic, or the image may be cropped. I have some check points to compare to the Blu-ray, which looks spot-on. John Sittig told the audience that this is the same print that MGM created for the 40th anniversary in 2003. The print certainly looked and sounded great.
Overall, one of the weakest presentations of the festival technically. The crew did a terrific job on the 3 strip, a shame to not get 70mm to the same standard, considering how much easier it is. Brighter light would have made a huge difference, plus at least getting the correct information about whether or not what we were actually seeing.

 

[cinerama10]

I too was bored when I saw TIC for the first time.Other Cinerama films were better.By the time Cinerama came to New Zealand it was no longer a novelty with 70mm screens (slightly curved) and almost as big (only 3 feet smaller) in my home town. Had it been the first giant screen film that I had seen it would have had a much bigger inpact on me visually.

 

[DP 70]

Thanks Robert for getting back about IAMMMMW.
The print from 2003 is a Ultra Panavison / DTS so it should be projected with a Ultra Panavision
1.5 Anamorphic Lens, that might be why the light was so dim.

 

[Robert Harris]

Thanks Robert for getting back about IAMMMMW.
The print from 2003 is a Ultra Panavison / DTS so it should be projected with a Ultra Panavision
1.5 Anamorphic Lens, that might be why the light was so dim.

1.25
And part of the image problem was most likely cross-illumination. A problem of removing the original strip screen

 

[rsmithjr]

Thanks Robert for getting back about IAMMMMW.
The print from 2003 is a Ultra Panavison / DTS so it should be projected with a Ultra Panavision
1.5 Anamorphic Lens, that might be why the light was so dim.

What? I have seen many UP 70 presentations with anamorphic lenses that were very bright! I have also read that the dome's 70mm projection has this problem with spherical prints.
IAMMMMW is a very bright movie for the most part.

 

[Strohmaier]

The Mad World print was very very dark and mis timed the light was fine from what I could see when the 70mm charts were projected. The good print they ran at the academy but sent us the dark one. They used the ultra panavision lens.

 

[rsmithjr]

The Mad World print was very very dark and mis timed the light was fine from what I could see when the 70mm charts were projected. The good print they ran at the academy but sent us the dark one. They used the ultra panavision lens.

Thanks, David, for clarifying the situation. I tried to find out at the festival but everyone was busy. It was however quite unacceptably dark, especially for such a bright film.
As long as I have you here, let me give you my greatest congratulations. I saw 13 films in 3 days, and everything completely exceeded my expectations. Your involvement was absolutely herculean. The Blu-rays are terrific, and the digital remasters of Cinerama Holiday and South Seas Adventures blew me away. I would have been impressed if Warners had done this work, and am even more impressed having some idea about the budget that you had available.
Is there a way that I can send you an email with some further comments and questions?

 

[mark brown]

Off subject David but what future Cinerama titles might we expect on Blu-Ray? Enjoyed This is Cinerama and Windjammer this past weekend!

 

[Kurosawa]

I was especially impressed with the restorative work done on these priceless and irreplaceable treasures by Mr. Strohmaier and his associates, given the limited budgets with which they had to work. Bravo and thanks.
Now about The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm...any chance that'll ever see the light of day?

 

[Charles Smith]

Let me join in by saying I'm DELIGHTED with what I've seen so far on the two Blu-rays. Looking forward to more.

BTW, someone said, either in this or the Brothers Grimm thread, that in one of the 3-strip showings at the Dome they could almost not see the join lines at all. Is that really possible? I mention it because, while I know that one goal in transferring films to Smilebox would be to minimize the lines, I'd kind of hate for them to totally disappear. But that's partly because I just can't quite imagine it happening "in real life" on an actual Cinerama screen.

 

[NY2LA]

Now about The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm...any chance that'll ever see the light of day?

There is another whole thread here on that topic. WWOTBG and How The West Was Won are both co-owned by Warner Brothers and they control the elements. There is an online petition which is by no means a guarantee but it IS a chance to stand up and be counted as wanting it on DVD or BRD. The guys who did the work on the Cinerama titles claim they could fix whatever is wrong with either the somewhat edge damaged original 3 strip negatives or the 65mm composite. But will Warner pay for that or do it themselves or continue to turn up their nose at it even after releasing the less impressive Hans Christian Anderson on Blu Ray? TCM seems to be the best hope, as they provided funding for the recent Cinerama Festival at the Dome, expressed interest in screening the picture at their next spring festival in Hollywood, and discussed possibly sharing cost of producing a DCP, while continuing to air the picture twice a year on their channel.
However as of now Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm remains the only 3 strip Cinerama title not in process of being prepared for digital exhibition or home video. Full story on Wikipedia

 

[NY2LA]

Let me join in by saying I'm DELIGHTED with what I've seen so far on the two Blu-rays.  Looking forward to more.
BTW, someone said, either in this or the Brothers Grimm thread, that in one of the 3-strip showings at the Dome they could almost not see the join lines at all.  Is that really possible?  I mention it because, while I know that one goal in transferring films to Smilebox would be to minimize the lines, I'd kind of hate for them to totally disappear.  But that's partly because I just can't quite imagine it happening "in real life" on an actual Cinerama screen.

Oh they're still there, but MGM/Cinerama filmmakers made a point in the two narrative films to hide them whenever possible in building corners, pillars, trees, etc. so there were plenty of moments during the recent screenings of WWOTBG where you didn't notice them at all or had to look hard for them.
Back to TIC: What's wrong with the booklet? The only thing I noticed is one had page numbers.

 

[Charles Smith]

Oh they're still there, but MGM/Cinerama filmmakers made a point in the two narrative films to hide them whenever possible in building corners, pillars, trees, etc. so there were plenty of moments during the recent screenings of WWOTBG where you didn't notice them at all or had to look hard for them.
Back to TIC: What's wrong with the booklet? The only thing I noticed is one had page numbers.

Ah, that's different. Good planning in the filming. Thanks!

I believe the booklet with the page numbers has pages assembled out of order, and the non-numbered is corrected.

 

[alistairKerr]

Just received "This Is Cinerama" and "Windjammer" here in Scotland - terrific packaging, excellent extras, and the films themselves look to my eyes as good as they ever will.
I have watched the restoration documentaries on both discs now, and have to say a big "thank you" to Mr Strohmaier and his tireless team for giving us a chance to see (and hear) those three-panel wonders as they were meant to be seen (given the smaller sizes of TV screens)!
Excellent work, guys - and thanks to Flicker Alley for sending them so promptly.
Alistair

 

[Strohmaier]

No current plans for blu ray on the other titles, South Seas, Cinerama Holiday, Seven Wonders, Search for Paradise but it would be a possibility someday.
We are still working on Seven Wonders but it will be very difficult as its also going to be a reconstruction as the o-negs were disembowled in the late 1960s and stored in 2 separate non cooled vaults and in the case of the B panel it was even re cut and re framed for a 1:33 16mm print (only 4 perfs of B panel was used) Each panel has faded at a different rate so matching them to create the same color across the screen is more than a challenge. None of this is being done on a "studio budget" so no one should expect a full HTWWW type result, but you will be able to see and hear these film someday. Oh yes we built into the master plan with Image Trend a future proof element. All scans (each individual B,A,C 3K frame) will be on deposit at the Library of Congress in the event that someday some very brave restorationist would like to attempt a further restoration with the digital tools of the future. [ATTACHMENT=384]Cinerama Holiday.png (2,695k. png file)[/ATTACHMENT]

 

[rsmithjr]

No current plans for blu ray on the other titles, South Seas, Cinerama Holiday, Seven Wonders, Search for Paradise but it would be a possibility someday.
We are still working on Seven Wonders but it will be very difficult as its also going to be a reconstruction as the o-negs were disembowled in the late 1960s and stored in 2 separate non cooled vaults and in the case of the B panel it was even re cut and re framed for a 1:33 16mm print (only 4 perfs of B panel was used) Each panel has faded at a different rate so matching them to create the same color across the screen is more than a challenge. None of this is being done on a "studio budget" so no one should expect a full HTWWW type result, but you will be able to see and hear these film someday. Oh yes we built into the master plan with Image Trend a future proof element. All scans (each individual B,A,C 3K frame) will be on deposit at the Library of Congress in the event that someday some very brave restorationist would like to attempt a further restoration with the digital tools of the future. [ATTACHMENT=384]Cinerama Holiday.png (2,695k. png file)[/ATTACHMENT]

I am very glad to hear about the deposit of the scans.
If there is one thing that we are learning, it is that the future will have more elaborate requirements and expectations, as well as more cost-effective and powerful tools. No restorationist should ever assume that his work is the final answer.
I fully expect 8K and 16K for at least some applications, work is underway on these right now.
What about the OCN's and other elements? I hope that these will be preserved properly as well. One can also never tell when someone will want to go back to these.
BTW: may I suggest that Twilight Time might be a solution for the other travelogues if the sales projections do not justify the full release.
Thanks again for the superb work from your team and you personally. If I had only heard your name associated with one of these many tasks, I would have been impressed. To see you leading every single activity associated with Cinerama in the last few years has been awe-inspiring.

 

[Strohmaier]

Negs are in pretty bad shape overall and some rolls are missing. Example: The first 6 rolls of 7 Wonders camera neg does not exist. The LOC is cooperating with us to reconstruct these missing areas from their deposit prints (eastman color) and Image trends is getting as much color as possible by scanning these areas and using some new color recovery software they have developed. You should know that most all Cinerama prints that went out to theaters in the 1950s were struck from the original negs. and were in eastman color even though they used the technicolor labs and name thanks to Merian C. Cooper. They wanted a first generation look to all the prints. This is why there is so much damage and worn sections to the o-negs, now add the fact that they have shrunk quite a bit and you get the picture. From the travelogue era only This is Cinerama had some IB tech prints made. West and Grimm (in 3 strip) were IB Tech.

 

[Joseph Goodman]

Do separations exist on any of the travelogues?

 

[Strohmaier]

Yes seps exists but they also have many missing areas. And the expense of going from YCM would be gigantic - 9 frame scans to get one 3 panel frame.

 

[JoHud]

BTW: may I suggest that Twilight Time might be a solution for the other travelogues if the sales projections do not justify the full release.

Considering how niche the majority of Flicker Alley releases are, I wouldn't worry too much about these initial releases under-performing.