Hollywood Trip and Cinerama Fest, Day 3 of 3 recap: This Is Cinerama

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Sunday, September 30, 2012: Several films were on the dock at the Dome today, but I only planned on the 8 PM showing of This Is Cinerma.  The other shows were Russian Adventure (narrated by Bing Crosby) and Windjammer, which no doubt promised some breathtaking sailing scenes. Those films were shot in a different process than the "true" three-camera Cinerama, and were released in the mid 1960s as Cinerama began to lose its popularity. Another film shown that day was Its A Mad Mad Mad Mad World; I had seen that movie before and tickets were sold out for weeks, so I didn't make it to that screening, either. 

So, for most of the day I kept busy in and around Hollywood --- there is always SO MUCH TO DO, you are never bored here! I had a chance to go to morning services at Oasis Church on Wilshire Blvd. Then I started at the very end of the Walk of Fame on LaBrea Ave, and started looking for stars on the Walk....Had to pay my respects to the late great Andy Williams. RIP. I then visited The Hollywood Museum and saw alot of cool things, including the largest collection of autographs I've ever seen. I started posting some pics on my other blog, Olivia & Joan, and will post more on this blog in time. 

8 PM: This Is Cinerama (1952) 

(below, the curved screen that is Cinerama)

I couldn't wait for this movie to start. Been looking forward to seeing this movie for over 20 years. It was so neat to be there.  Before the film, John Sittig came and gave a brief introduction and noted that 60 years ago TO THE DAY, the film This Is Cinerama had its grand premiere. Neat! Then the overture started and lasted a couple of minutes. Then the film began with a black and white film and a voice saying "Lowell Thomas speaking"....Mr Thomas then presented a lecture on the history of motion in art and film, and film clips were shown that would not be unfamiliar to film students ("The Kiss", "The Great Train Robbery", etc). This was all a buildup to Cinerama, something audiences have never seen. 

Then came Lowell Thomas' immortal announcement:

Ladies and gentlemen, THIS IS CINERAMA! 

....then came that THRILLING roller coaster ride! 

Seeing this on the enormous screen was thrilling; I got dizzy - seriously! Just like those folks did 60 yrs ago.

The rest of the film included other short sequences meant to show off the technology; filmmakers tried to find the coolest things imaginable to show on the ginormous screen. For example, the sequence immediately following the roller coaster sequence was a colorful ballet scene, supposedly inserted here in order for people to catch their breaths from the roller coaster! Then there were some areal views of Niagara Falls (a favorite Cinerama locale), a performance of the Vienna Boys Choir (some of the boys' facial expressions were priceless), and a candlelit choir that I'm sure was torture to anyone who was not religious. There were times during the other sequences when I thought - "no more singing - bring on more rollercoasters!". There were some cool bullfights in Spain and a Venice gondola ride, but in my estimation nothing matched the thrills of the rollercoaster other than the amazing water show sequence at Cypress Gardens, a spectacular sequence lasting about 25 -30 minutes. Usually you only see the stunt performers from a distance, but seeing them up close (from the camera's POV on the boats) was cool.  The film ended with a number of areal shots of various American parks such as Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. 

After the movie, historian Foster Hirsh came out and talked with two crew members of the film who were there 60 years ago at the premiere. They were both in their late 80s.

Then, a 25 minute short film called "In The Picture" (2012) screened. It was an homage to Cinerama's travelogues, and featured Stanley Livingston who appeared in HTWWW. He takes his wife, daughter, and her fiancee on a tour of Los Angeles, and they go to such tourist attractions such as Angel's Flight train. And they actually used original Cinerama cameras to film this! Someone said this was the first Cinerama film to use the three-camera process in 50 years! It was neat. 

Then the final film of the evening was a short documentary film called "The Last Days of Cinerema" (2012) directed by Michael Celestino. Mr Celestino came out and introduced the film, which is essentially about what the title suggests - that these could very well be the last days of Cinerama. "Who will pick up the mantle and continue  supporting Cinerama?" is one of the questions raised. Will anyone want to make another Cinerama film? Will Cinerama films ever been short in their original format again? It's really hard to say in this digital age. Crew members who worked on 2012's "In The Picture" were interviewed, and  they confirmed how cumbersome the process was - even making a short 25 minute film. Who would ever want to make another film like it??

Then I met John Sittig,  the head of Cinerama organization,  and he signed my photo below that I purchased at the Larry Edmunds bookshop:

In the lobby were some exhibits explaining how Cinerama films are being digitally restored:

Hope you enjoyed this recap! I'll have reviews of each of the 7 films in more detail to come. 

Cinerama Weekend: Day 2 of 3 recap

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Three movies today:

12:30 PM:
Arrived at the theater, got my seat. Front  row. Resident Cinerama expert John Sittig, donned in a Cinerama labcoat, came to introduce the film (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm); he said this was the only known print in 3-strip Cinerama in the world. The print came from a private collector in Australia. Sittig said this print is "well worn", and that there would be 5 people in the projection booth throughout the entire film to take care of it.

Then stepped out one of the stars of the film  - Russ Tamblyn, who talked for about 2-3 minutes. He has a big dance sequence in the film with a princess (Yvette Mimieux). He joked that he thought he was in a screening of West Side Story. Surprisingly, two of his co-stars from that film were actually there in the theater - Rita Moreno and George Chakiris (they didn't speak; they just stood up for applause when Russ announced them. They were there to support Cinerama and Russ).  Tamblyn went on to confirm how difficult the entire process of shooting a Cinerama film was, and how frustrating it was.

There was a problem in the beginning getting the film to start - the first (!) of two delays. Then came a beautiful overture (all of the films featured an overture). I had heard the music from the trailer and so I was already somewhat familiar with it. When the movie started, I was in complete awe. Every corner of my eye was filled with something colorful and exciting to look at on the screen.

Really enjoyed this movie! There were some stop-motion Puppetoon scenes with elves and a dragon, and I couldn't help but think of how far we've come with CGI. But it was entertaining nonetheless. Very underrated gem.

After the intermission, there was another delay. The film started for a few seconds, then went dark. There was another delay - this time for about 20 minutes. Apparently something happened with one of the projectors. When one goes out, the entire movie is affected.  I was biting my fingernails, hoping that the movie event wouldn't be cancelled. I chatted with the gentleman sitting next to me. He saw me taking so many notes and asked me if I was a professional writer. I told him I was just an amateur blogger. He told me about the movie The Golden Head starring George Sanders and Buddy Hackett - the movie screened earlier this morning (at 10 AM) but I was missed it.

Projectionists work to get the Cinerama film running again

After 20 minutes, the movie started up again. The three film strips were not completely in sync right away, but after a few minutes, the projectionists got it right again. Whoa -- this was Cinerama??! I guess so. This must have happened alot back in the day. It was cool nonetheless to experience an actual Cinerama mishap! LOL

 3:00 PM

The next film was Search for Paradise. The movie was a trip to India, Nepal and other Oriental "hidden paradises". Somehow  producer Lowell Thomas was invited to be an American ambassador at a ceremony in Nepal, which included an elaborate parade. And wherever Lowell Thomas goes, the Cinerama camera goes.

John Sittig announced that the music was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, and that there were members of his family in attendance at the screening. Neat!

The first half of the film has the camera crew trying to find the "mythical land of Shangri-La". Spoiler alert: They never find it. The river raft sequence down the Indus river has to be seen to be believed. I was convinced that the entire crew -  especially Lowell Thomas -  were completely out of their minds. What a bunch of crazy fools. And apparently a crew member died when a raft capsized.

The print was three-strip Cinerama, but was faded to the point where the only color was Magenta, a sort of dark pink. I thought it was interesting seeing how prints fade, but after a few minutes, I really wanted to see more colors (guess I'm spoiled). My friend lives in LA and he said he's seen a bunch of faded prints of other movies, so it was nothing new to him. I hope to see this movie again restored.

After the movie ended, I got a chance to meet one of the editors of the film. He was sitting in the front row. He must have been at least 85 years old. Can't remember his name, but he was the nicest guy. I asked him if he knew the crew member that died, and he said he did.

7:00 PM

Seven Wonders of the World. This was another film featured in Susan Sackett's book, and a movie I had always wanted to see. It was exciting to finally see it!  John Sittig announced that the film we are about to see has been "30% restored" by Image Trends.  I didn't really know what that meant until the movie was over. Basically the first and last half hours of the film were crystal clear, beautiful, colorful, amazing-looking sequences, but everything in-between looked fuzzy. Blurry, really. It looked different than any of the other films shown. I wished the entire film looked as good as the restored sequences. One day I hope to see it restored fully.

But I still enjoyed the film. It was like flying over the whole world. I thought to myself, "I never have to visit the real Grand Canyon now. I felt like I was there!"  Really, it was that awesome.

The final sequence of the film showcased Rome and the Vatican, with a Papal procession that puts you "in the picture". This must have been absolutely thrilling for Catholic audiences at the time. No wonder it was such a big hit movie, I thought. And then the grand finale includes a shot of the Pope looking directly at the camera and giving the audience a blessing. I couldn't believe they got so close to the Pope. Someone had connections, for sure. I haven't read my Souvenir Booklet yet, but there is some information on the making of that sequence. When I've done some more research I'll do another post on this film.

11:00 PM -  Holiday in Spain. I thought this was a travelogue of Spain, but it isn't; it's about a man on vacation (Denholm Elliott) who tries to solve mysteries for no believable reason. The title is a bit deceiving. In fact, the title was changed completely. Originally the film was called "Scent of a Mystery", and was one of the first "Smell-O-Vision" films where different scents were sprayed in the theater when certain objects appeared on the screen. Needless to say, it was a fad that didn't last.

The film was produced by Michael Todd Jr. --- his son (Daniel Todd) and daughter (Susan Todd) introduced the film that night. Susan said, "you can't say the movie stunk" (referring to Smell-O-Vision).

I really, really, really wanted to like this movie. I TRIED to like this movie. But I couldn't. I found it to be so dull.


I stayed about 25 minutes, but then left the theater and called it a night. One more day of Cinerama tomorrow with This Is Cinerama!!!

Cinerama Weekend: Day 1 of 3 recap

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

It was a great weekend at the Cinerama festival. I first learned about these movies over 20 years ago after reading Susan Sackett's book on the most popular films of the twentieth century. She wrote about Cinerama in such a way that captured my imagination. I never thought I'd ever see one of the films, let alone on the big screen.

Last weekend, my dreams came true. I ended up seeing seven films over three days, all of them being what historians call the "true" Cinerama films: This Is Cinerama, Cinerama Holiday, Seven Wonders of the Words, Search for Paradise, South Seas Adventure, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, and How The West Was Won. I'll be reviewing each film in more detail in subsequent posts.

It was also a bittersweet event as digital becomes the standard, and fans wonders how/if Cinerama films will be shown 50 years from now. A number of the films were shown in the original 3-film projection format, and some were digitally remastered by a company called Image Trends which is currently restoring several other titles.  PS - I haven't had time to download all my photos yet, but I found some neat ones already posted by Andres M. Olson (view that post here). 

Friday September 28, 2012

11:55 AM 

The movie to be shown at noon was South Seas Adventure (1958), a travelogue with some added narrative for interest (boy meets girl on the cruise ship, etc).

Arrived at the Arclight/Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Met my friend who attended a number of screenings with me. Big crowd outside. Felt like a movie premiere. Inside, crowded. An original Cinerama camera was on display. Saw Leonard Maltin in the lobby. (PS - Mr. Maltin recently wrote a blog post about Cinerama here) Lots of people dressed in Hawaiian shirts and leis. A number of surviving actors from the film were in attendance.

12:00 noon
Sat near the front in one of the "sweet seats".

John Sittig, the president of the Cinerama foundation, introduced the film (he delivered the intro for each screening). He announced that the music was composed by Alex North, and that some of the members of Alex North's family were in attendance.

Heard Orson Welles' voice (he provided the narration) and knew I was in for something cool.

Then I was blown away with what I saw on the giant screen. Gorgeous views of the ocean and mountains. So much to look at on the screen. Felt like I was right there on the cruise ship boarding for Hawaii. An amazing sequence of surfers riding the waves. One surfer had his dog on the board.

Here's a little taste of the movie:



At the halfway mark, a colorful illustrated title card came up; it had the letters "INTERMISSION" in a pretty font and had some flowers smiling and smoking, signaling a "smoke break". lol

Then after the movie, we all had to clear out and make way for the staff to clean the theater.

3 PM 

The next movie began.  It was a digitally remastered print of Cinerama Holiday, which came out in 1954 and was released earlier than South Seas (the movies were not shown in order of release year).  The movie begins with a crude looking black-and-white film explaining Cinerama. Then the curtains open to reveal a wider picture and breathtaking aerial shots of locales such as the Swiss Alps, Paris, and a number of regions in America. A 2-minute bobsled ride sequence left me dizzy. I can now cross off bobsledding from my bucket list. The picture and colors looked so bright and sharp.

7 PM

The next film on the dock was How The West Was Won (1962). Had a seat up front. John Sittig gave a little intro, and then brought in one of the actors from the film, Stanley Livingston, who played Jimmy Stewart's son. They talked about the film for a bit. Didn't realize they filmed it in 27 different states, including Illinois (!). A stunt man from the film, Loren James was also there, and explained that his big scene was at the end when he jumped off the train right into a cactus.

Then the projectors started - all three of them. I looked up and saw three beams of light pointing to the screen criss-crossing each other. It was really neat to see the three-camera projection at work.  It was my first time watching the film all the way through. It was really entertaining and gave me a renewed appreciation for our pioneer settlers. When Loren James' cactus scene came up, everyone cheered and applauded.

The movie ended about 10:30 pm. I was getting tired. Called it a night.

Cinerama Festival next weekend in Hollywood

It's getting close! Next weekend is the big film fest in Hollywood celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Cinerama, with back-to-back screenings of such spectacles as How The West Was Won, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, and the original film that started it all: This Is Cinerama. The blog Jim Lane's Cinedrome has been doing a great series on the history of Cinerama: check it out here for more.