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.