Flicker Alley and Cinerama Inc. invite you to experience THIS IS CINERAMA and WINDJAMMER in their world home video premieres!
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Flicker Alley and Cinerama Inc. are pleased to announce the home video digital premieres of This Is Cinerama (1952) and Windjammer (1958). Both films will be released in 60th Anniversary Combo Blu-ray/DVD editions, each loaded with special bonus features, in conjunction with Cinerama’s 60th anniversary celebrations coming up in September. These two widescreen films will be presented in the “SmileBox” curved screen simulation and will have a S.R.P. of $39.95
THIS IS CINERAMA (1952)
This Is Cinerama / 1952 / 127 minutes / US / Directed by Robert L Bendick /
A Lowell Thomas and Merian C. Cooper Cinerama Presentation
UPC: 6-17311-67749-6 // ISBN: 1-893967-74-3
On the evening of September 30, 1952, the shape and sound of movies changed forever with the introduction of Cinerama. This unique widescreen process was launched when television was deemed a major threat to US film exhibition. Fred Waller, Cinerama’s creator, had indeed labored that long on his dream of a motion picture experience that would recreate the full range of human vision. It used three cameras and three projectors on a curved screen 146° deep.
In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of its premiere, Flicker Alley is proud to present THIS IS CINERAMA, exactly as seen by over 20,000,000 viewers in its original roadshow version. You will travel around the world with Cinerama, from Venice to Madrid, from Edinburgh Castle to the La Scala opera house in Milan, and concluding with a flight across America in the nose of a B-25 bomber.
Bonus Features:
Audio commentary track – With John Sittig (Cinerama, Inc.), Dave Strohmaier (Cinerama Historian), Randy Gitsch (Locations background), and Jim Morrison (original crew member).
Remastering A Widescreen Classic – 19 minutes / Before and after demonstrations on the film’s remastering process.
The THIS IS CINERAMA “Breakdown Reel” – B&W / 9 minutes – Footage originally projected interstitially during the interruptions of any Cinerama performance.
Alternate Act II European Opening – Color / 2 minutes
Fred Waller Radio Interview – 15 minutes / A slideshow featuring an original 1952 radio interview with Fred Waller on the eve of opening night.
THIS IS CINERAMA Trailer – 3 minutes / A new recreation in HD of the film’s trailer.
TV Spots – THIS IS CINERAMA and 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD – One minute each.
Tribute to New Neon Movies – 15 minutes / A short film celebrating the Cinerama revival in Dayton, OH from 1996 to1999, where a local projectionist set up Cinerama for special screenings to people from all over the country.
Tribute to New Cooper Theatre – 4 minutes / Remembering the first Super Cinerama in Denver, CO.
THIS IS CINERAMA Behind The Scenes Slideshow – 6 minutes / Featuring images from the production and original exhibition of the film.
Promotion and Publicity Image Gallery
WINDJAMMER (1958)
Louis Rochemont’s Cinemiracle Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich / 1958 /
142 minutes / Norway/US / Directed by Louis de Rochemont III and Bill Colleran
UPC: 6-17311-67759-5 // ISBN: 1-893967-75-1
Come onboard the magnificent Norwegian square-rigger as it sails its spectacular 17,000 mile journey, manned by a crew of young sailors-in-training, all photographed in the widescreen splendor of Cinemiracle, Cinerama’s only true competitor to thrill 1950’s audiences by sheer size and clarity.
Now digitally remastered, the color, the music, the true artistry of this classic is reborn. Embarking from Oslo, Norway, the ship sets out across the Atlantic with storm-tossed stops in Madeira, where New Year’s festivities entice the young crewman to enjoy Portuguese musical celebrations and heart racing rides in basket sleds down steep cobblestone streets. After that, it is on to Willemstad, Curacao, where the boys take part in Dutch festivities. They catch a courtyard performance of Pablo Casals in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, they’re greeted by native steel bands and Calypso singers. By the time they arrive in New York, the Cinemiracle cameras offer a kaleidoscopic treat of color and sound. An encounter with the U.S. Navy Task Force makes for a grand promenade of ships, including a gigantic aircraft carrier. Underwater shots of frogmen and a submerged submarine are thrilling, and when the sub emerges from the depths to reveal the Windjammer, Cinemiracle becomes the star of this breathtaking story. Morton Gould’s top-notch score, along with a fine variety of music throughout the picture, sounds perfect in Cinemiracle’s 7-channel sound recording. Seen digitally, the film hasn’t looked and sounded as good since its original theatrical engagements, over 50 years ago.
Bonus Features:
The WINDJAMMER Voyage: A Cinemiracle Adventure – 2012 / A new documentary on the film’s original production – 56 minutes.
WINDJAMMER Gets A “Facelift” featuring before and after demos on the film’s remastering – 14 minutes.
The WINDJAMMER Breakdown Reel – 14 minutes
The Christian Radich Today at the Aalbourg Denmark Tall Ships Festival 2010 – 7 minutes
WINDJAMMER Trailer – 3 minutes / New recreation from the original 1958 release trailer.
WINDJAMMER Behind The Scenes Slideshow – 9 minutes / Featuring images of the production, the original exhibition, and original publicity of the film.
Cinemiracle Booklet Image Gallery: Facsimile of an original WINDJAMMER Cinemiracle booklet.
About Cinerama Inc.
Cinerama Inc, which produced and released films in the three-strip Cinerama process, is a part of Decurion Corporation, which also owns ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres. Cinerama is the trademarked name for the widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen. The home entertainment release of the Cinerama titles, This is Cinerama (1952)and Windjammer (1958) coincides with the 60th anniversary of Cinerama. To celebrate, there will be a one week series from Friday, September 28 – Thursday, October 4 of screenings of 12 classic Cinerama titles at ArcLight Cinemas’ historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. These films include, 2001: A Space Odyssey, How the West was Won, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, This is Cinerama among others.
https://www.arclightcinemas.com/news/promotion-cinerama
About the SmileBox Curved Screen Format
These Cinerama publications are set up in a format which illustrates to a modern audience how different and special the Cinerama experience was when originally exhibited in theatres. The innovative curved screen “look” used in these Cinerama remasterings was developed and designed with input from film historians, award winning 3D graphics experts, digital engineers, and Oscar winning cinematographers. A long period of tests included projecting the original 3 panel Cinerama focus charts on the Seattle Cinerama 146 degree screen, while checking for horizontal and vertical distortions. From such effort, SmileBox was developed to take full advantage of the HD 16 x 9 frame, and yet maintain a 146 degree effect that would approximate what people saw in Cinerama theaters 60 years ago. Owing to certain limitations, the producers believe that this SmileBox format will approximate a “Cinerama effect” on flat 16 x 9 monitors, or when projected on screen.