This is Cinerama - 2017 Authorized Restoration

BLU-RAY EDITION

Flicker Alley and Cinerama Inc. are pleased to announce the long-awaited re-release of This is Cinerama, now beautifully restored from the original three-panel, six-perforation camera elements. Presented in a deluxe Blu-ray edition, this is the most extensive and thorough restoration yet of the film that changed the shape and sound of the movies forever!

On the evening of September 30, 1952, This is Cinerama premiered at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. Robert C. Ruark of The New York World Telegram said of the event: “I have just looked at the movies’ answer to television, whether or not the movies know it yet.” Indeed, this unique, widescreen process was launched when television was deemed a major threat to US film exhibition. Fred Waller, Cinerama’s creator, dreamed of a motion picture experience that would recreate the full range of human vision. Using three cameras and three projectors on a curved screen 146° deep, Cinerama created an immersive cinematic event, wowing 20 million viewers in its original roadshow version.

Now, audiences can experience the forerunner to all modern widescreen formats once again, and in a brand-new, definitive restoration. From Venice to Madrid, from Edinburgh Castle to the La Scala opera house in Milan, and all across America in the nose of a B-25 bomber, travel around the world with Cinerama, presented in the one-and-only Smilebox® curved screen simulation.

BONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE:

• Audio Commentary - With John Sittig (Cinerama Inc.), David Strohmaier (Cinerama Restorer), Randy Gitsch (Cinerama Historian), and Jim Morrison (original crew member)
• The Best in the Biz - Updated hour-long documentary about the composers of Cinerama
• Restoring This is Cinerama - A detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the brand-new restoration
• Alternate European Opening to Act Two - A European-oriented segue into the second half of the film, featuring the panoramic view of the United States from the nose of a B-25 bomber plane
• Cinerama Everywhere - A French-produced short on the Cinerama tent shows in Europe
• Tribute to the New Neon Movies - A short film celebrating an Ohio theater where a projectionist revived Cinerama through special screenings for people from all over the country
• Radio Interview with Cinerama Creator, Fred Waller - Recorded on the eve of opening night; accompanied by a slideshow of selected Cinerama images
• This is Cinerama Trailer - An updated recreation of the original theatrical trailer, edited with newly-restored clips
• Cinerama Returns to the Cinerama Dome (2002 Announcement Trailer) - Promotional short for the 50th anniversary of Cinerama and its return to the fabled Cinerama Dome in Hollywood
• “Breakdown Reel” - Footage originally projected interstitially during the interruptions of any Cinerama performance
• TV Spots - Original television ads for This Is Cinerama and Seven Wonders of the World