Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Cinerama Adventure

As at home viewing has become so widespread and cheap, going out to the movies has become less of a gratification and even something of an inconvenience. Yet in the early 1950s, when the movies where threatened by the advent of television, the studios developed several presentations to illustrate the significance of widescreen viewings and attract large audiences. "Cinerama Adventure" charts the history of one of these processes, which is filmed on three cameras and shown through three like 35mm projects which called for the creation of their own specialized theaters. Though very few films were made in this format ("How the West was Won" is the most famous one) and only three of these theaters remain in the world today, the film going experience keeps fondly in the minds of the many who attended them during their heyday. "Cinerama Adventure" is an excellent expository, which thoroughly tells its story, and features breathtaking making-of footage which includes a plane flight into a volcano and a bizarre ritual showing tribesman bungee jumping off of a 1,000 foot wood structure.