This video is super interesting. I'm going to try and get the Windjammer Blu Ray now solely off of the back of watching this video. The amount of effort that has gone in to the restoration is mind boggling.

Restoring a battered old 35mm film is one thing. Fully restoring a film that was the sole surviving one ever shot in Cinerama Cinemiracle, ruined by cuffing and vinegar syndrome, oh and missing bunches of footage from different elements is a whole different ball park.

To quote Samuel L Jackson, its not the same ball park. Its not the same league, it's not even the same f'ing sport!

Saw these a couple years ago. This guy restored a few or if not all of the Cinerama films and he documented it nicely. Very interesting stuff.

I've watched this.
The simulated smilebox is certainly interesting, I'm sure it would look much better if I didn't just watch it on my led tv (which is rather small tbh).

Don't they still include a regular widescreen version as well?

I wonder if the curved TVs/PC monitors are even remotely curved enough to reproduce the effect.

Simulated smilebox reproduces the effect on a regular flatscreen or whatever. No, curved monitors wouldn't be enough to reproduce the effect, they are only slightly curved.

What if I wanted to project it onto a curved surface? I suppose the smilebox version would just even out if the screen is correctly curved.

Smilebox is a simulated curved image in widescreen format. If you project it on a curved surface it would be curved drastically more so it would look completely wrong.

You watch it on a widescreen flat screen and the image is curved (simulated).
Watch the movie and you'll understand.

Well you'd be projecting from a single source so with the sides being closer to the projector it'd result in a "straight" widescreen image. At least, that's my theory.

The image is taller on either side. It is short in the middle.
Your theory would result in the sides being even taller than intended.

As I said, watch the movie and you'll understand. It's easier than trying to explain so you will understand.

Yep, it comprises 3 separate panels of film with different reels for each chapter. The Windjammer restoration was made up of thousands of different reels, for example.

While we are talking about odd film formats, who remembers Cine 180?

http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/f1/t002768.html

I actually got to experience Cine 180 many years ago at a theme park. You basically stood inside a giant dome and a film was projected across one half of the dome. Literally the dome was an empty shell and one entire half, floor to roof was pure projector screen.

I only saw one film in it that was a compilation of scenes. A rollercoaster, a flight over a forest and desert. The rest I don't recall well enough.

I think due to the sheer size of the screen it really did draw you in. I remember leaning over left and right, the feeling of my stomach dropping on the rollercoaster dips etc.

I wonder if anyone has preserved the films? I don't think there are any Cine 180 domes around today. I recall the one I went to in the 80's finally closed in 2000. At the time even then it was said it was one of the last working domes in the world.

You definitely could not recreate the experience at home unless you lived on some grand Downton Abbey estate because the dome required for the projector spans about 5 time zones.

I have How the West Was Won on blu-ray, I know what it looks like.

Yeah but I think that's how it was converted for home use, theatrical was curved and or had multiple projectors I believe.

I think there was some information about it on the extra disc It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) (Uncut) [ML102194]
Haven't seen it in a long time, just watch the film usually.
Although this wasn't multiple camera film it did use the curved screen from what I remember.

Another example of 3-panel reels restoration from the same people:



Julien

I picked up a hooky copy of the Cinerama Seven Wonders of the World over the weekend. Gave it a quick skim to see how the Smilebox presentation would look on my telly and it's still very immersive and a unique experience. I would imagine for those of you with hyperjuicy home theatres you would definitely get a kick out of it!

My main telly is a Philips Ambilight; the addition of Ambilight adds to the immersion (sure we leave Ambilight switched on for everything and I cannot imagine buying another telly in future without it). I'll be picking up a few of these on Blu when I can for sure. They seem to be very expensive, though it's still cool to support the work after how much love and effort appears to have been sunk in to them.

Grand Prix, although a stellar film, cannot hold a candle to the absolutely exospherically magnificent Le Mans that followed just 5 years later. Le Mans is, and likely forever will be, the greatest motor racing film ever made. You could never make a film like it today. Ever. Grand Prix though is still filled with incredible moments and I imagine would look absolutely tremendous in both Cinerama and on your home theatre or television.

EDIT: I found a photo of the Cine 180 dome I visited many years ago. The photo doesn't really do justice to the actual sheer size of the dome. Maybe best compared to the height of the tower frame in the background but even then the depiction in this photo doesn't really get across the scale of the thing. try to imagine!

I think this photo is from between 1986 and 1994 (it was built in 1983). The dome exterior had a slight facelift later on I think. I found out a little more about the film shown inside. I think it was created in both Italy and the USA but distributed by a German company called Cinevision. Please correct my words if I am wrong of course.



Cool huh?

Watched that earlier, great stuff, but it made me wonder about the condition of all the original Kinopanorama material out there that wasn't part of this compilation.