But now, of course, you can enjoy these pictures in the comfort of your own home, spectacularly-restored from the original, three-strip elements in HD with vibrant colors, stabilized picture, and a powerful 5.1 sound mix (you do have the choice between a 2.0 and a 5.1 mix, but you’ll definitely want to go with 5.1 where possible). Hence, the films traveled as part of road shows, wherein a film would play in single, Cinerama-converted theaters in cities across the country for a limited run. This made exhibition of Cinerama pictures in standard theaters virtually impossible (financially-speaking anyway, given the installation cost for the limited number of films available in the format). In addition to the curved screen, each process also required a 7-track stereophonic sound system.
#Smilebox cinerama full
Flicker Alley further simulates the Cinerama/Cinemiracle road show experience by including overtures, intermissions, and superimposed curtains that open after each film’s 1.33:1 full frame introduction to reveal the full scope of the Smilebox frame. However, in order to actually allow the films to engage your peripherals as a home viewer, you’ll want to watch them on a very large television, or projected on a large screen where possible. As such, the Smilebox frame is curved on the top and bottom so that the image is taller on the ends than in the middle. In Flicker Alley’s releases of This is Cinerama (1952) and Windjammer, the films are presented in a Smilebox format approximating the viewing experience of the films during their original road shows, on the requisite, massive curved screens. This wraparound image was revolutionary in that it not only played before the audience, but it engaged their peripheral vision as well. Films shot in these processes were then projected on curved screens, 146° deep. Both Cinerama and its competitor process Cinemiracle (in which Windjammer (1958) was shot) were widescreen processes developed in the 1950’s requiring three cameras and, consequently, three projectors. Not only has Flicker Alley preserved two works of great historic significance on home video, but they have done so with the reverence for the material that we expect from this one-of-a-kind distributor.īefore diving into the content of the films, we have to talk format, because therein lies the real historical significance of these films. And their recent re-release of the DVD/Blu-ray combos of This is Cinerama and Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich (originally released to DVD/BD by Flicker Alley in 2012) featuring the brand new 2017 restorations of each film demonstrate their continued dedication to the artform.
Flicker Alley has long been a champion of historically-important cinema in the home video market, and further cement themselves as such with with each subsequent release by delivering some of the most beautifully-transferred, special features-packed DVDs and Blu-rays available today.
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