Review by Gary Tooze

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• 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: Before and after demonstrations on the film's remastering (19:01)
• The THIS IS CINERAMA "Breakdown Reel": Footage originally projected interstitially during the interruptions of any Cinerama performance - 5 min./B&W (4:52)
Alternate Act II European Opening: 2 min./Color (1:47)
• Fred Waller Radio Interview: A slideshow featuring an original 1952 radio interview with Fred Waller on the eve of opening night - (15:30)
• This Is Cinerama Trailer: A new recreation in HD of the film's trailer - (3:18)
• TV Spots: THIS IS CINERAMA and 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD - 1 min. each
• Tribute to the New Neon Movies: A short film celebrating the Cinerama revival in Dayton, OH from 1996 to 1999, where a local projectionist set up Cinerama for special screenings to people from all over the country - (13:57)
• Tribute to the New Cooper Theatre: Remembering the first Super Cinerama in Denver, CO - (2:58)
• Promotion and Publicity Image Gallery

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Description: 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 as 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.

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The Film:

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Isn't this cool. Blu-ray advocates first acquired the Cinerama look with How the West Was Won released in 1080P on September 9th of 2008. So it's been a while. Flicker Alley's Blu-ray - of the 1952 This is Cinerama documentary looks at the initial exposure of the process with plenty of impressive examples. This is the 'Roadshow' version of the film complete with the Lowell Thomas prologue (in black and white), plus the overture etc. The image is imperfect with varying degrees of clarity of the 'join' between the three projections (NOTE: MW says it actually looks better than in the first run!). The 1080P has done an admirable job of recreating the SimileBox visuals. Some samples are more impressive than others. I'd guess that this is as good a representation as could be achieved in the new format. Colors are bright and there is no noise. I was particularity impressed with the sequences shot from airplanes reminding me of some of the Cineplex-created films I've seen. It's highly interesting even without knowing the fascinating details of production. I showed my two young boys and they were mesmerized.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 1938 kbps is a winner. There are some amazing sequences where the surround gets full benefit. The Cinerama process utilized seven discrete channels - way ahead of its time. This sounds very crisp with unusually buoyant separations and notable depth. Wow - fabulous audio. There are no subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE.

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BOTTOM LINE:
Cinema fans and historians will enjoy This is Cinerama. It is not so much impressive in the visual sense but from the historical standpoint that the extras supply so much educational detail. This has a gimicky edge but is also fascinating. The commentary will be greatly appreciated. The Flicker Alley Blu-ray is filled with value. Get the Home Theater pitch black and sit a little closer while sinking back to the early 50's and enjoying This is Cinerama. Recommended! 

Gary Tooze

September 20th, 2011

Reissued in May 2018:

Flicker Alley Blu-rays Reviewed at DVDBeaver: