This Is Cinerama (1952)

A standard screen B&W prologue during which Lowell Thomas shows how, from the dawn of history, mankind has attempted to create the illusion of depth & movement by artistic, mechanical and ... See full summary »

Directors:

Merian C. Cooper, Gunther von Fritsch

Stars:

Lowell Thomas, Kathy Darlyn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lowell Thomas	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A standard screen B&W prologue during which Lowell Thomas shows how, from the dawn of history, mankind has attempted to create the illusion of depth & movement by artistic, mechanical and photographic means. Cinerama format opens with Rockaway Playland Roller Coaster, then Temple Dance from "Aida", views of Niagra Falls, Long Island Choir - an early test of CineramaSound in B&W -, Canals of Venice, Edinburgh Military Tattoo, bullfight and musical performance in Spain, Act II finale of "AIDA" at La Scala Opera House, Milan. "Intermission 15 minutes" Act II commences with a sound demonstration - "we call it stereophonic sound" says LT. Then to Cypress Gardens, Florida, for trick water skiing and boating scenes. The last half of Act II- "America the Beautiful"- is viewed from the nose of a low flying B-25 aeroplane. Finally, credits.

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Plot Keywords:

opera | roller coaster | cinerama | water skiing | demonstration movie | 

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Taglines:

The film with a new dimension

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1955 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Afto einai cinerama

Filming Locations:

Cypress Gardens - 2600 S. Lake Summit Drive, Winter Haven, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerama Productions Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 116 min (including prologue)

Sound Mix:

Cinerama 7-Track

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.59 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some members of the creative team wanted to use the famous roller coaster sequence as the finale. It was producer/co-director Merian C. Cooper who insisted that it appear first (after the prologue) in order to grab the audience from the start.

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Goofs

During the closing credits, the shadow of an arm reaching to remove a lamp on a stand.

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Connections

Features The Son of the Sheik (1926)

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Soundtracks

"The Blue Danube"
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauß

User Reviews

Seminal Breakthrough in cinema, much imitated but never surpassed.

The writer Bill Bryson once described watching This is Cinerama as one of the most enjoyable two hours of his life. Moreover it was as close to experiencing time travel as it was possible to get.

Unfortunately, "This is Cinerama" contains scenes of cultural content such as opera and ballet which may be distressing to persons of an attention span of five nano seconds or less.

The wheel has come full circle and the process lives on in State of the Art flight simulation systems for military and civil applications.