Comments made by Det Danske Lort, T Hauerslev, are not only inaccurate for the most part, but also display a clear bias, not to mention an ongoing animus, towards myself. As I was at the screenings, I can vouch that the film images were projected on the curved screen on 2 separate occasions despite the lack of synchronization between the film and the soundtrack. Therefore, I wish to state for the record that Mr Hauerslev's comments are INACCURATE in the following respects: his statement that A-DAT soundtrack could not be played at the cinemas is pure fiction. The soundtrack was, in fact, played back, albeit completely out of sync with the film images. Despite this, the audience applauded the projection. The Bradford projectionists were harried, indeed, but not because of my particular film. There were ongoing problems with other films scheduled at the Widescreen weekend, a matter which T Hauerslev fails to take into account.
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Big Fisherman
(1959)
No plans for re-release in any format
1 April 2012
I am a film producer and director. I have always had a soft spot for this underrated Biblical epic, which I saw in 70mm at the time of its release.
This was the first film shot in Super Panavision 70, the spherical (non-anamorphic) 70mm format. In the film's titles it is called Panavision 70.
There are many production values which deserve mention. The acting is uniformly good, but the particular stand-outs include the cinematography and Albert Hay Malotte's fine music score.
My contacts in the motion picture industry inform me that Disney has no plans whatsoever to re-release the film in any commercial format. The studio does not consider the film to have sufficient marketing potential.
This was the first film shot in Super Panavision 70, the spherical (non-anamorphic) 70mm format. In the film's titles it is called Panavision 70.
There are many production values which deserve mention. The acting is uniformly good, but the particular stand-outs include the cinematography and Albert Hay Malotte's fine music score.
My contacts in the motion picture industry inform me that Disney has no plans whatsoever to re-release the film in any commercial format. The studio does not consider the film to have sufficient marketing potential.
The Last Hunt
(1956)
Another Masterwork from Richard Brooks!
22 May 2010
I was all of 14 years of age when my parents took me to see this film at our local cinema. "The Last Hunt" was exhibited in the proper CinemaScope ratio along with the 4-track soundtrack. Years later, shortly before I became involved in the motion picture industry as a soundtrack album producer, and, later still, a documentary film producer-director, I was able to meet several of the cast and crew who worked on "The Last Hunt." Robert Taylor said that he believed it to be his strongest performance. Richard Brooks was disappointed that the film (he related this during which time he was directing "The Happy Ending" in Denver) had been largely forgotten by the early 1970s. And last, still, during my many visits to the home of Daniele Amfitheatrof, the composer-conductor, he was quick to say that the excellent direction and script had inspired him to write a score which today is highly regarded.
The Beginning or the End
(1947)
Worthy of at least an outing on Turner. Better still on DVD and Blu-ray.
22 May 2010
The aforementioned reviewers have some interesting things to say about the screenplay, direction and the cast. Unfortunately, no mention has been made about the cinematography (first-rate) and the excellent music score composed and conducted by Daniele Amfitheatrof. The composer employed the services of an augmented orchestra, which in some cues numbers in excess of 100-players. In one scene (unfortunately cut from the release print) Amfitheatrof composed a dissonant motif in a syncopated dance-band rhythm, over which an electric violin plays a bittersweet theme. The great Andre Previn worked as one of the copyists on the score.
"Windjammer": The only film shot in Cinemiracle.
16 April 2006
Of all the documentary, so-called 'travelogue', films shot during that halcyon decade -- the 1950s -- when Cinerama, Cinemirace and the Soviet Kinopanorama took centre-stage at the world's cinemas, this beautifully wrought film stands alone! Simply put, it is heads-and-soldiers above the rest.
Sadly, Cinemiracle, was a "one-off" release. Plans by Jack Warner to shoot their controversial film, "The Miracle", starring Carol Baker, were shelved due to the enormous cost of shooting in the three-film format. No other films were shot in the format. Cinerama, Inc., which purchased the Cinemiracle format and patents from National Theatres in 1960, promptly relegated the format -- superior in most respects to Cinerama -- to the dust-bin of cinema history.
Attempts in recent years to restore the film with new colour prints and the original 7-channel soundtrack have come to naught, due to the high costs involved.
The Kinopanorama producer-director, John Steven Lasher, stated in March, 2004, that he would gladly restore "Windjammer" before committing any funds, had they been available, to any of the Kinopanorama travelogues to which he has access.
Sadly, Cinemiracle, was a "one-off" release. Plans by Jack Warner to shoot their controversial film, "The Miracle", starring Carol Baker, were shelved due to the enormous cost of shooting in the three-film format. No other films were shot in the format. Cinerama, Inc., which purchased the Cinemiracle format and patents from National Theatres in 1960, promptly relegated the format -- superior in most respects to Cinerama -- to the dust-bin of cinema history.
Attempts in recent years to restore the film with new colour prints and the original 7-channel soundtrack have come to naught, due to the high costs involved.
The Kinopanorama producer-director, John Steven Lasher, stated in March, 2004, that he would gladly restore "Windjammer" before committing any funds, had they been available, to any of the Kinopanorama travelogues to which he has access.
The Bounty
(1995)
Kinopanorama
18 March 2006
It takes one brave soul to commission not only the restoration of a massive 30-plus year old camera, but alto to fly his Russian crew out to Australia, put them up in a five-star hotel, hire a Russian-speaking policewoman (when the Russian translator suddenly proved unavailable), and, then, proceed to produce and direct his first ever film.
John Steven Lasher is that brave soul, and we can all be thankful for his enterprising endeavour.
The Kinopanorama three-film format is a real eye-opener, a fact not lost on the first-night audience at the Bradford, England Widscreen Festival, who came see the film in March, 1995, and who applauded at the conclusion of the screening.
Lasher has produced an entertaining, if not always focused --not in the optical sense -- film, one which highlights the visual 'by the seat of your pants' attributes of Kinopanorama, which was the Soviet equivalent of Fred Waller's famous Cinerama of the early 1950s.
The opening shot of a CityRail train crossing the bridge at the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, complete with excellent seven-channel surrounds, is alone worth the price of admission. If producer Lasher can be faulted at all, it is for the fact that the railways occupy too much of the footage. Elsewhere, there are noticeable differences in the colour rendition of the Sovcolour film stock (geared for Northern latitudes), which reacts to the harsh Australian light (colours shifting to blue in the work-prints), with those of the Eastman stock shot at Dubbo in 1994. There is also some film jitter in the Eastman shot sequences, but this is due to the fact that the camera's pull-down pins were damaged during the Dubbo shoot, and not repaired for some months, according to Lasher in his pre-screening introduction to the Bradford audience.
Music by the New Zealand-born John Charles, performed by the hand-picked Fifth Continent Chamber Ensemble conducted by Edward Primrose, is excellent throughout and is the narration of an unidentified person.
John Steven Lasher is that brave soul, and we can all be thankful for his enterprising endeavour.
The Kinopanorama three-film format is a real eye-opener, a fact not lost on the first-night audience at the Bradford, England Widscreen Festival, who came see the film in March, 1995, and who applauded at the conclusion of the screening.
Lasher has produced an entertaining, if not always focused --not in the optical sense -- film, one which highlights the visual 'by the seat of your pants' attributes of Kinopanorama, which was the Soviet equivalent of Fred Waller's famous Cinerama of the early 1950s.
The opening shot of a CityRail train crossing the bridge at the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, complete with excellent seven-channel surrounds, is alone worth the price of admission. If producer Lasher can be faulted at all, it is for the fact that the railways occupy too much of the footage. Elsewhere, there are noticeable differences in the colour rendition of the Sovcolour film stock (geared for Northern latitudes), which reacts to the harsh Australian light (colours shifting to blue in the work-prints), with those of the Eastman stock shot at Dubbo in 1994. There is also some film jitter in the Eastman shot sequences, but this is due to the fact that the camera's pull-down pins were damaged during the Dubbo shoot, and not repaired for some months, according to Lasher in his pre-screening introduction to the Bradford audience.
Music by the New Zealand-born John Charles, performed by the hand-picked Fifth Continent Chamber Ensemble conducted by Edward Primrose, is excellent throughout and is the narration of an unidentified person.
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