Randy Gitsch and David Strohmaier. Picture by Richard Greenhalgh

I have just returned from seeing "Cinerama Adventure" at the ArcLight Cinema, adjacent to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. This feature length documentary opened Friday, August 22nd 2003 for Academy Award consideration and runs through next Thursday, August 28th, with showings scheduled at 10:30 AM each day.

The completion of this production culminates a six-year labor of love by David Strohmaier, the documentary's producer, director and writer. There is new music by John Morgan and William Stromberg, which blends perfectly with music excerpts from many of the original Cinerama features.

I first saw a rough cut of this production, projected in video, in Seattle in 1999 and then saw it again last summer in Los Angeles when it was shown at a local SMPTE chapter meeting which was very well attended. It is now finished, on film, with Dolby Digital sound. The Interviews are shown at 1.33:1 inside a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The Cinerama cuts are shown in the C.A. Productions' Smilebox(tm) curved screen simulation format at 1.85:1, which really "puts you in the picture."

This production is simply perfect! It blends the history of the people behind Cinerama with the story of the making of the films and highlights the technical aspects of this pioneering widescreen format in an exiting and dramatic way. There are numerous interviews with many of those who were involved with and stared in the original Cinerama films. I was most interested to learn more about Paul Mantz, who flew the Cinerama camera for all of the aerial sequences. The screening was introduced by producer, Randy Gitsch, and David Strohmaier was on hand afterward to speak to those in attendance.