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Widescreen Weekend 2006
Audience
feedback
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Read more
at
in70mm.com
The 70mm Newsletter
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14 October 2006 |
David Watson - "The Golden Head" great fun
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David Watson (10 visits), Littlehampton, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Large curved screen. Brilliant definition. Magnetic sound. An
opportunity to see films that most otherwise gather dust in vaults.
How often do you watch an epic on TV all the way through? |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Excellent mix, apart from Sunday on. "The Golden Head" great
fun |
Intro´s too long. Lectures - not a lot. Rather unnecessary padding |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "Cinerama Holiday"
Title 2: "Windjammer"
Title 3: "Seven Wonders of the World" |
Title 1: "Hello, Dolly!"
Title 2: "The Sound of Music"
Title 3: "South Pacific" |
Best: "South Pacific"
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
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Further
in 70mm reading:
Widescreen Weekend
Delegates reception
+ IMAX +
Pictureville +
Misc. images
Submit your review (Word form)
Internet link:
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Peter Philips
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Peter Philips (9 visits), London, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Generally the effort put into, made the films special and usually
they succeeded
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Choice of films provides an entertaining variety |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm"
Title 2: "How the West Was Won"
Title 3: "Windjammer" |
Title 1: "The Hallelujah Trail"
Title 2: "Khartoum"
Title 3: "It´s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" |
Best: "South Pacific"
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
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Andrew King - Best film: "The Golden Head"
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Andrew King (all), Southport, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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A large curved screen and multi channel sound make it an experience.
not "just" watching the film |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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A very interesting selection of films which was very enjoyable. |
Very interesting but sometimes too long. A few words about the
source of the copy of "The Golden Head" would be of interest.
Tony Cutts interview - excellent |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "Seven Wonders of the World"
Title 3: "Windjammer" |
Title 1: "Where Eagles Dare"
Title 2: "The Sound of Music"
Title 3: "Hello, Dolly!" |
Best: "The Golden Head"
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" (but it was good to see
it) |
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Siddique Hussain - Keep up the great work
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Siddique Hussain (3 visits), Sandwell, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Large format means more clarity on occasion. Cinerama (although
outdated and inferior quality prints) is unique and Bradford is
brave to stick it's neck out. Keep up the great work. |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Great enthusiasm from patrons & programmers together with a wide mix
of movies (need new feature length material). The discoveries,
shorts + documentaries are the golden nuggets of the weekend |
Visitors + special guests are second to none. Sometimes the line of
questioning could be a little more thought out. |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "This is Cinerama"
Title 3: - |
Title 1: "Lawrence of Arabia"
Title 2: "Fall of the Roman Empire"
Title 3: "Hamlet" |
Best: "Fall of the Roman Empire" as it's a chance to see an
epic on the big screen
Worst: "Custer of the West" - not content or print quality
but production values |
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Clive Robotham - Big curved screen
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Clive Robotham (9 visits), London, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Big curved screen. Sharp picture. The sound and intermission if
possible |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Good. The best programme for me was my first visit in 1998. |
I am hard of hearing, so don't go to many lectures. The
introductions are as usual very informative. |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "This is Cinerama"
Title 3: "Cinerama Holiday" |
Title 1: "It´s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
Title 2: "Grand Prix"
Title 3: "Can Can" |
Best: "The Golden Head" - No joke, it was the only film with
intermission this year I'd never seen.
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" - I'd caught a cold,
bloody snow. |
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Wolfram Brackhahn - 70mm forever!!!
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Wolfram Brackhahn (1 visit), Hamburg, Germany |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
It´s smashing!
70mm forever!!! |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Excellent |
Introductions for every film!!! |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "Windjammer"
Title 3: - |
Title 1: "Oklahoma!"
Title 2: "Vertigo"
Title 3: "Spartacus" |
Best: "The Miracle of Todd-AO".
Worst: "Fortress of Peace" |
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Volker Hannemann - first class trash
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Volker Hannemann (2 visits),
Kornwestheim, Germany |
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Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
Lectures and introductions |
The picture and sound quality really gets you involved into the action.
Nothing compares to it! Forget TV, forget digital cinema, forget
35mm – 70mm is the real thing! |
Very good and entertaining intros! The lectures were really
interesting. Of them I enjoyed the Tony Cutts interview a lot!
Hopefully there will be a second part |
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Programming and films |
Excellent selection of features as well as shorts. Many of the films
I only knew from TV or 35mm mono prints. It was so good to see all
of them in their original version. Although some of the prints are
faded already, it was a big enjoyable experience! “The Golden
Head” was first class trash as was “Krakatoa”. “How
The West Was Won” is the evergreen which alone was worth the
trip (hopefully we will see some time in the future the restored
version!!!) And seeing “South Pacific” in a restored version
was overwhelming! The dynamics of the music recording was fantastic.
“Fall Of The Roman Empire” was boring as always, but with a
nice picture and sound quality – and Dimitri Tiomkin demonstrated
again how film scoring should not be done. Seeing “The Bible”
for the first time in 70mm D-150 was a great experience! The picture
looked so sharp you easily could cut your eyes. “Custer Of The
West” was OK with a nice score by Bernardo Segall which I really
enjoyed. “Windjammer” was the only film I completely
understood since it was presented in German language Unfortunately,
“Zulu” was shown in 35mm mono only, but the picture quality
was very, very good. Maybe we can see this title in 70mm in the
future? “This is Cinerama” was nice again but certainly not
of my all time favourite movies…
“Far and Away”: it was great to see this film again, but
maybe it would really have been better to show it on the curve and
not the flat screen since the picture would have been much larger (I
don’t know whether the sharpness would have been as good as on the
flat screen). And to see “Dr. Zhivago” in 70mm for the first
time (in a faded print) clearly showed that it was a blowup. It
still remains one of my all time favourite films and I was a little
bit disappointed to have to leave the screening during the
intermission to get my plane back home…
“Cineramacana” certainly is one of the highlights! The 30fps 70mm
demo film again proved that 24fps is too slow… There are always lots
of goodies which are really enjoyable! I loved the “Todd-AO” karaoke
song. And also the audience was very, very nice giving me the
impression that we are a big family watching “our” movies! It’s such
a big difference compared to normal movie going! |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How The West Was Won"
Title 2: -
Title 3: - |
Title 1: "Ben-Hur"
Title 2: "El Cid"
Title 3: "Khartoum" |
Best: "South Pacific" print quality was very good and
the 6 track sound was absolutely stunning!
Worst: "Batman Begins" although in 70mm Imax format the
picture quality was a bad blowup. And the way the film was
photographed and edited certainly showed that the filmmakers have
not the slightest idea about how to make a film for the BIG screen.
It was an awful experience!
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Brian Guckian - 10 Out Of 10
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Brian Guckian (1 visit), Dublin, Ireland |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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The sheer beauty and definition of the images; the film texture; the
sound quality; the big-screen nature of the experience |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Superb – 10 Out Of 10 |
Superb – 10 Out Of 10 |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Title 1: "2001: A Space Odyssey"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Best: "Cineramacana" (all)
Worst: "Far and away" (unfortunately)
[nb attended Sunday only]
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Wolfram Hannemann -
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Wolfram Hannemann (3 visits),
Korntal, Germany |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Because these formats are made for cinema presentation and cannot be
rivalled by TV or DVD. Such presentations are worthwhile going out
to the cinema instead of watching TV at home – provided that the
cinema knows how to handle it! |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
Very good! It was great to have some real trash films this year,
too. Those were "Krakatoa" and "The Golden Head" which
were both great fun to watch. I also enjoyed the new print of
"South Pacific" although focus disappointed here. Too bad
"Zulu" did not show up in 70mm...
Could the distance between the seating rows in Pictureville be
extended? Our knees would love that!
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Introductions for each film would be more than welcome. |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "This is Cinerama"
Title 3: - |
Title 1: "Ben-Hur"
Title 2: "Khartoum"
Title 3: "Ryan’s Daughter" |
Best: "Krakatoa" and "The Bible...in the beginning"
for their sharpness
Worst: "Batman Begins" disappointed so much on the Imax
screen
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Simon Lewis - Absolute Cinema
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Simon Lewis (2 visits), Bristol, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Absolute Cinema - lets you into the story more than any other
format. Crystal sharp |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
Excellent! Great to see the legendary "The Golden Head".
Saddest thing to see almost all the prints had faded. Some of them I
saw as my first introduction to 70mm at the NFT in London during the
1980’s. They were looking fairly good then - "The Fall of
the Roman Empire" and "Doctor Zhivago". But the sharpness
was astounding.
"How the West Was Won" looked absolutely stunning
and sharp. Seeing facial details in long shots was incredible.
Great to the see the hugely underrated "The Bible...in the
beginning" albeit a heavily cut print.
"Custer of the West" was a great print, showing how good
Technirama was but the film was quite dated.
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Introductions were too long and abit rambling. Would have been
better to give the context of a particular film and maybe a word
about the actual print - i.e. why "The Fall of the Roman
Empire" was in a flat print not a squeezed Ultra Panavision 70.
This was very obvious when we saw a snatch of "The Greatest Story
ever Told" which was defiantly squeezed.
Lectures were great - Tony Cutts and Rusty were really interesting.
Not sure what the point was with the weapon expert, seemed out of
place.
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "Windjammer"
Title 3: "This is Cinerama" |
Title 1: "Lawrence of Arabia"
Title 2: "The Fall of the Roman Empire"
Title 3: "El Cid" |
Best: "The Fall of the Roman Empire" and "The
Bible...in the beginning"
Worst: "South Pacific" - great print but dated story |
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Mark Lyndon - Bradford still reigns
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Mark Lyndon (7 visits), UK
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
The lectures and intros were as always of a very high standard.
Pace Adam and Eve, those of us with a thirst for knowledge for the
endlessly fascinating subject of epic film, greatly value the
introductions given by Tony Sloman.
Invariably erudite, authoritive, informative and entertaining; they
remain a vital component of the Widescreen Weekend.
That's All Folks! |
Nothing comes close to Cinerama or 70mm when it comes to presenting
the moving image.
The bean counters have deprived a generation or two of seeing for
themselves just how good the cinema can look.
2005 with its' riches was a tough year to follow, however, a good
vintage for 2006 can still be declared.
It was a true joy to see a sparkling new print of "South Pacific"
in a packed and spellbound Pictureville.
In spite of the print(s) clearly showing signs of deterioration, "How the West Was Won"
is still a glory, joy and wonder to behold. Could the owner of the
restored print(s) consider a generous gesture in future?
"Zulu" was an astonishingly fine print considering its' age
and, ahem, in35mm.
It was an experience to see "The Bible...in the Beginning"
... again after 40 years.
Huston did a fine job, it was well scripted by Christopher Fry with
some solid performances form Huston himself, George C Scott, Richard
Harris and three Peter O'Tools for the price of one.
"The Fall of the Roman Empire", saddled with a score that
seemed to be made for another film, Plummer and Loren hamming it up,
nevertheless was good enough to inspire and influence Ridley Scotts'
"Gladiator" many years later.
"This is Cinerama" never fails to enthrall, the Roller
Coaster never thrilled more, La Scala never sounded better, Venice
never looked finer.
Let the World take note, Bradford still reigns supreme in presenting
every film format stories were ever told in. |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "Seven Wonders of the World"
Title 3: "This is Cinerama" |
Title 1: "2001 A Space Odyssey"
Title 2: "Lawrence of Arabia"
Title 3: "Apocalypse Now!" |
Best: "South Pacific"
Worst: "Batman Begins" Blow up Schmo up. |
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Mark Trompeteler - I really enjoyed it
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Mark Trompeteler
(1 visit), Forestdale, Croydon, Surrey, UK |
Lectures and introductions |
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I thought these were good. |
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Programming and films |
I believe greater co-ordination with the museum cafe would be a
really good idea, communication with them on the day with any
delays occurring and allowing people a bit more " comfort stop " time
than 15 minutes between what are often fairly long films, and
promoting the use of the cafe to the delegates.
It might be an idea to break up the films in such a way that you cut
down on the number of times films in poor condition or in magenta
are shown consecutively?
I wonder if a visit to the NMPFT film vaults and a talk about
archiving and restoring prints might be an idea?
This was the first Widescreen Weekend I attended and I really
enjoyed it, I cannot believe the dedication and enthusiasm that
people have for this area of film. I was however very shocked to see
how many prints in which the colour had faded just to magenta.
Sadly, I feel that 70mm is increasingly a forgotten technical
process that both many younger people in the film industry and the
general public at large have increasingly no knowledge of - its
history, culture or possibilities. If ever there was a future for
any comeback for production in 70mm then inevitably it would need to
be linked to the words that are on everybody's' lips for the
immediate and medium term future - High Definition. |
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Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
* Personal nostalgia to a period when general release Cinema had its
technical finest hour.
* The technical perfection of the 70mm. process particularly when
combined with artistically great films like West Side Story, David
Lean etc.
* The sense of occasion when watching a great 70mm. restored print
as part of a big audience - South Pacific on the Saturday night to a
full house !!
Final Suggestion re the weekend:
As a first time attendee on my own, it took a little while to settle
in and meet and chat to some people - the reception wasn't exactly
helpful in this respect at all. I did get to meet and chat to people
from USA, Germany, Australia and even in the UK. In the closing
stages of the weekend I learned that one of the delegates lived in
the same town as me - Croydon in the UK. To enlarge and make more
effective or spread the 70 mm enthusiasm it would have been really
good if there were mechanisms to somehow introduce either newcomers
or people from similar or close areas to each other, eg some small
group work, smaller group networking activity, or something similar
at the beginning of the weekend?
I retired early recently and live in London. I am sure you have many
London contacts. However, if ever you need some assistance with 70mm
related errands in London then please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for a great weekend and an incredible website!! |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How The West was Won"
Title 2: "Windjammer"
Title 3: "This is Cinerama"
very difficult for me to say - I have hardly seen any ! |
Title 1: Anything by David Lean - the most artistically reliable
director who worked in this format - very underrated
Title 2: "West Side Story"
Title 3: "Cleopatra" |
Best: "Zulu"
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
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Anders M Olsson - very pleasant surprises
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Anders M Olsson (__ visits),
Lund, Sweden |
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Programming and films |
Arriving early we had a chance to attend an event that wasn't part
of the Widescreen Weekend, but still one of the highlights of the
Bradford Film Festival - the Eric Sykes screentalk. It was a real
joy to see and hear this legend of British radio, stage, and TV.
Now, there's a gentleman in the true sense of the word!
Another event that wasn't an official part of the Widescreen Weekend
was the 40th anniversary screening of "Kes". The house was
sold-out, not surprisingly, since half the audience seemed to have
been in the picture. I hadn't seen "Kes" before, and I found
it to be a great little film. I'll have to watch it again on a
subtitled DVD, though, since the Yorkshire dialect was at times
quite hard to follow.
This year's programme was perhaps not as stunning as last year's
Todd-AO extravaganza, but still offered some very pleasant
surprises. In particular, I'd like to mention "The Golden Head"
- an unexpected delight that was a great deal better than its
reputation. The main problem with that film might have been its
bland title, or simply the fact that Cinerama and 70mm was overkill
for such a light-hearted story.
As always, the Cineramacana event was interesting even though the
many roller coaster rides became a bit nauseating. |
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Lectures and introductions |
There weren't many lectures this year, and sadly the Dick Vetter Q&A
had to be cancelled. However, the interview with Tony Cutts more
than compensated for that. His stories about haunted cinema
basements and how to make boring changeovers more interesting were
simply hilarious. Way to go, Tony!
For next year's Widescreen Weekend, I hope for the two Cinerama
films that have never been shown in Bradford: "South Seas
Adventure" and "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm".
Also, I would love to see the completed version of Dave Strohmaier's
documentary "Cinerama Adventure". |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Best: As for best film of the weekend, I'd have to say "South
Pacific". I'm a fan of big musicals, and South Pacific is one of
the best. The restored print was good fun to watch, but perhaps not
as perfect and flawless as might have been expected.
Worst: well, the only film I can think of that stood out as really
bad was the short "Fortress of Peace" that accompanied
"The Golden Head". |
Arriving early we had a chance to attend an event that wasn't part of the
Widescreen Weekend, but still one of the highlights of the Bradford Film
Festival - the Eric Sykes screentalk. It was a real joy to see and hear this
legend of British radio, stage, and TV. Now, there's a gentleman in the true
sense of the word!
Another event that wasn't an official part of the Widescreen Weekend was the
40th anniversary screening of "Kes". The house was sold-out, not surprisingly,
since half the audience seemed to have been in the picture. I hadn't seen "Kes" before, and I found it to be a great little film. I'll have to watch it
again on a subtitled DVD, though, since the Yorkshire dialect was at times
quite hard to follow.
This year's programme was perhaps not as stunning as last year's Todd-AO
extravaganza, but still offered some very pleasant surprises. In particular,
I'd like to mention "The Golden Head" - an unexpected delight that was a
great deal better than its reputation. The main problem with that film might
have been its bland title, or simply the fact that Cinerama and 70mm was
overkill for such a lighthearted story.
As always, the Cineramacana event was interesting even though the many
roller coaster rides became a bit nauseating.
There weren't many lectures this year, and sadly the Dick Vetter Q&A had to
be cancelled. However, the interview with Tony Cutts more than compensated
for that. His stories about haunted cinema basements and how to make boring
changeovers more interesting were simply hilarious. Way to go, Tony!
For next year's Widescreen Weekend, I hope for the two Cinerama films that
have never been shown in Bradford: "South Seas Adventure" and
"The Wonderful
World of the Brothers Grimm". Also, I would love to see the completed version
of Dave Strohmaier's documentary "Cinerama Adventure".
Anders M Olsson, Lund, Sweden |
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John Hayes - Majestic
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John Hayes (7 visits), Manchester, England |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
The quality of the image and the quality of the classic films of the
50s and 60s that are associated with the process - their production
values, composition and pacing. Majestic.
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
As usual, there was something for everyone. Amazing to see "The
Golden Head" after all this time. The print of "South
Pacific" was wonderful.
A varied and interesting programme. Can't wait until the next one. |
Excellent as always.
Once again, another fantastic widescreen weekend - we all appreciate
your tremendous efforts in putting this event together
Wouldn't miss it for anything |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm"
Title 2: "How The West was Won"
Title 3: "Windjammer" & "Cinerama Holiday" |
Title 1: "Ben Hur"
Title 2: "South Pacific"
Title 3: "Cleopatra"
and "El Cid", "Circus World" and "King of Kings" |
Best: "South Pacific"
Worst: "Far and Away" & "Doctor Zhivago" |
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C Trevor Healey -
Bigger and clearer
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C Trevor Healey (12 visits), Barnsley, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Bigger and clearer (usually). I like the sharper image that 70mm
gives. |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Very good - wide range of types and genres |
Good introductions - always learn something about the films history:
Particularly liked the talk about rifles after "Zulu" - not that I'm
interested in weapons but it helped fill in some back ground to the
films content. |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "The Golden Head"
Title 3: "-" |
Title 1: "The Bible...in the beginning" (this year)
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Best: "How the West Was Won" (as usual)
Worst: "Fall of the Roman Empire" (Nothing really
happens for the first half) |
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João Eduardo Pereira Bastos
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João Eduardo Pereira Bastos (4 visits),
Lisboa, Portugal |
Lectures and introductions |
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Very good |
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Programming and films |
Attractive as a philosophy. Non attractive as a continuous model
without changes.
With the big curved screens I love to enjoy the shows from two
different places. One near the screen to feel the scene, to feel the
periphiral vision, but loosing the almost 3D effect. The other,
almost in the rear stalls of theatre in good position to enjoy the
almost 3D effect (is unquestionable that we are much more near of
the left and right sides that to the center of the screen. This
effect is pure 3D effect with big cables or ropes, or the sides of
the rollercoasters, that appears from one or both sides of the stage
and accompanied the triangle perspective, until the center of the
screen very common as an example in the first act of "The Agony
and the Ecstasy" (in ships also is very common). The 3D effect
is also very noticeable in duets with one person in the center of
the screen and the opposite one in extreme left or right side. Or as
it happens in the second act of "How the West Was Won" with
Richard Widmark and John Wayne looking each other from the extreme
left to the extreme right, with the beautiful open air scene in the
center of the screen that we feel very far from the actors. (pardon
my english)
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Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
It was the first time when I was 12 years old that the illusion of
being “in the scene” was produced. The early (in Lisboa) CinemaScope
wide screen process was spectacular but all the show was produced
“there” not “here” and sometime a little out of focus. And of course
the first film was "South Pacific" in Todd-AO in a very
curved screen with 20m in the big Monumental theatre (with the first
2 DP70 that I had seen in my life without lamp but with carbon arc.
And also the reality of the high definition of the photography.
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "This is Cinerama"
Title 2: "How the West Was Won"
Title 3: "Windjammer" |
Title 1: "STAR!"
Title 2: "West Side Story"
Title 3: "Oklahoma!"
and "South Pacific", "The Sound of Music" and "Hello,
Dolly!" (ex aequo) |
Best: "South Pacific" & "Zulu"
Worst: ""The Bible...in the beginning"
("The Golden Head" was a discovery and that’s the reason why
I not considered it as the worst one. |
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Mike Taylor
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Mike Taylor, Liverpool, England (6 visits) |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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As a projectionist this is how cinema should be presented. Going to
the cinema should be a sense of occasion |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Good cross section of what is currently available |
Always well presented. Interesting and informative |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "This is Cinerama"
Title 2: "How the West Was Won"
Title 3: "Cinerama Holiday" |
Title 1: "Oklahoma!"
Title 2: "El Cid"
Title 3: "The Sound of Music" |
Best: "South Pacific" outstanding classic
Worst: "The Golden Head" more suitable for children |
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I suggest that the Widescreen Weekend be dedicated to the memory of
Fred Waller - the inventor of Cinerama. If there had been no
Cinerama - we would not have the the wide screen cinema of today.
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Malcolm Clarke
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Malcolm Clarke, Nantwich, England (12 visits) |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Good quality sound and a large curved screen. It is the ___ of
spectacle that I like. |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Yet another great weekend. You have produced a good variety and kept
to time well. Keep this up. Cineramacana was very interesting. I
like the variety. |
Some tend to be a little long and can cause problems with
timing. Lectures are a good idea. Sometimes I have to miss them in
order to eat which is a shame. |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm"
Title 2: "Seven Wonders of the World"
Title 3: "How the West Was Won" |
Title 1: "Where Eagles Dare"
Title 2: "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines"
Title 3: "The Sound of Music" |
Best: "-"
Worst: "The Bible" but it was good to be able to
see it. |
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I would like to see and would help finance:
"Brothers Grimm", new print of "Magnificent
Men", "Ice Station Zebra", "Mutiny on the
Bounty", "Greatest show on Earth", "My Fair
Lady", "South Seas Adventure".
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Henry Taylor
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Henry Taylor, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
(5 visits) |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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They are BIG! (remember what Ron Howard said "Mine is bigger
than yours" |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Excellent, a great selection! 5 films I had never seen and another
only partially seen on TV. "The Golden Head" was
the great surprise and a real treat ("loud prolonged
laughter") |
The firearms expert was very interesting and topical - what a great
idea!. Please do more of that. Very much enjoyed Mr. Coppleman - a
gem. Great insight. |
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My favorite Cinerama films |
My favorite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "Windjammer"
Title 3: "This is Cinerama" |
Title 1: "Lawrence of Arabia"
Title 2: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
Title 3: "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" |
Best: "South Pacific"
Worst: "Krakatoa" & "Batman Begins"
- modern bad film |
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Suggestion: how about tutorials. Mr. Coppleman could have explained
the process of sound from location to cutting to final mix,
describing the equipment and media used in each step.
There has been a great interest in "The High and the
Mighty" recently released on DVD and cable TV. A lady at the
festival mentioned it unsolicited. Is a restored print available? An
early CinemaScope picture, it makes great use of wide screen.
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Gerhard Ditte
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Gerhard Ditte, Berlin, Germany (1visit) |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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That is a dream of my childhood. When I was 7 I have seen the film
"Windjammer". I never forgot this. Adventure in widescreen
with wonderful music. |
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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Everything OK. The only bad point is the red color of the old films
(you can't do nothing against it). Sound was super. |
You did a fine job. You have had a lot of work to create the
weekend. I am more than satisfied. The handouts are excellent, also
the English text of "Windjammer" |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "How the West Was Won"
Title 2: "Windjammer"
Title 3: "This is Cinerama" |
Title 1: "Ben Hur"
Title 2: "Lawrence of Arabia"
Title 3: "West Side Story" |
Best: "How the West Was Won"
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
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The big surprise of the Widescreen Weekend
was the film "The Golden Head". It is, in my
mind's eye, a lovely comedy with nice music. The child actors are
wonderful. I was amused. The film "Fortress of Peace"
doesn't fit to the performance of "The Golden Head".
I don't like this war machinery. I have another proposal for a
film at the Widescreen Weekend: "Ghenkis Khan" a
blow up in 70mm with Omar Sharif, Stephen Boyd, James Mason etc. I
was at the world premiere at the Cinerama Grindel Theatre in
Hamburg. The starts were present. Thank you and greetings.
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Name (visits to Widescreen Weekend) and country: |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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(__ visits),
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Best: "-"
Worst: "-" |
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"How the West Was Won" - despite Wagon Train
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Naturally I was eagerly anticipating the Widescreen Weekend and had planned
an itinerary to get me to Bradford Interchange rail station at 12.42 - in
time to stroll over to NMPFT’s Pictureville for the 13.30 performance of
"How the West Was Won".
My journey started in Guildford some 200 miles away. Everything was running
to plan until there was a train power failure at Banbury which meant that I
would miss my Birmingham connection. The on-train Virgin Trains staff
re-routed me to Bradford Forster Square where I arrived at 13:30. By now my
adrenaline was really flowing as I rushed for the sole taxi on the station
forecourt. I jumped in. We sailed through two sets of green lights then
juddered to a halt at two consecutive reds. I dived into NMPFT at 13:35 and
on reaching the Pictureville foyer to collect my tickets I could hear a
rousing chorus from the soundtrack...
But hey, the attendant was in no great hurry - as he calmly explained that
there had been a film breakage and they were now re-lacing. Wow, how lucky
can you get. I was reeling somewhat, after the nail biting journey. But
within ten minutes the show was restarted from the top. And so - with
heartfelt thanks to the vagaries of three strip projection - I was able,
after all, to see the old magic begin as the house-lights dimmed, and the
tabs parted, majestically revealing the vast sweep of the Cinerama screen
and the opening credits of "How the West Was Won". It sure had been a trek
getting there - equalled only by the on-screen rafting sequence (in the film
itself) perhaps - but oh, so well worth it.
John Newman, Sunday, March 12,
2006
[John also wrote about
Odeon Tottenham
Court Road in its Cinemiracle days, editor]
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Philip Lamb
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Thank you very much for another wonderful WSW programme. We were very
worried after last year that you would not be able to keep up that standard,
but you managed it again.
Philip Lamb - 22.03.2006
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Donald Tether - I was impressed
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Donald Tether (7 visits),
Milton Keynes, UK |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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Programming and films |
Just want to begin by saying a big THANK YOU for your/Bill's efforts
in making the weekend such a great success (and all your hard work
in previous years too!).
I was impressed with the variety of programming this year. It
generally ran very smoothly. Were sufficient gaps to take in a
couple of 3D Imax's and to grab at least a bite/drink. Quality of
projection room work didn't seem quite as high as usual though (eg
framing/sound/focus were off too often by comparison with usual very
high standards).
"The Golden Head" was a great find - very entertaining.
The "Windjammer" narrative translation handout was VERY
helpful/interesting - if only they'd been handed out the night
before the showing it would have enriched the viewing experience.
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Lectures and introductions |
Tony Sloman introductions to the movies very interesting/informative
(when not TOO long). The Zulu "Cast & Crew" = complete anticlimax =
very disappointing. In the early years we had 30-45-60mins
"technical" briefing sessions - eg on various film and sound formats
which were fascinating - wish they could be reinstated/ repeated.
Looking forward to 2007! Do send out the dates of the weekend as
soon as they're known as helps one look around for hotel/travel
bargains.
Keep up the good work :)
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "Windjammer"
Title 2: "Cinerama Holiday"
Title 3: "How The West Was Won" |
Title 1: "Baraka"
Title 2: "Lawrence of Arabia"
Title 3: "Hamlet" |
Best: "Windjammer" (if only it was in "colour")
Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" - absolutely AWFUL -
but worth seeing this once (only!). |
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Name (visits to Widescreen Weekend) and country: |
Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive |
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(__ visits),
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Programming and films |
Lectures and introductions |
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My favourite Cinerama films |
My favourite 70mm films |
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Title 1: "-"
Title 2: "-"
Title 3: "-" |
Best: "-"
Worst: "-" |
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Updated
12-05-08
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