Forget the Hateful Eight, here comes the Glorious
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| Written by: Mark Lyndon, MBKS | Date: 03.10.2014 |
 Wilkommen, Bien-venue, Welcome! Meine
Damen und Herren, Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to
write these words of welcome to the tenth Todd-AO Film Festival in what
promises to be a vintage year, here at the Schauburg Cinerama Theatre in
Karlsruhe.The 10th Todd-AO Festival begins with a tribute to a true giant of the giant screen - Mr Peter O'Toole. Treated harshly by film critics at the time of release, the time has surely come to view "Goodbye Mr Chips" with fresh eyes. According to Rudyard Kipling: "East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet." Here in the Schauburg Cinerama, they most definitely meet. In a bold, eclectic and adventurous programme they meet in the shape of a rarely seen treasure - "The Story of the Flaming Years", the work of a grand master of Russian cinema, Alexander Dovzhenko. We will witness a beautifully shot, powerful wartime drama involving a lot of Russian troop movements, quite unlike today. From the west comes "The Alamo" - a genuine American classic directed by and starring that most quintessential of all American actors - John Wayne. East and west compete in space, firstly in the DEFA production of "Eolomea", which anticipates Ridley Scott's Alien. "Eolomea" gives more than a backward glance at Kubrick's great work. The principal protagonist Professor Tal, clearly seems to know a great deal more than he admits. A little more human than HAL 9000 perhaps? By now any self respecting 70mm aficionado must be familiar with the famous line: "Broadsword calling Danny Boy." You can even buy the T shirt. Not to be outdone, DEFA presents "KLK calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra", the story of the greatest spy network of all time, operated by the Russians in World War 2. The Todd-AO festival offers a rare chance to see a multi award winning production set in the uneasy inter-war period, located in the veritable crossroads of east and west that was the free seaport of Danzig. It is a much darker retelling of the old story of Peter Pan; complete with it's own Hitchcockian MacGuffin written into the title - "The Tin Drum" Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bruce Willis will not be disappointed as well as Todd-AO techies who are in for some excellent lectures and presentations on the greatest film format of them all. This very special year at the Schauburg promises to leave audiences shaken and stirred. Is there another place on earth that will draw people to an earthquake? Think about it. What is the magic that draws faithful cinema goers to Karlsruhe, year after year, from all over the earth? What is the secret of Schauburg? Is it that feeling of warmth and inclusivity, from the deeply curved screen that wraps itself around you, to the distinctly personal touch of the management that welcomes you and looks after you so well? Is it the brilliant catering, timed to perfection, so adroitly co-ordinated with the programme? The world class skills of the Schauburg projection team, delivering the very highest quality of moving image on the giant curve? All this and more. When that Schauburg gong sounds you can be sure that as film going audience, you will be in for the time of your life. Ladies and gentlemen, Earthquake is about to begin, get ready to be deeply moved. And so gentle delegates, enjoy the cinematic masterpieces that will be presented to you on the big Schauberg curve, in the language of Luther, Goethe, Schiller, Hegel, Kant, Mann and Kafka. In the Words of Beethoven: "Seid Umschlungen!" - "Be embraced!" Mark Lyndon MBKS |
More in 70mm reading: Todd-AO Festival Home 10. Todd-AO Festival Wilkommen | Welcome Intro | Festival Images 2014 Festival Flyer (PDF) Festival Archives Festival Through the Years Festival Schedule and Archive More Schauburg Cinerama Festivals in Pictures Schauburg Cinerama Best of Todd-AO Festival Guests | Billboards | Posters Internet link: Schauburg.de |
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