The film is ready to run. Image by Thomas Hauerslev
"Roadshow", "Six-track", "Intermission", "Curved screen", "Epic" -- all
familiar words for the knowledgeable 70mm fan. Words we all know and love,
because we know what they mean: A return to the Schauburg in Karlsruhe, and
the annual gathering of fans of large format film. 3 days where we all go
wide-eyed for 12 hours each day.
2008 is coming to an end, October is here. It is time once again to start
spending less time outdoors, and moving indoors. Today we can look back and
reflect on the fact that it has been more than 50 years since Todd-AO was
introduced in Europe, at the 1956 Photokina exhibition in Köln. Six months
later, the first two 70mm cinemas were operational: the Adriano in Rome and
the Savoy in Hamburg. The premiere film "Oklahoma!" became very popular, and
soon almost every big city across Europe had at least one Todd-AO cinema.
The really big push for 70mm came after the premieres of Todd's "Around the
World in 80 Days" and Fox's "South Pacific". Their successes were so
massive, that it cemented the cinema owners’ faith in 70mm, and so following
those movies, many new cinemas were built with super large screens and state
of the art projection. The next 10 years were the golden age of 70mm and
6-track stereophonic sound.
A decade later the spectacle of 70mm super productions had faded somewhat to
make room for films with a new visual style. Gone was the need for 70mm, and
large screens were sacrificed in hundreds, in favor of the first
multi-screen complexes. Often done in haste simply by cutting a cinema up
and dividing it into smaller screens with fewer seats and small screens, the
result was often less than attractive.
70mm was mothballed, hidden, and almost forgotten for nearly a decade when
suddenly, the super format was re-introduced 1977 when Dolby Stereo arrived.
70mm experienced a 15 year revival, but which sadly, ended almost over-night
in 1993, when digital sound was introduced.
Ironically, thanks to the growth of home video, DVD and blu-ray, 70mm has
again experienced a limited renaissance in selected cinemas across the
world. Distributors have struck new prints of their classic 70mm productions
and made them available for public showing. 20th Century Fox has been the
absolute front runner in this field. With the exception of "Can Can" [which
is unfortunately no longer printable] they have recently concluded
reprinting of all their Todd-AO titles. A huge undertaking, which is to be
seriously applauded.
Few cinemas still maintain their commitment to 70mm, and the Schauburg is
the leading cinema here on the continent to carry the banner, with
screenings of vintage 70mm films almost every month. And amazingly, the old
classics, however good, bad, long, short, faded or smelly (from vinegar),
there seems to be an increasing interest in seeing these films again in a
cinema. The Schauburg meets this challenge and this year presents a
fantastic selection of titles which includes dramas, musicals, travelogues,
nature animation, religious epics and humor. And all that, in those long
forgotten trade names which all 70mm-fans treasure: Todd-AO, MCS-70
Superpanorama, Super Panavision 70, DEFA 70, Cinestage, Dimension 150 and
ARRI 765. And of course all presented in 6-track Todd-AO stereo, 70mm Dolby
Stereo, DTS 70mm Special Venue and 35mm 4-track Cinestage with Perspecta
decoding.
I am particularly pleased to welcome our special guests this year. All of
them were pioneers in the large format field. Walter Siegmund, of Todd-AO
fame, will share his memories with us on Sunday. And several MCS-70
Superpanorama pioneers, including cinematographers Gerhard Fromm and Heinz
Hölscher, will attend the festival and share their memories. Ole Mads Sirks
Vevle has flown in from Norway to be here and present the world premiere of
his new 4-min 70mm short film on Sunday.
The Todd-AO Festival celebrates the large format and it offers a unique
possibility to see some of the classics for the first time, or for the n'th
time, the way they were meant to be seen -- In a cinema on a huge curved
screen. On behalf of the Schauburg kino I welcome all of you to the 4th
Todd-AO festival
Enjoy the greatest show(s) in Todd-AO
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More in 70mm reading:
Todd-AO Festival Home
• 4th Todd-AO Festival
• Wilkommen | Welcome
•
Intro |
Festival Images
•
2008 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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