View source for Cinerama

{{short description|Widescreen, curved screen projection process}}
{{about|the film projection process}}
{{distinguish|Cinéorama}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2023}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox product
| title = Cinerama
| image = This Is Cinerama 03.jpg
| image_size = 250
| caption = Scene from ''[[This Is Cinerama]]''
| type = Filmmaking technology
| inventor = [[Fred Waller]]
| inception = {{start_date|1952}}
| manufacturer = Cinerama Corporation
| models = 
}}

[[File:Bel. Cinerama scherm wit gemaakt 1.jpg|thumb|Original Cinerama screen in the ''Bellevue Cinerama'', Amsterdam (1965–2005) 17-meter curved screen removed in 1978 for 15-meter normal screen.<ref>
* https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/11259
* https://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=fo&id=1328
* http://www.simplyamsterdam.nl/Cinema_Bellevue_Cinerama_closes_with_classic_movies.html
* https://www.70mm.nl/bellevue-cinerama-zaal-1-marnixstraat-400-1965-2006
</ref>]]

'''Cinerama''' is a [[widescreen]] process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized [[35 mm movie film|35&nbsp;mm]] projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, [[Subtended angle|subtending]] 146-degrees of arc.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Cinerama – Wide-Screen, Cinematic, 3-Panel |encyclopedia= Britannica Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cinerama |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cinerama |url=http://tviv.org/Cinerama |access-date=2024-05-13 |website= The TV IV}}</ref> The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation. It was the first of several novel processes introduced during the 1950s when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. Cinerama was presented to the public as a theatrical event, with reserved seating and printed programs, and audience members often dressed in their best attire for the evening.

The Cinerama projection screen, rather than being a continuous surface like most screens, is made of hundreds of individual vertical strips of standard perforated screen material, each about {{convert|7/8|in|mm|sp=us|abbr=off}} wide, with each strip angled to face the audience, to prevent light scattered from one end of the deeply curved screen from reflecting across the screen and washing out the image on the opposite end.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcr2.htm |title=Cinerama |publisher=www.widescreenmuseum.com |access-date=12 November 2009}}</ref> The display is accompanied by a high-quality, seven-track discrete, directional, surround-sound system.

The original system involved shooting with three synchronized cameras sharing a single shutter. This process was later abandoned in favor of a system using a single camera and [[70&nbsp;mm]] ({{convert|70|mm|in|2|disp=out}}) prints. The latter system lost the 146-degree field of view of the original three-strip system, and its resolution was markedly lower. Three-strip Cinerama did not use [[anamorphic lens]]es, although two of the systems used to produce the 70mm prints ([[Ultra Panavision 70]] and Super [[Technirama]] 70) {{em|did}} employ anamorphic lenses, {{convert|35|mm|2}} anamorphic reduction prints were produced for exhibition in theatres with anamorphic [[CinemaScope]]-compatible projection lenses.

==History==
===Process and production===
Cinerama was invented by [[Fred Waller]] (1886{{ndash}}1954)<ref name="britannica.com"/> and languished in the laboratory for several years before Waller, joined by Hazard "Buzz" Reeves, brought it to the attention of [[Lowell Thomas]] who, first with [[Mike Todd]] and later with [[Merian&nbsp;C. Cooper]], produced a commercially viable demonstration of Cinerama that opened on Broadway on September 30, 1952. The film, titled ''[[This Is Cinerama]]'', was received with enthusiasm.<ref name=mbhcinerama>{{cite web |last=Hart |first=Martin B. |title=Cinerama |url=https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcr1.htm |publisher=The American WideScreen Museum |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref><ref name=pm852>{{cite journal |last=Dempewolff |first=Richard F. |title=Movies on a Curved Screen Wrap You in Action |journal=Popular Mechanics |date=August 1952 |volume=98 |issue=2 |pages=120–124+ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA120 |access-date=6 October 2012 |issn=0032-4558}}</ref> It was the outgrowth of many years of development. A forerunner was the [[Polyvision|triple-screen final sequence]] in the silent ''[[Napoléon (1927 film)|Napoléon]]'' (1927) directed by [[Abel Gance]]; Gance's classic was considered lost in the 1950s, however, known of only by hearsay, and Waller could not have viewed it. Waller had earlier developed an eleven-projector system called "Vitarama" at the Petroleum Industry exhibit in the [[1939 New York World's Fair]]. A five-camera version, the Waller Gunnery Trainer, was used during the Second World War.{{sfn|American Cinematographer|1951|p=12}}

The word ''Cinerama'' combines cinema with panorama, the origin of all the ''-orama'' [[neologism]]s (the word ''panorama'' comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|πᾶν}}, {{translit|grc|pan}} {{gloss|all}}, and {{lang|grc|ὅραμα}}, {{translit|grc|orama}} {{gloss|view}}, {{gloss|that which is seen}}, {{gloss|a sight}}, {{gloss|a spectacle}}). It was suggested in the documentary ''[[Cinerama Adventure]]'' (2002) that ''Cinerama'' could have been an intentional anagram of the word ''American''; but Dick Babish, present at the meeting when it was named, says this is "purely accidental, however delightful."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/movies-theatrical/194688-how-cinerama-got-its-name-true-story.html |title= How Cinerama Got It's Name - The True Story! |website= Home Theater Forum |date= 18 November 2008 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081118092927/http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/movies-theatrical/194688-how-cinerama-got-its-name-true-story.html |archive-date= 18 November 2008}}</ref>

[[File:How Cinerama is projected.gif|thumb|How Cinerama is projected using three projectors]]

The photographic system used three interlocked 35&nbsp;mm cameras equipped with 27&nbsp;mm lenses, approximately the focal length of the human eye. Each camera photographed one-third of the picture shooting in a crisscross pattern, the right camera shooting the left part of the image, the left camera shooting the right part of the image, and the center camera shooting straight ahead. The three cameras were mounted as one unit, set at 48 degrees to each other. A single rotating shutter in front of the three lenses assured simultaneous exposure on each of the films. The three angled cameras photographed an image that was not only three times as wide as a standard film but covered 146 degrees of arc, close to the human field of vision, including peripheral vision. The image was photographed six sprocket holes high, rather than the usual four used in conventional 35&nbsp;mm processes. The picture was photographed and projected at 26 frames per second rather than the usual 24&nbsp;FPS.<ref name="mbhcinerama"/><ref name=pm852/>

According to film historian Martin Hart, in the original Cinerama system "the camera aspect ratio [was] {{ratio|2.59}}" with an "optimum screen image, with no architectural constraints, [of] about {{ratio|2.65}}, with the extreme top and bottom cropped slightly to hide anomalies". He further comments on the unreliability of "numerous websites and other resources that will tell you that Cinerama had an aspect ratio of up to {{ratio|3}}."<ref>[https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/cinerama_specs.htm Martin Hart, The American Widescreen Museum website].</ref>

In theaters, Cinerama film was projected from three projection booths arranged in the same crisscross pattern as the cameras. They projected onto a deeply curved screen, the outer thirds of which were made of over 1,100 strips of material mounted on "louvers" like a vertical [[Venetian blind]], to prevent light projected to each end of the screen from reflecting to the opposite end and washing out the image.

This was a big-ticket, reserved-seats spectacle, and the Cinerama projectors were adjusted carefully and operated skillfully. To prevent adjacent images from creating an over-illuminated vertical band where they overlapped on the screen, vibrating combs in the projectors, called "jiggolos", alternately blocked the image from one projector and then the other; the overlapping area thus received no more total illumination than the rest of the screen, and the rapidly alternating images within the overlap smoothed out the visual transition between adjacent image "panels."

Great care was taken to match color and brightness when producing the prints. Nevertheless, the seams between panels were usually noticeable. Optical limitations with the design of the camera itself meant that if distant scenes joined perfectly, closer objects did not. ([[parallax]] error). A nearby object might split into two as it crossed the seams. To avoid calling attention to the seams, scenes were often composed with unimportant objects such as trees or posts at the seams, and action was [[Blocking (stage)|blocked]] to center actors within panels. This gave a distinctly "[[triptych]]-like" appearance to the composition even when the seams themselves were not obvious. It was often necessary to have actors in different sections "cheat" where they looked to appear to be looking at each other in the final projected picture. Enthusiasts say the seams were not obtrusive; detractors disagree. Lowell Thomas, an investor in the company with Mike Todd, was still raving about the process in his memoirs thirty years later.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

====Sound system====
In addition to the visual impact of the image, Cinerama was one of the first processes to use multitrack magnetic sound. The system, developed by [[Hazard&nbsp;E. Reeves]], one of the Cinerama investors, played back from a fully coated 35&nbsp;mm magnetic film with seven tracks of sound targeting a speaker layout similar to the more modern [[SDDS]]. There were five speakers behind the screen, two on the side and back of the auditorium with a sound engineer directing the sound between the surround speakers according to a script. The projectors and sound system were synchronized by a system using [[selsyn]] motors.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

===Drawbacks===
[[File:Radiocentro CMQ Building. Havana, Cuba.jpg|left|thumb|[[Radiocentro CMQ Building]], Havana, Cuba]]

The Cinerama system had some obvious drawbacks. If one of the films should break, it had to be repaired with a black slug exactly equal to the missing footage. Otherwise, the corresponding frames would have had to be cut from the other three films (the other two picture films plus the soundtrack film) in order to preserve synchronization. The use of [[zoom lens]]es was impossible since the three images would no longer match. Perhaps the greatest limitation of the process is that the picture looks natural only from within a rather limited "sweet spot." Viewed from outside the sweet spot, the picture can look distorted. Furthermore, while the screen was a continuous curve, the projected image itself was a polygonal [[triptych]], which often resulted in the combined image appearing bent or creased. Finally, any misalignment of the two intersections of the three films was quite noticeable which prompted the use of a vertical element at these intersections (tree, lamp pole, etc) to hide this flaw.

The system also required a bit of improvisation on the part of the film producers. It was not possible to film any scene where any part of the scene was close to the camera, as the fields of view no longer met exactly. Further, any close-up material had a noticeable bend in it at the joins. It was also difficult to film actors talking to each other where both were in shot, because when they looked at each other when filmed, the resultant image showed the actors appearing to look past each other, particularly if they appeared on different films. Early directors sidestepped this latter problem by only shooting one actor at a time and cutting between them. Later directors worked out where to have the actors looking to create a natural shot. Each actor was required not to look at their fellow actor, but at a predetermined cue place instead.

Finally, the three individual films would jitter and weave slightly as the films moved through the projectors.<ref>[[Film preservation#Obstacles in restoration]]</ref> This normal frame-to-frame movement is typically imperceptible to cinema audiences where only a single projector is in use. However, in Cinerama, this resulted in the center picture constantly moving slightly relative to each of the side pictures. The shifting displacements were perceivable at the two points where the center picture met the side pictures, resulting in what appeared to many viewers to be jittering vertical lines at one-third and two-thirds of the way across the screen as the two touching images constantly moved around relative to each other. Cinerama projectors used a device to slightly blur the join lines to make the jitter less noticeable. Future systems such as [[Circle-Vision 360°]] would correct for this by having masked areas between the screens. The jitters continued, but viewers were less aware of them with the adjoining pictures no longer so close together.

The impact these films had on the big screen cannot be assessed from television or video, or even from 'scope prints, which marry the three images together with the seams clearly visible. Because they were designed to be seen on a curved screen, the geometry looks distorted on television; someone walking from left to right appears to approach the camera at an angle, move away at an angle, and then repeat the process on the other side of the screen.

===Premiere===
[[File:Arclight.JPG|thumb|The Cinerama dome in Los Angeles]]

The first Cinerama film, ''This Is Cinerama'', premiered on September 30, 1952 at the [[The Broadway Theatre|Broadway Theatre]] in New York City. ''[[The New York Times]]'' judged it to be front-page news. Notables attending included New York Governor [[Thomas&nbsp;E. Dewey]], violinist [[Fritz Kreisler]], [[James&nbsp;A. Farley]], [[Metropolitan Opera]] manager [[Rudolf Bing]], NBC chairman [[David Sarnoff]], CBS chairman [[William&nbsp;S. Paley]],; Broadway composer [[Richard Rodgers]], and Hollywood mogul [[Louis&nbsp;B. Mayer]].

In ''The New York Times'' a few days after the system premiered, film critic [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote:<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1952/10/01/archives/new-movie-projection-shown-here-giant-wide-angle-screen-utilized.html |title = Movie Review &ndash; New Movie Projection Shown Here; Giant Wide Angle Screen Utilized; Novel Technique In Films Unveiled &ndash; NYTimes.com |newspaper = The New York Times |date = October 1952 |last1 = Wther |first1 = Bosley Cro}}</ref>

<blockquote>Somewhat the same sensations that the audience in [[Koster and Bial's Music Hall]] must have felt on that night, years ago, when motion pictures were first publicly flashed on a large screen were probably felt by the people who witnessed the first public showing of Cinerama the other night&nbsp;... the shrill screams of the ladies and the pop-eyed amazement of the men when the huge screen was opened to its full size and a thrillingly realistic ride on a roller-coaster was pictured upon it, attested to the shock of the surprise. People sat back in spellbound wonder as the scenic program flowed across the screen. It was really as though most of them were seeing motion pictures for the first time&nbsp;... the effect of Cinerama in this its initial display is frankly and exclusively "sensational", in the literal sense of that word.</blockquote>

While observing that the system "may be hailed as providing a new and valid entertainment thrill," Crowther expressed some skeptical reserve, saying "the very size and sweep of the Cinerama screen would seem to render it impractical for the story-telling techniques now employed in film&nbsp;... It is hard to see how Cinerama can be employed for intimacy. But artists found ways to use the movie. They may well give us something brand-new here."

A technical review by [[Waldemar Kaempffert]] published in ''The New York Times'' on the same day hailed the system. He praised the stereophonic sound system and noted that "the fidelity of the sounds was irreproachable. Applause in [[La Scala]] sounded like the clapping of hands and not like pieces of wood slapped together". He noted, however, that "There is nothing new about these stereophonic sound effects. The [[Bell Labs|Bell Telephone Laboratories]] and Professor [[Harold Burris-Meyer]] of [[Stevens Institute of Technology]] demonstrated the underlying principles years ago." Kaempffert also noted:

<blockquote>There is no question that Waller has made a notable advance in cinematography. But it must be said that at the sides of his gigantic screen there is some distortion more noticeable in some parts of the house than in others. The three projections were admirably blended, yet there were visible bands of demarcation on the screen.</blockquote>

===Venues===
Although existing theatres were adapted to show Cinerama films, in 1961 and 1962 the non-profit [[Cooper Foundation]] of Lincoln, Nebraska, designed and built three near-identical circular "super-Cinerama" theaters in Denver, Colorado; St. Louis Park, Minnesota (a Minneapolis suburb); and Omaha, Nebraska. They were considered the finest venues in which to view Cinerama films. The theaters were designed by architect [[Richard&nbsp;L. Crowther]] of Denver, a fellow of the [[American Institute of Architects]].

The first such theater, the Cooper Theater,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/824|title=Cooper Theatre in Denver, CO - Cinema Treasures|website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref> built in Denver, featured a 146-degree louvered screen (measuring {{convert|105|by|35|feet|abbr=off|sp=us|disp=sqbr}}), 814 seats, courtesy lounges on the sides of the theatre for relaxation during intermission (including concessions and smoking facilities), and a ceiling which routed air and heating through small vent slots to inhibit noise from the building's ventilation equipment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctcooper.htm |title=cooper |publisher=Cinerama.topcities.com |access-date=2013-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104231658/http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctcooper.htm |archive-date=2013-01-04 }}</ref> It was demolished in 1994 to make way for a [[Barnes & Noble]].

The second, also called the Cooper Theater,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/930|title=Cooper Theatre in St. Louis Park, MN - Cinema Treasures|website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref> was built in St. Louis Park at 5755 Wayzata Boulevard. The last film presented there was ''[[Dances with Wolves]]'' in January 1991. At that time the Cooper was considered the flagship in the [[Plitt Theatres|Plitt theatre chain]]. Efforts were made to preserve the theatre, but at the time it did not qualify for national or state historical landmark status (as it was not more than fifty years old) nor were there local preservation laws. It was torn down in 1992. An office building occupies the site today.

The third super-Cinerama, the [[Indian Hills Theater]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinematreasures.org/theater/264|title=Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, NE - Cinema Treasures|website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref> was built in Omaha, Nebraska. It closed on September 28, 2000 as a result of the bankruptcy of [[Carmike Cinemas]] and the final film presented was the rap music-drama ''Turn It Up.'' The theater was demolished on August 20, 2001.

A fourth, the Kachina Cinerama Theater, was built in Scottsdale, Arizona by Harry&nbsp;L. Nace Theatres on Scottsdale Road opened on November 10, 1960. It seated 600 people. It later became a Harkins theater, then closed in 1989 to make way for the Scottsdale Galleria.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scottsdale Remembers - Recollections of Our Past |url= https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/ref/collection/splrem/id/72|access-date=July 23, 2015}}</ref> Venues outside the United States included the [[Regent Theatre, Melbourne|Regent Plaza]] cinema in Melbourne, Australia,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whitehat.com.au/Melbourne/Theatres/Regent.asp |title=Regent Theatre Melbourne |publisher=Whitehat.com.au |access-date=2013-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129161236/http://www.whitehat.com.au/melbourne/theatres/Regent.asp |archive-date=2013-01-29 }}</ref> which was adapted for Cinerama in 1960 to show ''This Is Cinerama'' and ''Seven Wonders of the World''. The Imperial Theatre in Montreal and the Glendale in Toronto were the Canadian homes for Cinerama.

A Cinerama temporary venue was built on the location of the 1958 World Fair in Brussels, for the whole duration of the fair, from April until October 1958.

[[File:Old Compton Street. Fortepan 85093.jpg|thumb|A 1960 picture of the [[Prince Edward Theatre]] in central London. As the Casino Cinema, it showed Cinerama films between 1954 and 1974, before reverting to use as a live theatre.]]

''[[This Is Cinerama]]'' received its London premiere on September 30, 1954, at the Casino Cinerama Theatre (now the [[Prince Edward Theatre]]), Old Compton Street, formerly a live theatre. The film ran for 16 months and was followed by the other three-strip travelogues. ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]'' had its World Premiere at the Casino on November 1, 1962, and ran until April 1965 after which the Casino switched to 70&nbsp;mm single lens Cinerama. London had two other three-strip venues, making it the only city in the world with three Cinerama theatres. These were the [[London Coliseum|Coliseum Cinerama]], from July 1963, and the [[Peacock Theatre|Royalty Cinerama]] from November 1963, like the Casino, both converted live venues. The Coliseum played only one film in three-strip (''[[The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm]]'') before switching to a 70&nbsp;mm single lens in December 1963, and the Royalty had two runs of Brothers Grimm separated by a run of ''The Best of Cinerama'' before also switching to 70&nbsp;mm single lens in mid-1964. These London venues were directly operated by Cinerama themselves; elsewhere in the UK three-strip Cinerama venues were operated by the two main UK circuits, ABC at ABC Bristol Road, Birmingham and Coliseum, Glasgow, Rank at Gaumont, Birmingham, and Queens, Newcastle and by independents at the Park Hall, Cardiff, Theatre Royal, Manchester and Abbey, Liverpool. Most of these conversions of existing cinemas came just as Cinerama was switching to single lenses and thus had short lives as three-strip venues before switching to 70&nbsp;mm.

Roman Cinerama Theater (now [[Isetann Cinerama Recto]]) at Quezon Boulevard in Recto, Manila and Nation Cinerama Theater in [[Araneta Center]], Quezon City were the only Cinerama theaters built in the Philippines in the 1960s. Both theaters are now defunct as Roman Super Cinerama burned down in the late 1970s and became Isetann Cinerama Recto in 1988 while Nation Cinerama closed down in the early 1970s it is now Manhattan Parkview Residences built by Megaworld Corporation.

The last Cinerama theater built was the Southcenter Theatre in 1970, opening near the [[Southcenter Mall]] of Tukwila, Washington. It closed in 2001.

Cinerama also purchased RKO-Stanley Warner (consisting of theaters formerly owned by [[Warner Bros.]] and [[RKO Pictures]]) in 1970.

===Stanley Warner===
Stanley Warner Corporation acquired 35 percent of the company<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Cinerama Inc., Link to SW Clearer|date=September 23, 1953|page=10|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09?view=theater#page/n217/mode/1up|access-date=October 10, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>{{snd}} as well as the exhibition, production and distribution rights to Cinerama{{snd}} in 1953 during the production of ''[[Seven Wonders of the World (film)|Seven Wonders of the World]]'', which was planned as the follow-up feature.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title='7 Wonders of World,' 2d for Cinerama, To Have Semi-Story Line|date=September 16, 1953|page=1|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n144/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=October 6, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>

==Single-film "Cinerama"==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2023}}
Rising costs of making three-camera widescreen films caused Cinerama to stop making such films in their original form shortly after the first release of ''How the West Was Won''. The use of [[Ultra Panavision 70]] for certain scenes (such as the river raft sequence) later printed onto the three Cinerama panels, proved that a more or less satisfactory wide-screen image could be photographed without the three cameras. Consequently, Cinerama discontinued the three film process, except for a single theater (McVickers' Cinerama Theatre in Chicago) showing ''Cinerama's Russian Adventure'', an American-Soviet co-production culled from footage of several Soviet films shot in the rival Soviet three-film format known as [[Kinopanorama]] in 1966.

Cinerama continued through the rest of the 1960s as a brand name used initially with the Ultra Panavision&nbsp;70 widescreen process (which yielded a similar {{ratio|2.76}} aspect ratio to the original Cinerama, although it did not simulate the 146° field of view). Optically "rectified" prints and special lenses were used to project the 70&nbsp;mm prints onto the curved screen. The films shot in Ultra Panavision for single lens Cinerama presentation were ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'' (1963), ''[[Battle of the Bulge (1965 film)|Battle of the Bulge]]'' (1965), ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]'' (1965), ''[[The Hallelujah Trail]]'' (1965) and ''[[Khartoum (1966 film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966).

The less wide but still spectacular [[Super Panavision 70]] was used to film the Cinerama presentations ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]'' (1966); ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968), which also featured scenes shot in [[Todd-AO]] and MCS-70); ''[[Ice Station Zebra (film)|Ice Station Zebra]]'' (1968); and ''[[Krakatoa, East of Java]]'' (1969), which also featured scenes shot in Todd-AO.

The other 70&nbsp;mm systems used for single film Cinerama (Sovscope&nbsp;70 and MCS-70) were similar to Super Panavision&nbsp;70. Some films were shot in the somewhat lower resolution [[Super Technirama 70]] process for Cinerama release, including ''[[Circus World (film)|Circus World]]'' (1964) and ''[[Custer of the West]]'' (1967).

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Cinerama name was used as a film distribution company, ironically reissuing single strip 70&nbsp;mm and 35&nbsp;mm [[Cinemascope]] reduction prints{{citation needed|date=January 2009}} of ''This Is Cinerama'' (1972).

==Extant venues==
In recent years, surviving<ref>{{cite web | title=In Cinerama| url=https://incinerama.com/ | access-date=2025-08-09}}</ref> and new Cinerama prints have been screened at the following venues:
* The [[Pictureville Cinema]] at the [[National Science and Media Museum]] in Bradford, England, beginning in June 1993<ref>{{cite web|title=Cinerama in the UK: The history of 3-strip cinema in Pictureville Cinema|url=https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinerama-in-the-uk-the-history-of-3-strip-cinema-in-pictureville-cinema/|website=National Science and Media Museum blog|date=July 5, 2017 |publisher=National Science and Media Museum|access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref> As of 2023, the Pictureville Cinema continues to hold periodic screenings of three-projector Cinerama movies.<ref>
* https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinerama-in-the-uk-the-history-of-3-strip-cinema-in-pictureville-cinema/
* https://jimlanescinedrome.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-man-who-saved-cinerama_20.html</ref>
* The New Neon Cinema in Dayton, Ohio from 1996 to 2000, presented by The Cinerama Preservation Society, Inc.<ref>
* https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/26010
* https://www.in70mm.com/news/1998/dayton/index.htm
* https://jimlanescinedrome.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-man-who-saved-cinerama_20.html
</ref><ref name="neonmovies-cinerama">{{cite web | url=https://www.neonmovies.com/cinerama.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000615170455/http://www.neonmovies.com/cinerama.html | archive-date=June 15, 2000 | title=The Neon }}</ref>
* The refurbished [[Seattle Cinerama]] in Seattle, from 1999 to 2020. In 1998, Microsoft co-founder [[Paul Allen]] purchased Seattle's Martin Cinerama, which then underwent a major restoration/upgrade to become the Seattle Cinerama. In 2023, the theater was purchased by the [[Seattle International Film Festival]] (SIFF) and reopened on December 14, 2023 as "SIFF Cinema Downtown" due to trademark issues with the "Cinerama" name.
* [[Pacific Theatres]]' [[Cinerama Dome]] in Hollywood, from 2002 to 2020. The Cinerama Dome was designed for the three-projector system but never actually had it installed until recent years as it opened with the first of the single film 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama films, ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963).
* Cinerama restorationist and former Canadian broadcast engineer, Tom H. March's Calgary basement.<ref>
* https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cinerama-restoring-film-calgary-1.6880453
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXjjbyduxxw
* https://trailersfromhell.com/the-whistle-at-eaton-falls-2/
* https://www.cbcpensioners.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GOODLIFE-V-3-GJP-JBW-F.pdf
* https://www.uibk.ac.at/amerikastudien/downloads/cineramainvitesmall.pdf
</ref>
* Biograf Panora, [[Malmö]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://panora.se/festival/cinerama-festival/ | title=Cinerama Festival – Panora }}</ref>

==Legacy==
The modern Cinerama company exists as an entity of the [[Pacific Theatres]] chain.

''[[Cinerama Adventure]]'' (2003), a documentary directed by David Strohmaier, looked at the history of the Cinerama process, as well as digitally recreating the Cinerama experience via clips of true Cinerama films (using transfers from original Cinerama prints). [[Turner Entertainment]] (via Warner Bros.) has struck new Cinerama prints of ''How the West Was Won'' (1962) for exhibition in true Cinerama theatres around the world.

In 2008, a Blu-ray disc of ''How The West Was Won'' was released, offering a recreation of Cinerama for home viewing.<ref>{{cite news| title=Imagine Seeing John Wayne in IMAX; That's sort of what watching How the West Was Won is like |author=Keith Phipps |date=November 11, 2008 |work=Slate Magazine |url=https://slate.com/culture/2008/11/how-the-west-was-won-cinerama-and-the-future-of-imax.html }}</ref> The three Cinerama images were digitally stitched together so that the resulting image does not have the visible seams of older copies. Furthermore, as a second viewing option, 3D mapping technology was used to produce an image that approximates the curved screen, called "SmileBox".

Since then, other Cinerama films, including ''[[The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm]]'', ''[[The Golden Head]]'', and ''[[South Seas Adventure]]'' have also had "SmileBox" edition blu ray home-media releases.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

On January 14, 2012, an original Cinerama camera was used to film a sequence at the [[Lasky-DeMille Barn]], the original home to [[Famous Players–Lasky]], later to be renamed [[Paramount Pictures]]. This was the first film photographed in the Cinerama process in almost 50 years. This sequence is part of a 12-minute production filmed entirely in the three-panel process. The new film, ''In the Picture'', was presented at a Cinerama festival at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California on September 30, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.in70mm.com/news/2012/picture/credits/index.htm|title="In the Picture" in 3-strip Cinerama - Cast & Credits|website=www.in70mm.com}}</ref>

==Cinerama successors==
Cinerama successors, [[Todd-AO]], CinemaScope, and the various 70&nbsp;mm formats, all attempted to equal or surpass its grandeur while avoiding its problems to greater or lesser degrees of success. The large format [[IMAX]] system continues the tradition, although its screen is taller and often less wide.

==Features==
All but two of the feature-length films produced using the original three-strip Cinerama process were travelogues or episodic documentaries such as ''This Is Cinerama'' (1952), the first film shot in Cinerama. Other travelogues presented in Cinerama were ''[[Cinerama Holiday]]'' (1955), ''Seven Wonders of the World'' (1955), ''Search for Paradise'' (1957) and ''South Seas Adventure'' (1958). There was also one commercial short, ''Renault Dauphine'' (1960).

Even as the Cinerama travelogues were beginning to lose audiences in the late 50s, the spectacular travelogue ''[[Windjammer (1958 film)|Windjammer]]'' (1958) was released in a competing process called [[Cinemiracle]] which claimed to have less noticeable dividing lines on the screen thanks to the reflection of the side images off mirrors. (This also allowed all three projectors to be in the same booth.) Due to the small number of Cinemiracle theatres, specially converted prints of ''Windjammer'' were shown in Cinerama theaters in cities which did not have Cinemiracle theaters, and ultimately Cinerama bought up the process.

Only two films with traditional story lines were made, ''[[The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm]]'' and ''How the West Was Won''. In order to make these films compatible with single film systems for later standard releases, they were shot at {{val|24|u=frames|up=s}}, not the {{val|26|u=frames|up=s}} of traditional Cinerama.

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Feature films advertised as being presented "in Cinerama"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcr6.htm |title=Cinerama Wing 6 |publisher=Widescreen Museum |access-date=2013-02-13}}</ref>
|-
! scope=col | Title
! scope=col data-sort-type=isoDate| Year
! scope=col | Filmed in
! scope=col class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
! scope=row | ''[[This Is Cinerama]]''
| 1952
| 3-Strip Cinerama
| re-released in 1972 in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Cinerama Holiday]]''
| 1955
| 3-Strip Cinerama
|
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Seven Wonders of the World (film)|Seven Wonders of the World]]''
| 1956
| 3-Strip Cinerama
|
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Search for Paradise]]''
| 1957
| 3-Strip Cinerama
|
|-
! scope=row | ''[[South Seas Adventure]]''
| 1958
| 3-Strip Cinerama
|
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Windjammer (1958 film)|Windjammer]]''
| 1958
| 3-strip [[Cinemiracle]]
| Later exhibited in Cinerama
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, The" | ''[[The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm]]''
| 1962
| 3-Strip Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Scent of Mystery#Holiday in Spain|Holiday in Spain]]''
| 1962
| [[Todd-AO|Todd-70]]
| A re-edited version of ''[[Scent of Mystery]]''; converted to 3-strip Cinemiracle and exhibited in both Cinemiracle and Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How The West Was Won]]''
| 1962
| 3-strip Cinerama
| Some sequences were filmed in [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Flying Clipper (1962 film)|Flying Clipper]]''
| 1962
| MCS-70
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Best of Cinerama, The" | ''[[The Best of Cinerama]]''
| 1963
| 3-Strip Cinerama
|
|-
! scope=row | ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]''
| 1963
| [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Circus World (film)|Circus World]]''
| 1964
| [[Super Technirama 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Golden Head, The" | ''[[The Golden Head]]''
| 1965
| [[Super Technirama 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in Europe only
|-
! scope=row | ''[[La Fayette (film)|La Fayette]]''
| 1965
| [[Super Technirama 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in Europe only
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Chronicle of Flaming Years]]''
| 1965
| Sovscope 70
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in Europe only
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Black Tulip, The" | ''[[The Black Tulip (1964 film)|The Black Tulip]]''
| 1965
| MCS-70
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in Europe only
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Greatest Story Ever Told, The" | ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]''
| 1965
| [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Hallelujah Trail, The" | ''[[The Hallelujah Trail]]''
| 1965
| [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Battle of the Bulge (1965 film)|Battle of the Bulge]]''
| 1965
| [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Cinerama's Russian Adventure]]''
| 1966
| [[Kinopanorama]]
| Presented in both 3-strip and 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Khartoum (1966 film)|Khartoum]]''
| 1966
| [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]''
| 1966
| [[Super Panavision 70]] with some sequences in MCS-70
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Custer of the West]]''
| 1967
| [[Super Technirama 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''
| 1968
| [[Super Panavision 70]] with some scenes in Todd-AO and MCS-70
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Ice Station Zebra (film)|Ice Station Zebra]]''
| 1968
| [[Super Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Krakatoa, East of Java]]''
| 1969
| [[Super Panavision 70]] and [[Todd-AO]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Song of Norway (film)|Song of Norway]]''
| 1970
| [[Super Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in UK and Canada only
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Great Waltz, The" | ''[[The Great Waltz (1972 film)|The Great Waltz]]''
| 1972
| 35&nbsp;mm [[Panavision]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in UK only
|-
! scope=row | ''[[Run, Run, Joe!]]''
| 1974
| [[Todd-AO#Todd-AO attempts 35 mm widescreen|Todd-AO 35]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama in UK only
|-
! scope=row data-sort-value="Hateful Eight, The" | ''[[The Hateful Eight]]''
| 2015
| [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
| Presented in 70&nbsp;mm Cinerama<ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |last2=Busch |first2=Anita |title=Quentin Tarantino Blasts Disney On Howard Stern Show As 'Force Awakens' Pushes 'The Hateful Eight' Out Of Cinerama Dome |url=https://deadline.com/2015/12/the-hateful-eight-star-wars-force-awakens-arclight-theater-fight-1201668018/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=December 16, 2015 }}</ref>
|}

=="Cinerama" video stretching mode==
RCA uses the word "Cinerama" to refer to a display mode which fills a {{ratio|16|9}} video screen with {{ratio|4|3}} video with, in the words of the manufacturer, "little distortion". Manuals for products offering this mode give no detailed explanation.<ref>[https://www.talkroot.com/tech/index.php/t-59754_Horizon_video_(aspect_ratio)_mode_Zenith_R40W46.html]{{dead link|date=May 2011}}</ref> Mitsubishi calls it "stretch" mode. The RCA Scenium TV also has a "stretch mode" as well as a {{ratio|4|3}} picture stretched straight across.

There is no obvious connection between this video mode and any of the Cinerama motion picture processes. It is not clear why the name is used unless the nonlinear stretch alludes to a curved screen. (Ironically, some widescreen cinema processes{{Snd}} not Cinerama{{snd}} displayed a fault known as "anamorphic mumps",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingup1.htm |title=The Ultra Panavision Wing |publisher=Widescreen Museum |date=1953-04-27 |access-date=2013-02-13}}</ref> which consisted of a lateral stretch of objects closer to the camera).

In the U.S., RCA does not appear to have registered the word Cinerama as a trademark; conversely, a number of trademarks on Cinerama, e.g. SN 74270575, are still "live" and held by Cinerama, Inc.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}

==See also==
* {{portal-inline| Film}}
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Barco Escape]]
* [[Cinéorama]]
* [[Cinerama Dome]]
* [[Cinerama Releasing Corporation]]
* [[Curved screen]]
* [[IMAX]]
* [[Kinopanorama]]
* [[List of 70 mm films]]
* [[List of film formats]]
* [[Pictureville Cinema]]
* [[ScreenX]]
* [[Seattle Cinerama]]
* [[Super Panavision 70]]
* [[Super Technirama 70]]
* [[Todd-AO]]
* [[Ultra Panavision 70]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* "The Waller Flexible Gunnery Trainer." By Fred Waller. In: ''Journal of the SMPTE'', Vol. 47, July, 1946, pp.&nbsp;73–87
* "New Movie Projection System Shown Here; Giant Wide Angle Screen Utilized." Bosley Crowther, ''The New York Times'', October 1, 1952, p.&nbsp;1
* "Apparently Solid Motion Pictures Produced by Curved Screen and Peripheral Vision." [[Waldemar Kaempffert]], ''The New York Times'', October 5, 1952, p. E9
* "Looking at Cinerama: An Awed and Quizzical Inspection of a New Film Projection System." Bosley Crowther, ''The New York Times'', October 5, 1952, p.&nbsp;X1
* Robert E. Carr and R. M. Hayes: ''Wide Screen Movies. A History and Filmography of Wide Gauge Filmmaking'', MC Farland & Company, Inc., 1988 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20060318150941/http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/tips/WSMC20.pdf errata]). {{ISBN|0-89950-242-3}} Chapter II. "The Multiple-Film and Deep Curved Screen Processes" pp.&nbsp;11–54
* Thomas, Lowell: ''So long until tomorrow: from Quaker Hill to Kathmandu'', G. K. Hall 1977, {{ISBN|0-8161-6553-X}} Chapter "The Wonderful Life and Premature Death of Cinerama"
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509180406/http://tv.rca.com/en-US/ModelDetail.html?PC=BySizeLarge&MN=HD50LPW165%2F "Scenium" HD50LPW165] RCA receiver; full description of Cinerama mode in the instruction book says "The image of a 4:3 video signal is centered, expanding in the horizontal direction to fill the display with little distortion" whereas in "Stretch" mode "The image of a 4:3 video signal is stretched horizontally by approximately 33% while the vertical size stays the same."
* {{cite journal |vauthors= |date=1951 |title=Cinerama — Super Movies of the Future |url= |journal=American Cinematographer |volume= |issue=1 |publisher= |pages= |doi= |pmc= |pmid= |access-date=}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cinerama}}
* [https://www.in70mm.com/ in70mm]
* [https://www.incinerama.com/ In Cinerama]
* [https://www.cinerama.com/ Cinerama.com]
* [https://seattlecinerama.com/ Seattle Cinerama]
* [https://widescreenmovies.org/ Wide Screen Movies Magazine]
* [https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/ American WideScreen Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020801000000*/http://www.iatse354.com/354/354html/denver.htm 1999 interview] with two [[Cooper Foundation#Cinerama theaters|Denver Cooper Theater]] projectionists
* [http://archives.nypl.org/the/21253 Cinerama Corporation collection 1950-1986] at [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]]

{{Cinerama|state=expanded}}
{{Film formats}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cinerama| ]]
[[Category:Motion picture film formats]]
[[Category:Special-venue films]]
[[Category:Film and video technology]]
[[Category:70 mm film]]