Cinerama Hollywood

Flix70 on August 31, 2012 at 3:26 pm

The Dome is screening Michael Anderson’s “Logan’s Run” on Saturday, Sept. 8 @ 8PM. Apparently it’s a brand new digital restoration. Man, it would be fun to see that film on the big screen again after 36 years. Link below. https://www.arclightcinemas.com/movie/arclight-presentslogans-run?lid=1001&filter=dome

Danny Baldwin on August 30, 2012 at 12:37 pm

It IS showing in the Dome in 70mm. Tickets are already onsale.

Mikeoaklandpark on August 30, 2012 at 12:15 pm

WHy would they not show it in the main theater with the huge curved screen?

bigjoe59 on August 30, 2012 at 11:45 am

to Howard B.–

thanks for your reply. eventhough i live in NYC i am quite aware of Grauman’s Chinese and the El Capitan(Paramount)theaters. i last visited L.A. the spring of 2004. to which i know these two theaters held many exclusive first run engagements in their heyday so if you lived in L.A. you had to go to these theaters. but in the 1955 – 1972 period i mentioned in my original post i wasn’t aware these two theaters held reserved seat engagements as did the other 4 theaters mentioned in said post.

HowardBHaas on August 20, 2012 at 7:38 pm

Bigjoe59, you are not doing your homework very well as you aren’t even mentioning the Chinese and El Capitan (then Paramount)on Hollywood Blvd!! others esp in Westwood Village (esp Fox Village and Bruin), Beverly Hills, and so forth.

Flix70 on August 16, 2012 at 10:22 am

Jsittig: Any chance the Dome will screen Lawrence of Arabia this fall for its 50th anniv?

CSWalczak on August 13, 2012 at 10:46 pm

BigJoe59, this link will take you to Michael Coate’s carefuly-researched chronology of Cinerama exhibition in Los Angeles; as you will see, both the Cinerama Dome and the Warner Hollywood were used for initial runs of 70mm Cinerama films.

The Dome was able to be built so quickly for two reasons. First, Cinerama Inc. intended to build hundreds of these theaters around the world and had developed a prototype design before Pacific Theaters decided to construct the first one, Secondly, some parts of the building were prefabricated, such as the ceiling hexagonal ceiling sections.

Perhaps John Sittig could tell you at what point the decision was made not to install the three projectors and soundtrack processor at the Dome. Online sources indicate that construction of the Dome was announced in April, 1963. Since “Mad World" opened at the Dome on November 7, 1963, actual construction probably started in July, 1963 (though preparation of the site probably started before). The final decision not install the equipment may have been after the premiere of “Mad World” once it was clear the film was a success.

One other point that may have a bearing on the question: The Dome never installed the original deep curve Cinerama screen of about 146 degrees. The one installed at the Dome originally had a shallower arc, I think of about 123 degrees. (At least it was a strip screen then; that single sheet one they have now which has the same shallower arc cannot hold a candle to the authentic deep curve strip-screen at the Cinerama Theater in Seattle, but it is better than that abominable flat screen that was installed for the opening of “Evita” before the Dome’s renovation).

The decision to install the shallower screen probably was due to the fact that the Dome’s owners knew that 35mm films and films in other widescreen processes would be shown at the Dome in coming years, and that showing films other than three-strip Cinerama on a deeply curved screen resulted in a somewhat distorted image. (I know; I saw “In Search of the Castaways” on the deeply curved Cinerama screen at the Palace in Cleveland, and was very odd to see it projected this way). The decision not install the deeply curved screen may have been a useful compromise at the time, but I suppose it may have been evidence that some people at Pacific Theaters knew that three-panel Cinerama was on its way out.

The agreement between MGM and Cinerama, Inc. to produce two films in three-panel Cinerama appears to have been struck in 1958. I have not been able to find a start date for principal photography for “Brothers Grimm” but it probably was late 1960 or early 1961 and probably had a long shooting schedule as George Pal insisted on filming in Europe on authentic locations.The film had its world premiere in the United States on 08-07-1962. Principal photography on “HTWWW” began of May 26, 1961. “HTWWW” premiered in London, on November 1, 1962 and in the U.S. on February 20, 1963 at the Warner Hollywood (where it would play for 93 weeks). After that, the Warner Hollywood would only play 70mm Cinerama films.

I do not know when the decision was made to switch filming “Mad World” from three-strip to 70mm Ultra Panavision, but it was probably in 1962 soon after the beginning of filming, as I have found a note that Kramer needed to do substantial filming in the summer of 1962 as that was when many of the large and famous cast would be available for location work. It should be kept in mind that in addition to 166 days of filming, “Mad World” would be in post-production for quite some time for the numerous effects shots; in addition, I have read that there was much work that had to be done in getting the projection as close to perfect using 70mm equipment; also the printing of the release print involved what was called “rectificaton” to reduced the image distortion on a curved screen, a process which appears to never to have been used before.

Complicating matters further, one source indicates that Cinerama itself was in development of a single lens process when the decision was made use the already-established Ultra Panavision lenses and 70mm film.

So when was the decision made? My guess would be sometime in 1962, but it may not have been so much a decision – at that point – to abandon three-strip as it was a decision to see what the reaction was to the 70mm version. It seems more likely that the decision to finally abandon three-strip was only actually made after it became clear that 1) 70mm was at least to some extent useful in making a Cinerama production (“HTWWW” basically proved that) and that 2) the moviegoers (well, at least some of them) would still go to roadshow 70mm Cinerama productions in large numbers (as proved by “Mad World” and “2001”). However, it only took a few turkeys such as “Custer of the West” and “Krakatoa” to show that advertising a film as “presented in Cinerama” was no assurance of success. But I think it is possible that had additional three-strip Cinerama films been made after 1962, that the Dome might have installed the requisite projectors or maintained the Warner Hollywood as three-strip venue.

I am not sure that you will actually be able to find a an actual date for abandonment of Cinerama. More likely, it simply just passed away from disuse over time when no director or studio chose to use it or spend the money to film with it. Much as I and others are passionate about it, it was admittedly a difficult to use and expensive process to use on narrative films especially. It is perhaps similar to asking on what day was decided to essentially stop using B&W film except for occasional artistic reasons.

I am sorry for the length of this, but I do not think your question really has a simple answer.

bigjoe59 on August 13, 2012 at 12:36 pm

Hello Again From NYC To My Fellow Posters
In L.A..–

i thank my fellow posters in L.A. for answering my many inquiries about the Cinerama Dome. a new two part question-

*since the Dome was rather technologically advanced for 1963 i assumed the period from groundbreaking to the opening night of “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World” was at the least a year if not more. yet a fellow poster replied that the period of time from the ground breaking to the opening night of IAMMMMW was only 18 weeks. is that true? it seems like an awfully short period of time in which to build a fairly large theater. the reason i bring up how long it took to build the theater is simple. i am trying to determine if the decision to abandon the 3-Strip Cinerama process in favor of the single lens version was made before the groundbreaking or after construction of the theater had begun.

*now if my count is correct there were 10 single lens Cinerama films. “Its A Mad Mad Mad Mad World” from Nov.‘63 being the 1st and “Krakatoa-East of Java” from July'69 being the last. to which a question- did all 10 single lens Cinerama films play the Dome or did some play whatever old time movie palace in the Hollywood area that had been converted to show the original 3-Strip process?

silver on August 12, 2012 at 4:53 pm

jsittig: I saw IAMMMMW in 70MM at AMPAS’s Goldwyn Theater in 70mm about a month ago. And during the intermission break, they were playing the police radio transmissions audio over the PA system.

Are they planning on doing that at the upcoming Cinerama Dome screenings (like they did in ‘63 at the premiere at the Dome)?

jsittig on August 11, 2012 at 5:18 pm

An additional showing of IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD in Ultra Panavision 70 has been added to schedule of the 60 th Anniversary of Cinerama Festival. Show is Wednesday Oct 3 at 7:00 pm. Tickets are on sale at arclightcinemas.com

CSWalczak on August 10, 2012 at 3:07 pm

The answer, to my knowledge is, more or less, yes. I have read that “Mad World” actually started filming in three-strip, (apparently so did “The Greatest Story Ever Told”) but changed over to 70mm Ultra Panavision soon after work began. I have read that the booths for three-strip Cinerama were built at the Dome, but the equipment was not installed (until, of course, decades later).

Three-strip Cinerama was actually dealt its death blow when it was discovered that 70mm photography could be more or less successfully incorporated into a three-panel Cinerama production. This occurred during the production of “How the West Was Won” in which 70mm footage from both “Raintree County” and “The Alamo” was incorporated; it is also very noticeable in the sequence where the Prescott raft strays into the rapids and is destroyed; the sequence involved a great deal of process work. The blending of on-location camerawork with stunt doubles (which is in sharp focus) and that made at the studio is rather good, but the background in the studio sequences is grainier and not in the same sharp focus.

With the successful release of “HTWWW,” studio bean counters came to the conclusion that the additional expense of three-panel Cinerama was not worth the investment. In addition, at the time, 70mm negatives (regardless of process) could be more easily reduction printed to 35mm for non-roadshow and second run showings.

silver on August 1, 2012 at 9:15 pm

Jsittig: Thanks! Whoever came up the idea of that water curtain (presumably the 2002 Arclight architects) had a nice idea. It allows more of the Dome itself and its surface texture to be visible (since the south face is now completely blocked) yet acts as a bit of a deterrent to vandals, posters or graffiti miscreants. Plus on that warm evening the mist it created was nice!

(It’s odd how seldom I typically walk out that way— since the normal routine is to park, go to the theaters, and right back to the parking structure. But a visitor last weekend asked about it and I was stumped.