Then it's hop, skip and jump across the globe. South America is mostly covered from the air - Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro, the massive Venezuelan mountain-mesa that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. The show relies heavily on aerial footage by the legendary pilot Paul Mantz, who manages to frame fantastic Cinerama vistas on the fly, so to speak, zooming above famous scenery the world 'round: the Statue of Liberty, the Pyramids, Angkor Wat. The paintings Thomas displays are the work of artist Maria Larrinaga, also from Kong fame. The title reminds us of Cooper's King Kong, the 8th Wonder of the World. Cooper must have dreamed up the idea, as it fits in with his own daring round-the-world silent documentaries. In a standard-35mm opening Lowell Thomas talks about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and tells us we'll be looking for more. This Is Cinerama and Cinerama Holiday were straight travelogues, and 1956's Seven Wonders of the World follows the same format, on a larger scale. The three-panel colossus known as Cinerama required a coordinated team effort to put on a single show. Today one person can throw a switch and a 4k projector can fill an enormous screen with a sharp, colorful and flicker-free image. Each picture is a technical marvel filmed under difficult circumstances and a look back at a cinematic grandeur that modern movies seem to have lost. Just out are two new discs - separate purchases - that represent even more complicated restorations: the third Cinerama release Seven Wonders of the World (1955) and the fourth, 1958's Search for Paradise. It also helps to correct perspective mismatches between Cinerama's three panels. The use of the Smilebox (see the posted images) simulates the curvature of the theatrical experience. Theatrically, Cinerama plays on a curved screen and really can't have the same impact when imaged flat. For that disc release he came up with the clever of 'Smilebox' formatting concept for video. Strohmaier was an important consultant on the restoration of Warners' MGM-produced How the West Was Won. The reconstruction and restoration program was carried out by a team of enthusiasts under the leadership of editor-technical expert David Strohmaier, who is now Director of Restoration at Cinerama Inc. In 2012 the disc label Flicker Alley brought out restored Blu-rays of the original This Is Cinerama and a travelogue called Windjammer, and just last year we were given the second and fifth Cinerama shows, Cinerama Holiday and Cinerama South Seas Adventure. It's the third year for double releases of fantastic 3-panel Cinerama Road Shows on DVD and Blu-ray. Written by Prosper Buranelli, Otto Lang, W.P. Original Music Dimitri Tiomkin (with the Norman Luboff Choir)Īrt Direction Daniel Cathcart, Eric Thompson Parker, Lowell Thomas, Christopher Young. Cooper, Lowell Thomasĭirected by Tay Garnett, Paul Mantz, Andrew Marton, Ted Tetzlaff, Walter Thompson Original Music Jerome Moross, Emil Newman, David Raksin, Sol Kaplan Color / Format: It's Cinerama, Pilgrim: 2.59:1, Smilebox / Street Date Novem/ 49.95 ea.
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