Widescreen Weekend 2006
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| 14 October 2006 | |
 David Watson - "The Golden Head" great fun(10 visits), Littlehampton, UK Programming and films Excellent mix, apart from Sunday on. "The Golden Head" great fun My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "Cinerama Holiday" Title 2: "Windjammer" Title 3: "Seven Wonders of the World" Lectures and introductions Intro´s too long. Lectures - not a lot. Rather unnecessary padding My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Hello, Dolly!" Title 2: "The Sound of Music" Title 3: "South Pacific" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Large curved screen. Brilliant definition. Magnetic sound. An opportunity to see films that most otherwise gather dust in vaults. How often do you watch an epic on TV all the way through? Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
Further
in 70mm reading: Widescreen Weekend 2006 • Gallery: 2006 • WSW Home • Through the Years • The Best of WSW • Academy of the WSW • Creating the WSW • Planning the WSW • Projecting the WSW • Home of CINERAMA • Projecting CINERAMA Internet link: |
 Peter Philips (9 visits), London, UKProgramming and films Choice of films provides an entertaining variety My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" Title 2: "How the West Was Won" Title 3: "Windjammer" My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "The Hallelujah Trail" Title 2: "Khartoum" Title 3: "It´s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Generally the effort put into, made the films special and usually they succeeded Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
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 Andrew King - Best film: "The Golden Head"Andrew King (all), Southport, UK Programming and films A very interesting selection of films which was very enjoyable. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "Seven Wonders of the World" Title 3: "Windjammer" Lectures and introductions Very interesting but sometimes too long. A few words about the source of the copy of "The Golden Head" would be of interest. Tony Cutts interview - excellent My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Where Eagles Dare" Title 2: "The Sound of Music" Title 3: "Hello, Dolly!" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive A large curved screen and multi channel sound make it an experience. not "just" watching the film Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "The Golden Head" Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" (but it was good to see it) |
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 Siddique Hussain - Keep up the great work(3 visits), Sandwell, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK Programming and films Great enthusiasm from patrons & programmers together with a wide mix of movies (need new feature length material). The discoveries, shorts + documentaries are the golden nuggets of the weekend My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "This is Cinerama" Title 3: - Lectures and introductions Visitors + special guests are second to none. Sometimes the line of questioning could be a little more thought out. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Lawrence of Arabia" Title 2: "Fall of the Roman Empire" Title 3: "Hamlet" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Large format means more clarity on occasion. Cinerama (although outdated and inferior quality prints) is unique and Bradford is brave to stick it's neck out. Keep up the great work. Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "Fall of the Roman Empire" as it's a chance to see an epic on the big screen Worst: "Custer of the West" - not content or print quality but production values |
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 Clive Robotham - Big curved screen(9 visits), London, UK Programming and films Good. The best programme for me was my first visit in 1998. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "This is Cinerama" Title 3: "Cinerama Holiday" Lectures and introductions I am hard of hearing, so don't go to many lectures. The introductions are as usual very informative. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "It´s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Title 2: "Grand Prix" Title 3: "Can Can" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Big curved screen. Sharp picture. The sound and intermission if possible Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "The Golden Head" - No joke, it was the only film with intermission this year I'd never seen. Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" - I'd caught a cold, bloody snow. |
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 Wolfram Brackhahn - 70mm forever!!!(1 visit), Hamburg, Germany Programming and films Excellent My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "Windjammer" Title 3: - Lectures and introductions Introductions for every film!!! My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Oklahoma!" Title 2: "Vertigo" Title 3: "Spartacus" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive It´s smashing! 70mm forever!!! Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "The Miracle of Todd-AO". Worst: "Fortress of Peace" |
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 Volker Hannemann - first class trash(2 visits), Kornwestheim, Germany Lectures and introductions Very good and entertaining intros! The lectures were really interesting. Of them I enjoyed the Tony Cutts interview a lot! Hopefully there will be a second part Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive The picture and sound quality really gets you involved into the action. Nothing compares to it! Forget TV, forget digital cinema, forget 35mm – 70mm is the real thing! Programming and films Excellent selection of features as well as shorts. Many of the films I only knew from TV or 35mm mono prints. It was so good to see all of them in their original version. Although some of the prints are faded already, it was a big enjoyable experience! “The Golden Head” was first class trash as was “Krakatoa”. “How The West Was Won” is the evergreen which alone was worth the trip (hopefully we will see some time in the future the restored version!!!) And seeing “South Pacific” in a restored version was overwhelming! The dynamics of the music recording was fantastic. “Fall Of The Roman Empire” was boring as always, but with a nice picture and sound quality – and Dimitri Tiomkin demonstrated again how film scoring should not be done. Seeing “The Bible” for the first time in 70mm D-150 was a great experience! The picture looked so sharp you easily could cut your eyes. “Custer Of The West” was OK with a nice score by Bernardo Segall which I really enjoyed. “Windjammer” was the only film I completely understood since it was presented in German language Unfortunately, “Zulu” was shown in 35mm mono only, but the picture quality was very, very good. Maybe we can see this title in 70mm in the future? “This is Cinerama” was nice again but certainly not of my all time favourite movies… “Far and Away”: it was great to see this film again, but maybe it would really have been better to show it on the curve and not the flat screen since the picture would have been much larger (I don’t know whether the sharpness would have been as good as on the flat screen). And to see “Dr. Zhivago” in 70mm for the first time (in a faded print) clearly showed that it was a blowup. It still remains one of my all time favourite films and I was a little bit disappointed to have to leave the screening during the intermission to get my plane back home… “Cineramacana” certainly is one of the highlights! The 30fps 70mm demo film again proved that 24fps is too slow… There are always lots of goodies which are really enjoyable! I loved the “Todd-AO” karaoke song. And also the audience was very, very nice giving me the impression that we are a big family watching “our” movies! It’s such a big difference compared to normal movie going! My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How The West Was Won" Title 2: - Title 3: - My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Ben-Hur" Title 2: "El Cid" Title 3: "Khartoum" Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" print quality was very good and the 6 track sound was absolutely stunning! Worst: "Batman Begins" although in 70mm Imax format the picture quality was a bad blowup. And the way the film was photographed and edited certainly showed that the filmmakers have not the slightest idea about how to make a film for the BIG screen. It was an awful experience! |
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 Brian Guckian - 10 Out Of 10Brian Guckian (1 visit), Dublin, Ireland Programming and films Superb – 10 Out Of 10 Lectures and introductions Superb – 10 Out Of 10 My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "2001: A Space Odyssey" Title 2: "-" Title 3: "-" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive The sheer beauty and definition of the images; the film texture; the sound quality; the big-screen nature of the experience Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "Cineramacana" (all) Worst: "Far and away" (unfortunately) [nb attended Sunday only] |
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 Wolfram Hannemann(3 visits), Korntal, Germany Programming and films Very good! It was great to have some real trash films this year, too. Those were "Krakatoa" and "The Golden Head" which were both great fun to watch. I also enjoyed the new print of "South Pacific" although focus disappointed here. Too bad "Zulu" did not show up in 70mm... Could the distance between the seating rows in Pictureville be extended? Our knees would love that! My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "This is Cinerama" Title 3: - Lectures and introductions Introductions for each film would be more than welcome. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Ben-Hur" Title 2: "Khartoum" Title 3: "Ryan’s Daughter Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Because these formats are made for cinema presentation and cannot be rivalled by TV or DVD. Such presentations are worthwhile going out to the cinema instead of watching TV at home – provided that the cinema knows how to handle it! Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "Krakatoa" and "The Bible...in the beginning" for their sharpness Worst: "Batman Begins" disappointed so much on the Imax screen |
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Simon Lewis - Absolute Cinema (2 visits), Bristol, UK Programming and films Excellent! Great to see the legendary "The Golden Head". Saddest thing to see almost all the prints had faded. Some of them I saw as my first introduction to 70mm at the NFT in London during the 1980’s. They were looking fairly good then - "The Fall of the Roman Empire" and "Doctor Zhivago". But the sharpness was astounding. "How the West Was Won" looked absolutely stunning and sharp. Seeing facial details in long shots was incredible. Great to the see the hugely underrated "The Bible...in the beginning" albeit a heavily cut print. "Custer of the West" was a great print, showing how good Technirama was but the film was quite dated. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "Windjammer" Title 3: "This is Cinerama" Lectures and introductions Introductions were too long and abit rambling. Would have been better to give the context of a particular film and maybe a word about the actual print - i.e. why "The Fall of the Roman Empire" was in a flat print not a squeezed Ultra Panavision 70. This was very obvious when we saw a snatch of "The Greatest Story ever Told" which was defiantly squeezed. Lectures were great - Tony Cutts and Rusty were really interesting. Not sure what the point was with the weapon expert, seemed out of place. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Lawrence of Arabia" Title 2: "The Fall of the Roman Empire" Title 3: "El Cid" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Absolute Cinema - lets you into the story more than any other format. Crystal sharp Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "The Fall of the Roman Empire" and "The Bible...in the beginning" Worst: "South Pacific" - great print but dated story |
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 Mark Lyndon - Bradford still reigns(7 visits), UK Programming and films Nothing comes close to Cinerama or 70mm when it comes to presenting the moving image. The bean counters have deprived a generation or two of seeing for themselves just how good the cinema can look. 2005 with its' riches was a tough year to follow, however, a good vintage for 2006 can still be declared. It was a true joy to see a sparkling new print of "South Pacific" in a packed and spellbound Pictureville. In spite of the print(s) clearly showing signs of deterioration, "How the West Was Won" is still a glory, joy and wonder to behold. Could the owner of the restored print(s) consider a generous gesture in future? "Zulu" was an astonishingly fine print considering its' age and, ahem, in35mm. It was an experience to see "The Bible...in the Beginning" ... again after 40 years. Huston did a fine job, it was well scripted by Christopher Fry with some solid performances form Huston himself, George C Scott, Richard Harris and three Peter O'Tools for the price of one. "The Fall of the Roman Empire", saddled with a score that seemed to be made for another film, Plummer and Loren hamming it up, nevertheless was good enough to inspire and influence Ridley Scotts' "Gladiator" many years later. "This is Cinerama" never fails to enthrall, the Roller Coaster never thrilled more, La Scala never sounded better, Venice never looked finer. Let the World take note, Bradford still reigns supreme in presenting every film format stories were ever told in. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "Seven Wonders of the World" Title 3: "This is Cinerama" My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "2001 A Space Odyssey" Title 2: "Lawrence of Arabia" Title 3: "Apocalypse Now!" Lectures and introductions
The lectures and intros were as always of a very high standard.
Pace Adam and Eve, those of us with a thirst for knowledge for the
endlessly fascinating subject of epic film, greatly value the
introductions given by Tony Sloman.
Invariably erudite, authoritive, informative and entertaining; they
remain a vital component of the Widescreen Weekend.
That's All Folks! |
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Mark Trompeteler - I really enjoyed it (1 visit), Forestdale, Croydon, Surrey, UK Lectures and introductions I thought these were good. Programming and films I believe greater co-ordination with the museum cafe would be a really good idea, communication with them on the day with any delays occurring and allowing people a bit more " comfort stop " time than 15 minutes between what are often fairly long films, and promoting the use of the cafe to the delegates. It might be an idea to break up the films in such a way that you cut down on the number of times films in poor condition or in magenta are shown consecutively? I wonder if a visit to the NMPFT film vaults and a talk about archiving and restoring prints might be an idea? This was the first Widescreen Weekend I attended and I really enjoyed it, I cannot believe the dedication and enthusiasm that people have for this area of film. I was however very shocked to see how many prints in which the colour had faded just to magenta. Sadly, I feel that 70mm is increasingly a forgotten technical process that both many younger people in the film industry and the general public at large have increasingly no knowledge of - its history, culture or possibilities. If ever there was a future for any comeback for production in 70mm then inevitably it would need to be linked to the words that are on everybody's' lips for the immediate and medium term future - High Definition. Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive * Personal nostalgia to a period when general release Cinema had its technical finest hour.* The technical perfection of the 70mm. process particularly when combined with artistically great films like West Side Story, David Lean etc. * The sense of occasion when watching a great 70mm. restored print as part of a big audience - South Pacific on the Saturday night to a full house !! Final Suggestion re the weekend: As a first time attendee on my own, it took a little while to settle in and meet and chat to some people - the reception wasn't exactly helpful in this respect at all. I did get to meet and chat to people from USA, Germany, Australia and even in the UK. In the closing stages of the weekend I learned that one of the delegates lived in the same town as me - Croydon in the UK. To enlarge and make more effective or spread the 70 mm enthusiasm it would have been really good if there were mechanisms to somehow introduce either newcomers or people from similar or close areas to each other, eg some small group work, smaller group networking activity, or something similar at the beginning of the weekend? I retired early recently and live in London. I am sure you have many London contacts. However, if ever you need some assistance with 70mm related errands in London then please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks for a great weekend and an incredible website!! My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How The West was Won" Title 2: "Windjammer" Title 3: "This is Cinerama" very difficult for me to say - I have hardly seen any ! My favourite 70mm films Title 1: Anything by David Lean - the most artistically reliable director who worked in this format - very underrated Title 2: "West Side Story" Title 3: "Cleopatra" Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "Zulu" Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" |
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 Anders M Olsson - very pleasant surprises(__ visits), Lund, Sweden Programming and films Arriving early we had a chance to attend an event that wasn't part of the Widescreen Weekend, but still one of the highlights of the Bradford Film Festival - the Eric Sykes screentalk. It was a real joy to see and hear this legend of British radio, stage, and TV. Now, there's a gentleman in the true sense of the word! Another event that wasn't an official part of the Widescreen Weekend was the 40th anniversary screening of "Kes". The house was sold-out, not surprisingly, since half the audience seemed to have been in the picture. I hadn't seen "Kes" before, and I found it to be a great little film. I'll have to watch it again on a subtitled DVD, though, since the Yorkshire dialect was at times quite hard to follow. This year's programme was perhaps not as stunning as last year's Todd-AO extravaganza, but still offered some very pleasant surprises. In particular, I'd like to mention "The Golden Head" - an unexpected delight that was a great deal better than its reputation. The main problem with that film might have been its bland title, or simply the fact that Cinerama and 70mm was overkill for such a light-hearted story. As always, the Cineramacana event was interesting even though the many roller coaster rides became a bit nauseating.
Lectures and introductions
Best film - Worst Film of the weekend |
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 John Hayes - Majestic(7 visits), Manchester, England Programming and films As usual, there was something for everyone. Amazing to see "The Golden Head" after all this time. The print of "South Pacific" was wonderful. A varied and interesting programme. Can't wait until the next one. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" Title 2: "How The West was Won" Title 3: "Windjammer" & "Cinerama Holiday" Lectures and introductions Excellent as always. Once again, another fantastic widescreen weekend - we all appreciate your tremendous efforts in putting this event together. Wouldn't miss it for anything. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Ben Hur" Title 2: "South Pacific" Title 3: "Cleopatra" and "El Cid", "Circus World" and "King of Kings" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive The quality of the image and the quality of the classic films of the 50s and 60s that are associated with the process - their production values, composition and pacing. Majestic. Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" Worst: "Far and Away" & "Doctor Zhivago" |
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C Trevor Healey -
Bigger and clearer (12 visits), Barnsley, UK Programming and films Very good - wide range of types and genres My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "The Golden Head" Title 3: "-" Lectures and introductions Good introductions - always learn something about the films history: Particularly liked the talk about rifles after "Zulu" - not that I'm interested in weapons but it helped fill in some back ground to the films content. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "The Bible...in the beginning" (this year) Title 2: "-" Title 3: "-" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Bigger and clearer (usually). I like the sharper image that 70mm gives. Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "How the West Was Won" (as usual) Worst: "Fall of the Roman Empire" (Nothing really happens for the first half) |
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João Eduardo Pereira Bastos (4 visits), Lisboa, Portugal Lectures and introductions Very good Programming and films Attractive as a philosophy. Non attractive as a continuous model without changes. With the big curved screens I love to enjoy the shows from two different places. One near the screen to feel the scene, to feel the periphiral vision, but loosing the almost 3D effect. The other, almost in the rear stalls of theatre in good position to enjoy the almost 3D effect (is unquestionable that we are much more near of the left and right sides that to the center of the screen. This effect is pure 3D effect with big cables or ropes, or the sides of the rollercoasters, that appears from one or both sides of the stage and accompanied the triangle perspective, until the center of the screen very common as an example in the first act of "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (in ships also is very common). The 3D effect is also very noticeable in duets with one person in the center of the screen and the opposite one in extreme left or right side. Or as it happens in the second act of "How the West Was Won" with Richard Widmark and John Wayne looking each other from the extreme left to the extreme right, with the beautiful open air scene in the center of the screen that we feel very far from the actors. (pardon my english) Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive It was the first time when I was 12 years old that the illusion of being “in the scene” was produced. The early (in Lisboa) CinemaScope wide screen process was spectacular but all the show was produced “there” not “here” and sometime a little out of focus. And of course the first film was "South Pacific" in Todd-AO in a very curved screen with 20m in the big Monumental theatre (with the first 2 DP70 that I had seen in my life without lamp but with carbon arc. And also the reality of the high definition of the photography. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "This is Cinerama" Title 2: "How the West Was Won" Title 3: "Windjammer" My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "STAR!" Title 2: "West Side Story" Title 3: "Oklahoma!" and "South Pacific", "The Sound of Music" and "Hello, Dolly!" (ex aequo) Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" & "Zulu" Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" ("The Golden Head" was a discovery and that’s the reason why I not considered it as the worst one. |
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 Mike Taylor(6 visits) Liverpool, England Programming and films Good cross section of what is currently available My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "This is Cinerama" Title 2: "How the West Was Won" Title 3: "Cinerama Holiday" Lectures and introductions Always well presented. Interesting and informative My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Oklahoma!" Title 2: "El Cid" Title 3: "The Sound of Music" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive As a projectionist this is how cinema should be presented. Going to the cinema should be a sense of occasion Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" outstanding classic Worst: "The Golden Head" more suitable for children I suggest that the Widescreen Weekend be dedicated to the memory of Fred Waller - the inventor of Cinerama. If there had been no Cinerama - we would not have the the wide screen cinema of today. |
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 Malcolm ClarkeNantwich, England (12 visits) Programming and films Yet another great weekend. You have produced a good variety and kept to time well. Keep this up. Cineramacana was very interesting. I like the variety. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" Title 2: "Seven Wonders of the World" Title 3: "How the West Was Won" Lectures and introductions Some tend to be a little long and can cause problems with timing. Lectures are a good idea. Sometimes I have to miss them in order to eat which is a shame. My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Where Eagles Dare" Title 2: "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" Title 3: "The Sound of Music" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Good quality sound and a large curved screen. It is the ___ of spectacle that I like. Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "-" Worst: "The Bible" but it was good to be able to see it. I would like to see and would help finance: "Brothers Grimm", new print of "Magnificent Men", "Ice Station Zebra", "Mutiny on the Bounty", "Greatest show on Earth", "My Fair Lady", "South Seas Adventure". |
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 Henry Taylor, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
(5 visits)Programming and films Excellent, a great selection! 5 films I had never seen and another only partially seen on TV. "The Golden Head" was the great surprise and a real treat ("loud prolonged laughter") My favorite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "Windjammer" Title 3: "This is Cinerama" Lectures and introductions The firearms expert was very interesting and topical - what a great idea!. Please do more of that. Very much enjoyed Mr. Coppleman - a gem. Great insight. My favorite 70mm films Title 1: "Lawrence of Arabia" Title 2: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Title 3: "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive They are BIG! (remember what Ron Howard said "Mine is bigger than yours" Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "South Pacific" Worst: "Krakatoa" & "Batman Begins" - modern bad film Suggestion: how about tutorials. Mr. Coppleman could have explained the process of sound from location to cutting to final mix, describing the equipment and media used in each step. There has been a great interest in "The High and the Mighty" recently released on DVD and cable TV. A lady at the festival mentioned it unsolicited. Is a restored print available? An early CinemaScope picture, it makes great use of wide screen. |
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Gerhard Witte, Berlin, Germany (1 visit) Programming and films Everything OK. The only bad point is the red color of the old films (you can't do nothing against it). Sound was super. My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "How the West Was Won" Title 2: "Windjammer" Title 3: "This is Cinerama" Lectures and introductions You did a fine job. You have had a lot of work to create the weekend. I am more than satisfied. The handouts are excellent, also the English text of "Windjammer" My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Ben Hur" Title 2: "Lawrence of Arabia" Title 3: "West Side Story" Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive That is a dream of my childhood. When I was 7 I have seen the film "Windjammer". I never forgot this. Adventure in widescreen with wonderful music. Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "How the West Was Won" Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" The big surprise of the Widescreen Weekend was the film "The Golden Head". It is, in my mind's eye, a lovely comedy with nice music. The child actors are wonderful. I was amused. The film "Fortress of Peace" doesn't fit to the performance of "The Golden Head". I don't like this war machinery. I have another proposal for a film at the Widescreen Weekend: "Ghenkis Khan" a blow up in 70mm with Omar Sharif, Stephen Boyd, James Mason etc. I was at the world premiere at the Cinerama Grindel Theatre in Hamburg. The starts were present. Thank you and greetings. |
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John Newman "How the West Was Won" - despite Wagon Train Naturally I was eagerly anticipating the Widescreen Weekend and had planned an itinerary to get me to Bradford Interchange rail station at 12.42 - in time to stroll over to NMPFT’s Pictureville for the 13.30 performance of "How the West Was Won". My journey started in Guildford some 200 miles away. Everything was running to plan until there was a train power failure at Banbury which meant that I would miss my Birmingham connection. The on-train Virgin Trains staff re-routed me to Bradford Forster Square where I arrived at 13:30. By now my adrenaline was really flowing as I rushed for the sole taxi on the station forecourt. I jumped in. We sailed through two sets of green lights then juddered to a halt at two consecutive reds. I dived into NMPFT at 13:35 and on reaching the Pictureville foyer to collect my tickets I could hear a rousing chorus from the soundtrack... But hey, the attendant was in no great hurry - as he calmly explained that there had been a film breakage and they were now re-lacing. Wow, how lucky can you get. I was reeling somewhat, after the nail biting journey. But within ten minutes the show was restarted from the top. And so - with heartfelt thanks to the vagaries of three strip projection - I was able, after all, to see the old magic begin as the house-lights dimmed, and the tabs parted, majestically revealing the vast sweep of the Cinerama screen and the opening credits of "How the West Was Won". It sure had been a trek getting there - equalled only by the on-screen rafting sequence (in the film itself) perhaps - but oh, so well worth it. John Newman, Sunday, March 12, 2006 [John also wrote about Odeon Tottenham Court Road in its Cinemiracle days, editor] |
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Philip Lamb Thank you very much for another wonderful WSW programme. We were very worried after last year that you would not be able to keep up that standard, but you managed it again. Philip Lamb - 22.03.2006 |
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Donald Tether - I was impressed (7 visits), Milton Keynes, UK Why I find 70mm and Cinerama so attractive Programming and films Just want to begin by saying a big THANK YOU for your/Bill's efforts in making the weekend such a great success (and all your hard work in previous years too!). I was impressed with the variety of programming this year. It generally ran very smoothly. Were sufficient gaps to take in a couple of 3D Imax's and to grab at least a bite/drink. Quality of projection room work didn't seem quite as high as usual though (eg framing/sound/focus were off too often by comparison with usual very high standards). "The Golden Head" was a great find - very entertaining. The "Windjammer" narrative translation handout was VERY helpful/interesting - if only they'd been handed out the night before the showing it would have enriched the viewing experience. Lectures and introductions Tony Sloman introductions to the movies very interesting/informative (when not TOO long). The Zulu "Cast & Crew" = complete anticlimax = very disappointing. In the early years we had 30-45-60mins "technical" briefing sessions - eg on various film and sound formats which were fascinating - wish they could be reinstated/ repeated. Looking forward to 2007! Do send out the dates of the weekend as soon as they're known as helps one look around for hotel/travel bargains. Keep up the good work :) My favourite Cinerama films Title 1: "Windjammer" Title 2: "Cinerama Holiday" Title 3: "How The West Was Won" My favourite 70mm films Title 1: "Baraka" Title 2: "Lawrence of Arabia" Title 3: "Hamlet" Best film - Worst Film of the weekend Best: "Windjammer" (if only it was in "colour") Worst: "The Bible...in the beginning" - absolutely AWFUL - but worth seeing this once (only!). |
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