in70mm.com Mission:
• To record the history of the large format movies and the 70mm cinemas
as remembered by the people who worked with the films. Both during
making and during running the films in projection rooms and as the
audience, looking at the curved screen.
•
in70mm.com, a unique internet based magazine, with articles about 70mm
cinemas, 70mm people, 70mm films, 70mm sound, 70mm film credits, 70mm
history and 70mm technology. Readers and fans of 70mm are always welcome
to contribute.
The moviegoers shone like the sun when "Windjammer"
celebrated its 60th anniversary in a newly restored digital print at the
Colosseum Theatre in Oslo. The red carpet had been rolled out as it should
be, and the film music was heard from the speakers outside. The queue seemed
endless when 415 expectant moviegoers took their seats. No other cinema show
in Oslo had a larger audience that day.
The audience was greeted by Vidar Pederstad who is the new director of the
Christian Radich Foundation since the beginning of this year. He also talked
about some projects that the ship is currently involved in.
After that, Randy Gitsch came on stage to tell some historical facts about
the film. David Strohmaier held a brief illustrated lecture on how the new
restoration of the film came to be.
Not only has the film been restored. The cinema was also refurbished in the
fall of 2017 with a new digital laser projector, a new screen and new seats.
Some of the seats are even electrically adjustable for the best comfort.
However, there is no longer a curtain, which may seem strange and petty in
view of the overall renovation.
Once the film was on, we found both image and sound to be stunning. It's
probably no exaggeration to say that "Windjammer" has never looked
better. The screen is only slightly curved, but the smilebox-process made
the illusion of a deeply curved Cinemiracle screen complete.
The only mistake was that the movie kept running with the second act
immediately following the first. David Strohmaier had to rush out in the
lobby to catch some staff member to stop the film. Intermission is a concept
that is not quite easy to understand for today's young people.
There were several elderly gentlemen in the audience who had been in the
film as young cadets when it was shot. They brought children and
grandchildren, some of whom saw the film for the first time. Many audience
members were moved to tears when the majestic ship appeared on the screen.
After the film came an opportunity to go on board the Christian Radich, the
ship from the movie, for a three-hour fjord-trip. The ship had been moored
at the "Sukkerbiten" ("The Sugar Cube"), a berth close to Oslo's Opera
House. There it's found a temporary home while construction work is being
carried out at its usual wharf at the Akershuskaia.
A prawn buffet with butter and bread was served on board. There were also
tours of the ship, and some musical entertainment by the "Boys from
Bjelleklang", Frank Øren and Robert Skrolsvik.
Overall, it was a perfect day. The film would probably have attracted a
larger audience on a cloudy day, but that would also have made the fjord
trip less enjoyable.