11. THIS IS CINERAMA (1952) ^ One of the most influential movies ever made, “This is Cinerama” ushered in the age of widescreen motion pictures. The Cinerama process consists of a giant curved screen on which three criss-crossing movie projectors simultaneously displayed film shot by a special camera, thus providing a depth and scope in cinema which mirrored three-dimensional sight. “This is Cinerama” was basically a plotless travelogue which showed off the wonders of the Cinerama visual capacity (plus the joys of stereophonic sound, which was relatively new to most moviegoers), and the film is rich in sweeping shots which took full advantage of the technology (most notably the P.O.V. sequence at the front of a speeding rollercoaster). Following the release of “This is Cinerama,” Hollywood ushered in a glut of rival wide screen technologies including CinemaScope, Todd-AO and Panavision and the silver screen became large and wider than ever before. ^ WHY IS THIS FILM NOT ON VIDEO? “This is Cinerama” was specifically meant to be seen in theaters on the wide screen. On a small video screen, the effect is completely lost and all that remains is a thin letterboxed ribbon offering a less-than-exciting travelogue. While a couple of Cinerama theaters still exist and are able to show the film as intended, it remains one of the great ironies of film history that the production which singlehandedly reshaped the big screen cannot be seen by most people any more.
Get the complete list in the next part of NEVER ON VIDEO II: THE NEXT TOP 20 “MISSING” MOVIES>>>
