How The West Was Won (1962)

[pelam123]

I hear this new version finally gets rid of those awful 3 Strip Cinerama dividing lines that were always visible on the Cinemascope prints that were shown on TV! Still it must have been an amazing sight to have seen it projected in the 3 strip process. Were there any cinemas over here that had the facilities to do it?

[earlb]

Ther Casino in Old Compton Street in London for one

[narabdela]

name='pelam123']I hear this new version finally gets rid of those awful 3 Strip Cinerama dividing lines that were always visible on the Cinemascope prints that were shown on TV! Still it must have been an amazing sight to have seen it projected in the 3 strip process. Were there any cinemas over here that had the facilities to do it?

The Pictureville Cinema at the NMM in Bradford still does!



Projecting Cinerama @ the Pictureville



Get there at the end of March if you want to see Cinerama.



Widescreen Weekend 2009, Bradford, England



Getting back to your original question, I first saw HTWWW at the Coliseum in Glasgow in the early 60s. If you scroll down this page you'll find a list of the UK cinemas that were equipped for Cinerama.



Cinerama Theatres

[Edward G]

Apparently a great restoration - especially the blu ray version.

The region 1 US 3-disc release comes with many extras including inserts like postcard size lobby cards, stills and other memorabilia. Looks like an impressive set. Always liked this movie, despite the critical mauling it still suffers. A fabulous Alfred Newman score and a powerful cast including the likes of James Steward, Debbie Reynolds, George Peppard and even the Duke himself, John Wayne make this a true epic.

name='pelam123']I hear this new version finally gets rid of those awful 3 Strip Cinerama dividing lines that were always visible on the Cinemascope prints that were shown on TV! Still it must have been an amazing sight to have seen it projected in the 3 strip process. Were there any cinemas over here that had the facilities to do it?

[AdrianTurner]

Some of us are rather fond of those lines that divide the panels - which had names, by the way, Abel, Baker and Charlie - though the new DVDs, which virtually eliminate the lines, are hugely spectacular, particularly the Blu-ray which is presented in Smilebox which attempts to replicate the deep curve of the Cinerama screen. A fabulous documentary, Cinerama Adventure, is part of the three-disc set and evokes in painstaking detail the entire story of the widescreen process. In my view, it's one of the five best movie documentaries ever made. The last time I attended the Bradford Widescreen Weekend the print of HTWWW was in terrible shape and I don't think they will show it again. Sad, because when that print was runnable it was a quite incredible experience to see Cinerama again.

[pelam123]

name='narabdela']The Pictureville Cinema at the NMM in Bradford still does!



Projecting Cinerama @ the Pictureville



Get there at the end of March if you want to see Cinerama.



Widescreen Weekend 2009, Bradford, England



Getting back to your original question, I first saw HTWWW at the Coliseum in Glasgow in the early 60s. If you scroll down this page you'll find a list of the UK cinemas that were equipped for Cinerama.



Cinerama Theatres

Well, that list of equipped theatres certainly takes me back in regard to the 2 Birmingham (UK) cinemas that I knew well. The ABC Bristol road was turned into a drive thru Mcdonalds 20 years ago. The Gaumont, a magnificent single screen in the city, was turned into a car park!

[AdrianTurner]

name='pelam123']Well, that list of equipped theatres certainly takes me back in regard to the 2 Birmingham (UK) cinemas that I knew well. The ABC Bristol road was turned into a drive thru Mcdonalds 20 years ago. The Gaumont, a magnificent single screen in the city, was turned into a car park!

I've just checked that list and the London listing is incorrect: the Astoria was never a Cinerama theatre, merely Todd-AO. London's third Cinerama theatre was the Royalty, Kingsway and it wasn't nearly as good as the Casino and Coliseum.

[narabdela]

name='AdrianTurner'] The last time I attended the Bradford Widescreen Weekend the print of HTWWW was in terrible shape and I don't think they will show it again. Sad, because when that print was runnable it was a quite incredible experience to see Cinerama again.

Agreed. It was actually quite embarrassing watching it. I'm not sure how long their print of "This is Cinerama" is going to last.

[Hugo]

"I've just checked that list and the London listing is incorrect: the Astoria was never a Cinerama theatre"



Likewise the Odeon, Merrion Centre, Leeds was never equipped for 3-strip Cinerama but merely a 70mm house for roadshow films. Now sadly stripped and empty.

[narabdela]

name='Hugo']"I've just checked that list and the London listing is incorrect: the Astoria was never a Cinerama theatre"



Likewise the Odeon, Merrion Centre, Leeds was never equipped for 3-strip Cinerama but merely a 70mm house for roadshow films. Now sadly stripped and empty.

I think that list may be including cinemas that showed so-called 'Single Camera Cinerama'. These were films such as "2001" and "Grand Prix" that were marketed at the time under the Cinerama banner, but were usually rectified Ultra Panavision 70 prints.

[orpheum]

I saw HTWWW at The Casino and remember it was a marvellous experience.The lines between the separate pcitures did not detract at all.the Casino was the only Cinerama thetre in london.The Paramount Tottenham court Road did have a similar widescreen sytem,one film though,and showed Windjammer Holiday.this was not too long before it closed.

[AdrianTurner]

Further to my own comments above, in the interests of accuracy, it seems I was a little hasty in denying the Astoria's claim to be a Cinerama theatre. Something in the darkest recesses of my mind told me I was wrong and a little research confirmed this: after playing 70mm films on a sightly curved screen for many years, the Astoria installed a proper deep curve Cinerama screen in 1969 in order to show Krakatoa - East of Java. The cinema later ran HTWWW in a single-strip version.



The Royalty also had a proper Cinerama screen though I am not entirely sure if it was ever equipped to show three-strip projection. The Royalty closed in 1966, so London never had more than three Cinerama theatres open simultaneously.



The Paramount, Tottenham Court Road, referred to above by Orpheum, was renamed the Odeon in 1946 and was, I believe, the biggest cinema in the West End, with a total capacity of 2568 seats. That cinema closed in 1960.

[orpheum]

I saw Taming Of The Shrew at the Royalty.It had a projection box set at the back of the stalls.It was 70mm not Cinerama

Again i believe that the Astoria showed 70mm,i went there for fist runs of films such as THe Alamo.I never recollect it having a Cinerama screen.

I think that Windjammer Holiday may have been the last presentation at the Paramount.

[AdrianTurner]

name='orpheum']I saw Taming Of The Shrew at the Royalty.

Sorry to be a bit of a pedant, orpheum, but the Royalty had closed before The Taming of the Shrew opened in London.

[vanmunchen]

name='AdrianTurner']

The Royalty also had a proper Cinerama screen though I am not entirely sure if it was ever equipped to show three-strip projection. The Royalty closed in 1966, so London never had more than three Cinerama theatres open simultaneously.

The Royalty was never a three strip Cinerama theatre. I saw It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World there, in either 1963 or 1964, when it was renamed the Royalty Cinerama. Prior to that it had shown 70mm films such as Mutiny on the Bounty.

[Briant]

I recently bought 'How the West was won' on DVD and I found it hugely entertaining. All of the stars did a fine job and George Peppard did the best Burt Lancaster impersonation I've ever seen! There is lots of music in the film. 'Greensleves' being featured many times. The depth of field is staggering to see, and the third DVD about 'Cinerama' is very informative. Well worth the money in my view.

[narabdela]

It's not the greatest Western ever made, but as a spectacle, both visually and aurally, it can't be beaten.



It really needs to be seen on the Cinerama screen to be fully appreciated, but the recent DVD release is excellent.