Cinerama was the most ambitious flop in Movie history. From the beginning it was a slave to the format and therefore restricted close-ups and any natural movement. The upside was its ability to sprawl the image across a curved screen allowing a panoramic view of wide open spaces, mostly landscapes.
Seeing the Film in its original format in a specially equipped theater lent a certain thrill otherwise unavailable. In that environment it could overwhelm as spectacle and some of the more usually demanding devices of Movies could have been overlooked as the awe inspiring epics unfolded on the over-sized, oddly shaped, screen.
But as a Movie this is at best a lightweight affair with some corny story setups and relatively little else but the backgrounds. The musical numbers didn't help either. There are some undeniably exciting scenes and overall it ends up nothing more than a magnificently mounted experience, and aside from the thundering action scenes there is little else to be admired. in fact, some of it is downright cringe-worthy and awkward.
Seeing the Film in its original format in a specially equipped theater lent a certain thrill otherwise unavailable. In that environment it could overwhelm as spectacle and some of the more usually demanding devices of Movies could have been overlooked as the awe inspiring epics unfolded on the over-sized, oddly shaped, screen.
But as a Movie this is at best a lightweight affair with some corny story setups and relatively little else but the backgrounds. The musical numbers didn't help either. There are some undeniably exciting scenes and overall it ends up nothing more than a magnificently mounted experience, and aside from the thundering action scenes there is little else to be admired. in fact, some of it is downright cringe-worthy and awkward.