This Is Cinerama

"This is Cinerama" is a 1952 film which shows how film makers could use the new technology of Cinerama to make movies more realistic by broadening the aspect ratio so the viewer's peripheral vision was involved. "This is Cinerama" premiered on 30 September 1952 at the New York Broadway theatre, in New York City.

The film includes scenes of the roller coaster from Rockaways' Playland, then moves on to a scene of the temple dance from "Aida", views of Niagara Falls, a choir, scenes of the canals of Venice, a military tattoo in Edinburgh, a bullfight, more from "Aida", a sound demonstration in stereo, scenes from the amusement park in Cypress Gardens, Florida for a water skiing sequence, and the playing of "America the Beautiful" as scenes are shown from the nose of a low flying B-25.

The film is narrated by travel writer and newscaster Lowell Thomas. The producers were Lowell Thomas, Merian C. Cooper, and Robert L. Bendick, directed by Bendick and an uncredited Mike Todd, Jr.). Cooper had long experience with technical innovation in cinema, including "King Kong".

"This is Cinerama" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Although the score was credited to Louis Forbes, who conducted the music, it was composed by Paul Sawtell, Max Steiner (who composed the opening credit sequences, the Flight Across America, and the End Credits) and Roy Webb.

Because the new technology required a special setup of three projectors and multiple soundtracks, the film's distribution was also revolutionary. It was shown in a single theater in most cities, with reserved seats and lengthy runs. This distribution model, known as a road show, was again used by Imax films starting in the late 1990s.

There are currently no publicly available copies of the film in any format; the only way to see it in its entirety is in one of the three remaining 3-projector Cinerama installations that continue to preserve and show 35 mm prints. The film's copyright status is unclear. It apparently fell into the public domain in 1980, 28 years after being filed for copyright, but some allege that it was renewed, erroneously, a matter of months after this expiry.