LA area film fans should not miss this week’s run of How The West Was Won at the Cinedome. The movie itself is mostly hokey Americana (except for John Ford’s intense Civil War battle scene) with a big ensemble cast. However the real reason to go is to see the film in its original three-strip Cinerama projection. Just breathtaking. You really can’t go wrong with Cinerama views of the eastern Sierras, Monument Valley, and downtown Los Angeles in 1962.
Also showing at the dome this week is the documentary Cinerama Adventure which details the history of Cinerama. I suppose it’s all rather quaint compared to the typical IMAX movie, but there a certain earnest artistry to the Cinerama films that’s lacking now. Again, not the first time I’ve said something similar to that.
Fun Cinerama fact: The Soviet Union was so taken aback by the success of Cinerama and it’s potential as a propaganda tool, especially when the State Department talked about building a Cinerama theater in a retired aircraft carrier and going on tour with it. So naturally, they had to build one for themselves.
