Cinerama in Seattle:

Cinerama One Step Closer to Returning

by Carl Bennett
February, 2000

Invitation-only test of restored Cinerama
equipment largely a success

espite the presence of rain outdoors, it was a sunny day inside for many motion picture lovers. For the first time since 1973, three strip Cinerama was projected onto the mammoth curved screen of the Seattle Cinerama Theater. A small group of invited guests and members of the media viewed approximately 35 minutes of demonstration footage from some of the best known Cinerama productions of the 1950s and early 1960s.

The private showing took place on the afternoon of Nov. 11. Among the distinguished guests were Otto Lang, director of Search for Paradise, John Harvey, Cinerama engineer and owner of the Cinerama theater in Dayton, Ohio, and Gunther Jung of Pacific Theaters, current holders of the rights to the Cinerama motion picture library.

The presentation reels were comprised of scenes from the original Cinerama productions This is Cinerama, (1952), Search for Paradise, (1957), Cinerama South Seas Adventure, (1958) and How the West Was Won, (1963). Some of the footage had color-shifted and faded, but the selection from How the West Was Won was seen in nearly pristine condition and was the subject of awe and praise. Several people in attendance expressed their satisfaction at having finally seen the famous roller coaster sequence from This is Cinerama.

Prior to the press showing, visitors also got to see about 15 minutes of John Harvey¹s print of Search for Paradise, to the surprise and delight of the film¹s director, Otto Lang.

The gathered crowd was invited into the projection booths to inspect the restored Cinerama equipment. Four Cinerama projectors were found in Lima, Peru, by a Miami broker, who sold them to the restoration team. The projectors were intact and complete but nonfunctional. Restoration work on the three projectors installed in the Seattle theater was performed by American Cinema Equipment of Portland, Oregon. Each projector was carefully taken apart and evaluated. The original parts that remained usable were cleaned, refinished and reinstalled. The remaining parts were a combination of stock items and custom-milled replacement parts. The restored projectors are now said to exceed the original factory specifications.

The restoration of the Cinerama Theater was completed early in the spring of 1999, financed solely by theater owner Paul G. Allen. The complete structural, acoustic, and technological renovation has won the praise of both critics and the movie-going public. The theater utilizes a modern standard screen for 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 motion picture presentations. The removable screen is raised out of sight to reveal the restored Cinerama curved screen for three-projector presentations. There are only three theaters remaining in the world where three-strip Cinerama can be shown; along with Seattle and Dayton, a third theater exists in England.

aul Allen¹s investment company, Vulcan Northwest, overseers of the Cinerama Theater, plans to present a Cinerama retrospective that is tentatively scheduled for late spring or early summer of 2000. Additional technical adjustments are needed to fine tune the equipment and Cinerama prints need to be restored as well. The availability of quality restorations of Cinerama productions will dictate the number and titles that will be presented. A qualified restoration film lab in Los Angeles has already expressed their interest in working on the Cinerama films for the Seattle showings. With the current availability of very good Cinerama prints of How the West Was Won, it is considered a short list contender to headline the 2000 retrospective. Currently, Vulcan Northwest is thinking of planning annual Cinerama retrospectives, possibly in conjunction with the Seattle International Film Festival.

The Seattle Cinerama Theater opened in 1963, during the waning years of the format¹s initial popularity. How the West Was Won played at the theater for a year in its original three-strip form. Following that film¹s completed run in April 1964, the theater presented standard single-projector films, until a brief revival of This is Cinerama in July and August of 1973. Throughout the late 1990s, successful Cinerama presentations have been conducted at the Dayton theater, under the direction of John Harvey.

Motion picture lovers will soon be able to savor a true Cinerama experience in Seattle, whether they are a nostalgic or a first-time Cinerama viewer. In the meantime, interested readers may visit the Seattle Cinerama website.

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