Cinemascope 70
This year we mark the 70th Anniversary of CinemaScope—the anamorphic process which involves squeezing a widescreen image into a 35mm frame. While the anamorphic filmmaking technique behind ‘Scope’ was invented by the French physicist Henri Chrétien in the late 1920s, it was not utilised in cinema until Twentieth Century Fox debuted CinemaScope with How to Marry a Millionaire and The Robe in 1953.
Because the process was successful and cheap—as it didn’t require multiple cameras like Cinerama—CinemaScope prompted a worldwide widescreen revolution with competing formats such as Panavision, Franscope and TohoScope.
Our festival this year will celebrate the history and legacy of CinemaScope 70 years on, as the process which, along with its rivals and copycats, took widescreen around the world, through a programme of both classic Hollywood and world cinema.
Queens of the Scope Age
As part of our CinemaScope celebration, this year's Widescreen Weekend will look at the stars that helped cement widescreen cinema as the defining experience of the 50s and 60s in our actress spotlight, Queens of the Scope Age.
The bold, expansive photography ushered in by CinemaScope liberated filmmakers, who in turn demanded equally bold personalities to fill their frame. As a result, icons like Joanne Woodward, Kim Novak, Barbara Stanwyck and Deborah Kerr starred in a range of acclaimed dramas and comedies that showcased the ambitious versatility of CinemaScope.
Queens Of The Scope Age will celebrate the often overlooked contributions of some of the most compelling stars of 20th-century film, with a curated selection of remarkable features from an unforgettable age of cinema.
What is widescreen cinema?
Technically, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 ‘Academy ratio’ of 35mm film. Widescreen Weekend celebrates the really wide formats developed in the 1950s and 1960s to create a whole new cinema experience.
The higher the first number in the aspect ratio, the more we love it! You won’t see a film at Widescreen Weekend narrower than 2.2:1, and you can luxuriate in the widest of vistas in both archive epics and modern classics.
What is 3-strip Cinerama?
Cinerama is a widescreen process that projects film simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, creating one image. It was the first of a number of processes introduced during the ‘widescreen war’ of the 1950s, when the film industry had to compete against television.
Our Pictureville theatre is the only public venue in the world that can still show Cinerama in the way it was originally presented to audiences. A 3-strip Cinerama film forms part of the programme at Widescreen Weekend each year.
About Pictureville Cinema
Pictureville is the home of cinema at the National Science and Media Museum. We have three fantastic screens, showing the latest IMAX 3D blockbusters and family favourites alongside independent films, arthouse cinema and cult classics.
We’re delighted to be partnering with the Leonardo Hotel Bradford for the festival this year, festival delegates can claim 15% off the best available rate with code ‘WIDE’.
The hotel is right at the heart of the city, just a 4-minute walk from the museum and a 10-minute walk from Bradford Interchange and Forster Square. If you’re driving to the hotel, you can park up at the convenient NCP car park located behind the building.
Room amenities include:
- Spacious room for up to 3 adults or 2 adults/2 children sharing
- Free WiFi
- Flat-screen TV with Freeview
- Hair dryer
- Tea and coffee refreshment dock
- Spacious bathroom with complimentary toiletries
- Spacious well-lit work area
- Selection of pillows available for your comfort
- Rooms available for guests with reduced mobility
For more information and to book your stay, visit the website.
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Contact details
Enquiries: widescreenweekend@scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk
Senior Press Officer: Brittany Noppe
brittany.noppe@scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk
Support us
Find out about corporate sponsorship opportunities at Widescreen Weekend.
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