Todd-AO 70mm Film Festival Report 2025
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| Written by: Johan C. M. Wolthuis, Arnhem, the Netherlands & with some additions from co-author Paul Rayton | Date: 05.11.2025 |
 On
Wednesday morning, 8 October, at 11:37 I boarded the ICE fast train from Arnhem,
destination Karlsruhe, to visit the Todd-AO
Festival there in the beautiful
Schauburg Cinerama Theater. After a pleasant train ride of 4½ hours I arrived at the main station in Karlsruhe,
Germany. Because I
had bought my tickets more than three months previously, the ticket price
was very cheap, a return ticket to Karlsruhe for only EUR 93, including
reserved seats in the ICE train! A very easy and comfortable way of
travelling. No dangerous traffic on the highway or delays by work on the
road!I have enjoyed with great pleasure visiting this 70mm festival since 2016. I always stay in my favourite little hotel, Barbarossa, which is less than ten minutes from the theater. Between my hotel and the Schauburg there is a small marketplace with a nice restaurant, where I often meet some of the other visitors of the festival. I saw in my diary that in 2016 they screened the shorts "The March of Todd-AO" and "Sky over Holland", along with "The Hateful Eight" and others - of course all in 70mm. And Thomas Hauerslev (with an amazing memory) held a Power Point illustrated talk presentation about our "70mm Promotion Tour" to Los Angeles which we organized back in 1994. • Go to gallery 18th Todd-AO Festival Images • Go to John C M Wolthuis's in70mm.com Library • Go to "Widescreen History" from International 70mm Publishers The city of Karlsruhe was founded in the year 1715 with the building of the Karlsruhe Castle. 30% of the city was destroyed during the 2nd World War but has since been rebuilt. Nowadays it has more than 300.000 inhabitants, three museums, a beautiful zoo (easy to reach just opposite the train station) and a botanical garden. Not forgetting the impressive Schloss Karlsruhe [castle], which was destroyed during the war, but now rebuilt, as a large museum, well worth a visit (Badisches Landesmuseum). Karlsruhe is situated in the south-west of Germany, 65 km west of Stuttgart. So, besides the 70mm festival there are also a number of other things to visit in this interesting city. But let’s go back to the unique Schauburg Cinerama cinema: the large amphitheatre auditorium has 352 seats, a 17 x 7 m panoramic screen with a 90-degree curve. In the same building there are also two additional smaller cinemas: Bambi with 60 seats and a 5 x 2 m screen and Cinema on the upper level, with 150 seats, a 10 x 4 screen and all with amphitheatre-style seating. |
More
in 70mm reading: John C M Wolthuis's in70mm.com Library Todd-AO Festival Home • 18th Todd-AO Festival 2025 • Welcome | Wolfram Hannemann's 2025 introductions • Todd-AO Festival Flyer | Todd-AO Festival Plakat • 18th Todd-AO Festival Images Widescreen Weekend Report 2025 in70mm.com News Peripheral Vision, Scopes, Dimensions and Panoramas in70mm.com's Library Presented on the big screen in 7OMM 7OMM and Cinema Across the World Now showing in 70mm in a theatre near you! 70mm Retro - Festivals and Screenings |
 This
year “Amadeus”,
"Lawrence of Arabia",
"2OO1: A Space Odyssey",
"Vertigo" and
many other classic movies were part of the great program of this, the 18th Todd-AO
70mm Film Festival to take place here. All the classic movies, of
this 70th anniversary of Todd-AO celebration, were of course presented in the Schauburg in 70mm on the large
deep curve screen with the
Philips DP70
projection equipment! The Philips Company even got an Oscar in 1963 for their
unique development of their DP70 projector, which, at the insistence of the
Magna Theatre Corporation and the American Optical Company (-AO), Philips
designed in 1953-1954 in only nine months’ time!I liked the second movie of this festival: “Das Zigeunerlager zieht in den Himmel”, (International title: “Queen of the Gypsies”). Produced in the Soviet Union in 1975 in their Russian 70mm Sovscope format, it was their best-attended movie of the year. It was a unique insight in to the life of the Roma gypsies in the 19th Century in Russia. Despite it being an older and somewhat faded 70mm print, the colors were still acceptable. An amazing love story with beautiful gypsy music and dancing, very enjoyable. And then came “Amadeus”, an American movie from 1984. Shot in 35mm anamorphic Panavision, presented in 70mm with 6 channel Dolby stereo sound. Directed by Milos Forman and rewarded with 8 Oscars! The film tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s last ten years as seen from the perspective of his rival and later companion composer Antonio Salieri. Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 in Salzburg, Austria and died on the 5th of December 1791 in Vienna. He was married to Constance from 1782 until his death in 1791 and got with her six children, from which alas 4 died a few months after they were born. Only two brothers survived their father: Carl Thomas and Franz Xaver. Mozart was not only a composer and conductor, but he also played the piano and violin. His marriage with Constance was a perfect match for him: she could manage Mozart's eccentricities without any problem. This movie gives a very interesting insight into the life of a famous composer! |
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 And
after this great movie another great “event”: Get together with Hoepfner
(a local Karlsruhe beer). A meeting with friends from all over the world in the back hall of
the theater with a fine glass of beer in the nice lobby.Saturday morning (as well as and Sunday morning) started with a delicious breakfast, as always served on the upper level of the Schauburg. This is also one of the things that makes this festival different from other festivals: it is a gathering with all visitors, many of whom I have met the years before during previous 70mm festivals. Another highlight of course was the screening of “Lawrence of Arabia”. Shot in 1962 by director David Lean in Super Panavision 70, it has no comparable movie! I have seen this movie 5 times and it is still my favourite one! Unbelievable images shot by cameraman Freddie A. Young with hundreds of camels and horses in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan has never been done again. No digital tricks but all real filming with 65mm Panavision cameras. The leading role, played by Peter O'Toole as T. E. Lawrence has given him a nearly holy life. As well for the other actors too, like Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins - this movie has been a boost for their careers. This print was a restored print from 1988 done by Robert A. Harris who worked two years on the movie to get it back in its original running time of 227 minutes, some 30 minutes longer than the print which had been running in the cinemas in the '60s, '70s and '80s. The film received seven Oscars. I would like to see this (it being my most favourite movie) every year. And after "Lawrence" we could enjoy another fine dinner, presented on the ground floor of the Schauburg: it was such nice weather that we could even sit on the cinema terrace outside! And my great compliments to the staff of the theater: they created an excellent dinner for so many visitors. Sunday morning started again with breakfast on the upper level of the cinema, an enjoyable meeting with all other visitors and having talks about the movies. After the breakfast Thomas Hauerslev from Denmark, also co-programmer for the Todd-AO Film Festival, started the Sunday morning with a presentation about 70 years of Todd-AO: Das Vermachtnis von Todd-AO / The Legacy of Todd-AO. The talk was presented in English and illustrated the history of the Todd-AO 70mm process. With a lot of historic pictures on the screen and with a surprising video interview between Thomas and Walter Siegmund who had been, many longs years ago very involved in the development of the whole Todd-AO process. A very interesting and good presentation. |
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 In
the afternoon a very special film: “Vertigo” from 1958, originally produced in
VistaVision. This print was a
restored print from 1994 presented in 70mm
with 6-channel digital sound. It was one of the movies directed and produced
by Alfred Hitchcock.After “Vertigo” again a delicious dinner in the afternoon in the Schauburg. I again made a compliment to the staff of the cinema for the presentation of the meals! Last chance to speak with each other, as well as walk into the passageway next to the theater and admire the various posters in the large windows of the hall. In the lobby of the theater, opposite of the large bar, you can also see the posters of films that are presently on screen or are coming to the Schauburg. And of course, don’t forget to have a look at my large collection of archive books of “Lawrence of Arabia”, "Oklahoma!", "Cleopatra", "Around the World in 80 Days" (another of my favourite movies), "Far and Away" and ”Hamlet”, in the hall on two large tables. I am very happy that I always have the permission of Herbert Born and so the possibility of showing my publications and archive books. An extra event for me during these festivals with all other visitors having a drink at the bar. With the dinners in the evening, the breakfast in the morning, the coffee break with cakes in the afternoon and not to forget the evening with the Hoepfner beer, it is a festival that brings you not only a lot of great classic movies, but also a lot of other pleasures. The Todd-AO 70mm Festival concluded Sunday evening, but with a great souvenir program book as a remembrance, and nice leaflets with the complete program of classic films. All presented in 70mm on the large panoramic screen of the beautiful Schauburg Cinerama cinema in Karlsruhe! Hope to see you next year! |
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