Mission Report, KRRR! 19th 70mm Film Seminar | Read more at
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| | Written and photographed by: Paul Rayton, Hollywood, USA | Date: 11.07.2026 |  Here’s the venue, the Kino Mir [“Peace Cinema”], in case you haven’t been there before.
The weekend after Easter 2026 this year (April 17-18-19) brought hundreds of 70mm aficionados once again to Krnov, in the far eastern reaches of the Czech Republic (now generally showing on maps as being “Czechia”)
This was to be the 19th edition of the festival, and my wife and I joined over 300 others from various places around Europe as well as a good many local residents for the annual opportunity to enjoy an intriguing potpourri of films (mostly) projected in 70mm. It’s a fine opportunity to renew old acquaintances -- and make new ones -- people with similar interests: the mega-size 70mm motion picture.
Events were scheduled over the 3 days (Fri-Sat-Sun), with a varied menu of older and newer titles, typically presented in the grandeur of 70mm. Attendees came from, as usual, various points of the compass, though primarily Czechia. There was a major group this year from Lithuania (11!), and I also spoke with, or saw, folks from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. And my wife and I, from the distant side of the Atlantic Ocean, of course. Other countries were also represented, most likely; I’m just listing here the ones of whom I am personally aware, so there could be others.
Events kicked off Friday afternoon (2:00pm) with an afternoon performance of “Marooned” (1969). This was an original print from the initial release and was about as faded a movie as you’ve ever encountered (along with an occasional scratch).
It was historically interesting to see this one now because the show reportedly was used for “research” purposes by both NASA and the space exploration scientists in the former USSR as “study material”. It anticipated some problems to be encountered in the then-new field of space exploration. Interesting to see, but the fading didn’t help.
| More in 70mm reading:
Paul Rayton In Conversation
• Home of "7OMM Seminar" at Kino Mir 70, Krnov, Czech Republic
19th 70mm Film Seminar, KRRR!
• Behind the Scenes of KRRR! with Ivan Školuda
• Ze Zákulisí KRRR! s Ivan Školuda
7OMM Seminar Through the Years:
• Film Program
• Text and Image
About Todd-AO
• Počátky Todd-AO
Paul Rayton worked in many aspects of film projection starting way back in the late 1950s, mostly running in numerous commercial cinemas. Starting in early 1999, he became, for 20 years, the Chief Projectionist for the American Cinematheque, working primarily at their classic (1922) Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, as well as the Aero in Santa Monica. Now retired, he continues to follow developments in the motion picture industry as well as visit select 70mm film festivals near and far.
|  Access stairway historic film projector on display, along with modern videoprojector used for publicity (showing poster for show of “Marooned”)
Next up that afternoon (5:00pm) was the “The Searchers” (1956), a Paramount VistaVision original, recently converted to a new 70mm print for exhibition. As a recent restoration project, the image and sound are quite good, and dear ol’ John Wayne carries the show with his typical swagger. I’ll confess we didn’t attend this show because we’d just seen it 6 months ago (last Oct.) in Karlsruhe, and, honestly, there was such a seat demand we figured to let someone else have our seats.
The main event of the day [evening], and the ceremonial “launch” of the Festival came at 8pm, with a 70mm screening of the very-recent “Sinners” (2025). Once again, a full-capacity house filled the 318 seats, and before the show began there were a few welcoming speeches (including by the Mayor, who happily took note of the increasing audience sizes), and some door-prize giveaways. Then it was on with the show.
Print was fine, looked and sounded great, and was projected in the Ultra Panavision 2.76:1 ratio. There are Imax copies, film & digital, of this movie in distribution, as well, some of which featured multiple aspect ratios; this was the standard 70mm configuration. It was my first time seeing this very-popular show, and I was as confused as most first-time viewers. Maybe I’ll find a chance for the almost-obligatory 2nd viewing to sort out the story line a bit …
The “Sinners” screening was followed by a surprise wine+cheese+various hearty snacks in the main lobby of the theater. The snacks were generous and well-appreciated by the crowd at the late hour. The plates with the foods were “personalized” by various iconic labels touting the KRRR Festival.
| |  The “Thread the projector” challenge. One of the Czech-built Meopta 35/70 projectors was powered up in the lobby and provided with some spare old 70mm film. Guests were invited to attempt to thread the projector (note the film path guide image on the magazine door). It was an intimidating task for those unaccustomed to working with these projectors! (I never heard how many had actually successfully and properly accomplished the task)
Saturday:
Saturday began early (9am) with “One Battle After Another”. We (ahem) overslept and missed it, but (so I hear) it was projected from a 70mm print. The show was photographed in the VistaVision process, and released in multiple formats including actual 35mm VistaVision prints, with the 70mm prints letterboxed to 1.85:1; the image was presented as large as possible on their screen.
Following that, at 2pm, came my personal highlight: a chance to once again see “That’s Entertainment”, the famous celebration of classic MGM musicals originally compiled and released in 1974. I’d been waiting to see this one (in 70mm) again since seeing it when it first came out – 52 years!. At last! Hooray!
During my working years as the Chief Projectionist for the American Cinematheque in Hollywood, I had occasionally suggested to my employer and the programmers to bring this one (“That’s Entertainment”) to the Egyptian. They consistently pooh-poohed my ideas, because “Oh, it’s available on DVD”, or “Those original titles were not made in 70mm”, and “It’s too expensive”. (There were apparently no known available 70mm prints domestically in the US; the print used here came from Sweden.) I had observed some of this same print (on a rewind) on a visit to Stockholm in about 2001 and knew it to be in pretty good shape as of that time.
So now, time for the show. All this waiting, and now the moment of truth! Since the time of my Sweden visit in 2001, there had been 25 intervening years – would the print have faded? Well, yes, slightly. If I was grading it, I’d give it around a “B+” -- not perfect, but most of the colors still relatively true. Even more exciting, after all these years, was hearing the sound mix again. Of course, most of the films celebrated in “TE” come from the pre-stereo sound era (basically 1930s to early ‘50s) and were almost certainly only played in mono sound in their initial engagements.
| |  Author Paul Rayton with Ghostbusters party logo saved from the original decor of the after-party of the premiere.
I should note that there are a few relatively more recent shows included -- the energetic “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954), for example, and “Gigi” (1958). Both of those had been originally in ‘Scope and did have stereo tracks at the time of initial release. Modern (for 1974) sound mixing techniques allowed the makers of “That’s Entertainment” to take certain, presumably original mono tracks, and present them here as “derived” stereo segments, which worked to fantastic effect through the theater’s Atmos speaker system, including effective surrounds. It put the lie to the excuses my [former] programmers would drag out to avoid running this show, as there is not a DVD in the world that will put up as large an image and commensurate sound field as 6-channel mag sound. Simply fantastic. (A Blu-ray might come close, but it still wouldn’t be able to match the image quality and the general splendid presentation.)
My overall impression of the movie, after all these years? Well, looking at it now, as a person now into my early 80s: the 2h15m run time was possibly a tad on the long side. But it was like a delicious pie that grandma just baked: you keep craving more! -- and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a minute of it! Also, it raises to a new level my admiration for the extraordinary staging feats accomplished by Busby Berkeley et al, back then – all before CGI effects!
5pm brought a 70mm screening of “Ghostbusters”. The print was a commercially-circulating one from Sony in the US, it was okay, showing some moderate wear. We didn’t watch this one because, again, there was huge local demand for seats. We decided to allow people see it for whom the show (and the quest to see it) was almost legendary. Me, I’d actually projected the premiere of this movie in 70mm in June of 1984 at the famed Avco Cinemas in Los Angeles, and attended an amazing afterparty, so …. let the younger folk see it!
| |  Ten Commandments talk
7:30pm brought “The Ten Commandments”, a 1972 rendition in 70mm of the original VistaVision DeMille production from 1956. This print was quite faded (though, for sure, not as bad as some seen this year, for example the opening movie, “Marooned”!).
The adaptation of a nominal 1.85:1 VistaVision camera original to the 2.21:1 70mm ratio was a bit awkward at times, with a few instances of rather obvious cropping -- if you knew the movie, or have studied cinematographic composition.
The slightly-incompatible formats had been explained earlier that afternoon in one of the “Behind the Scenes” talks by Chief Projectionist Ivan Skoluda. He illustrated the differences between the original horizontal (VV) cinematography and the resulting 70mm and Bluray renditions.
During the actual show, there were a couple of very brief glitches when sound or picture was compromised while switching between sources – the print was known beforehand to be missing about 8 minutes of running time, and the KRRR folks performed projection miracles filling in the gaps from a BD source, along with adding the subtitles. It was a major technical challenge, but the general assessments I heard afterward seemed to feel it was worth the experience to see the overall show projected in its entirety in full 70mm.
Without meaning to get too “geeky” about these issues … “The Ten Commandments” had two subsequent re-releases over the years which included 70mm prints. The print used this year for KRRR! came from Paramount and was a print made at the time of the initial (1972) re-issue. There was also another wide re-issue in 1989. Presumably a print from that year might have had more color, but there does not seem to be an available print from the 1989 distribution in the vaults at Paramount these days. The print shown here had actually been found in film storage in Germany and repatriated to the Paramount vaults in the US.
| |   "Back to the Future" cast & crew screening ticket, Avco, June 1985.
To help illustrate the “mystique” of 70mm, a comparison of the viewing experience(s) between 70mm and home video: A special “bonus” event prior to “Back to the Future” screening, Ivan Skoluda and Festival Director Michal Jaso provided a live-on-screen demo of several variants of the early RCA “Selectavision” home videodisc system (a process which never really was a commercial success with the public). His demo disc was a Japanese home version of “Back to the Future”, projected on to the screen. The audience was able to assess the image quality from the projected video disc with the actual 70mm projection which followed a few minutes later.
Sunday
Sunday began bright and early, with “The Testament of Ann Lee”, starting at 9:30am. I say bright and early, but I was neither bright nor early that morning, so … we missed it. Can’t say much, but it’s a movie from last year (2025), so should be making the rounds for a while, possibly to other festivals.
1:00pm brought another one of the fascinating “Fragments” presentations, with Chief Projectionist Ivan Skoluda showing us reels (or portions of reels) from 8 different movies which were NOT otherwise going to be run this year (or any year, most likely!) It’s partly to help us understand their triage process, by which some shows are included, and some others become excluded, because of more serious technical shortcomings. The examples, selected by Ivan in association with Festival Programmer Michal Mraz, showcased the way prints could “go south”. For example, the extensive missing scenes in “Ten Commandments” might have eliminated it from consideration, but the ability to substitute in the missing bits of that film from other sources would enable maintaining the full continuity (and made the 70mm presentation worthwhile since, other than the fading, the reels were physically in good condition). So “Ten Commandments” was “in”, but “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” was out ...
Segments were run from prints with really serious shrinkage, really serious fading, really serious other image damage (reticulation, weak perforations, unstable printing, etc.), or even simply just missing reels. One of the faded prints, “Krull” (1983) interestingly, had faded to blue, not to pink. That was a new one on me. (The print stock was Eastmancolor but the lab is not known.) Besides “Krull”, bits came from pictures famous (“Sound of Music”, 1965) and not-so-famous: “Hercules and the Captive Women”, 1961). The real groaner was “Gone with the Wind” (1939), this being the ill-advised 70mm version created by nameless (and clueless) studio folks who, in 1967, figured that a 1.37:1 image would be just fine if it was chopped (i.e. cropped, as they say in the biz) at the top and bottom to fit the 2.20:1 aspect ratio used in 70mm. Nobody would be the wiser, right? Well, (ouch!), no!
“GWTW” was faded to zilch, and among other issues, it is filled with characters who, when they stand straight up, all essentially were given “flat top” haircuts by the cropped top of the frame. A bit of a pain to see it so compromised! Fortunately, only about 8 minutes of this torture was run. Whew!
(See “Appendix” to this article for a few other sample images from the “Fragments” event)
3:00pm brought “Back to the Future” (1985), a very nice original-issue 70mm print from a collector in Australia (who says the print came originally from the US.) Ironically, this was another show for which I had run the original cast and crew premiere at the Avco Cinemas in Los Angeles. Again we relinquished our seats to allow some others to let them be able to check out the 70mm fun. (There were lots of kids in the audience this time; I’d never seen so much spilled popcorn on the floor at the Kino Mir after the show!)
The closeness of these screenings, coming as they do somewhat soon after each other, brings up another sidelight that was improved this year: in the past, obtaining reasonable nutrition often required a hard choice: watch another show and go hungry, or … miss one show and take the ~10 minute walk to the local food establishments, such as the Greek “Hermes” restaurant, over in the central city. But wait! …
Now there’s an in-house option: the organizers have upgraded the food service to include more and varied offerings, so it’s somewhat easier to watch more of the screened presentations and still not feel like you may pass out from lack of food! There are hot and cold items, including hearty sandwiches, soup, etc. (It’s certainly a far cry from my younger days, decades ago, at Bradford, when I would fortify myself for days with gulps of diet colas from a little store just up the street to keep awake for continuing screenings ...)
| |  6pm brought the final show of the weekend, another classic, "Oklahoma!", the original Todd-AO production (1955). For this show, the festival made an exception: This was the approximate 70th anniversary of the introduction of the exhibition process known as “Todd-AO”, and they wanted to do some kind of a tribute to the Todd-AO technique & history. Except … except there seem to be no extant showable prints of “Oklahoma!” in 70mm any more. It had been the very first show “Presented in Todd-AO”, and one of the two features (ever) filmed at 30fps*, which meant that it required a lot of reels, and finding a complete, projectable print was apparently out of the question anymore.
So, breaking with tradition, but fulfilling their desire to do some kind of hommage to Todd-AO, they ran it as a DCP. What can I say? The colors were brilliant, as was the audio, but of course all the technical factors had been polished with the newest post-production technologies, so it looked and sounded fine. I can state that the DCP was sufficiently brilliant and sharp and engaging enough as to lure some people -- who might have otherwise been inclined to dismiss it and not stay to watch -- to instead remain present for the whole show, so entranced were they by the saturated colors and fine sound. They know who they are!
This (we trust) is not meant to establish DCP as a new norm for their screenings at Krnov, although we must admit that, every year, every one of these original 70mm prints gets one year older. We (speaking for the audience as a group) are pretty understanding of this aging/fading issue and are mindful of it as we see some of these faded prints – and (generally) the prints are still fun to enjoy and see on the big screen, still “living large”, as the saying goes.
As I write this, I’m seeing that a new UK-created television adaptation of “Amadeus” is becoming available on Netflix, this time as a 4-episode series. I react to this with a bit of a yawn -- I’m so happy that we, not so long ago (it was in 2023) saw here in Krnov the original 70mm “Amadeus” on screen, presented, as another saying goes, “warts and all” – the seriously-loved 70mm print from 1984, run many, many times over the years (but with no apparent fading!), and again on the BIG SCREEN, with that sumptuous score, played with 6 channels of mag sound. What can I say? Delicious! I still like to see these original films as films on the screen! It’s a melange of image and sound one must view to appreciate!
* the other feature produced at a 30fps frame rate was “Around the World in 80 Days” (1956).
| | “Fragments” Appendix | |  Traditionally-faded print, for which we typically saw about 8 minutes of the show projected. Seen here is a scene from “Hercules and the Captive Women” (1961) in Super Technirama 70.
Chief Projectionist Ivan Skoluda's “Fragments” presentation gave you an idea of just how pink things can get, and was a reminder: all these clips from the “Fragments” session were shows which were NOT going to be run, one significant reason being the fading. There were some shows run with fading, but there was typically a justification (either its’ rarity, or somehow thematically relevant) to run it. Many other shows had fine colors, so, (really!), we did see some programs which were not “pinkified”!
• Go to "Hercules and the Captive Women" Presented in 70mm
| |  The wierdly-faded “Krull” (1983), which turned blue instead of red. Note Czech subtitles. The print stock was Eastmancolor.
70mm clips as seen on screen during the fascinating “Fragments” presentation, with Chief Projectionist Ivan Skoluda:• Scene from “Gone With The Wind”, (1939 - 1967) in which the frameline is seen showing along the bottom of the frame. In addition to the fading to pink, and the cropping at the top of the frame, the entire image (frame) was vertically unstable, slowly rising and falling, like a wave in the ocean. Cause could have been a tension issue in the printer, or more likely the extensive vinegar *) decomposition that afflicted the entire reel. The image (Clark Gable) remained steady (i.e. not rapid-movement “jittery”) on screen – but the entire frame image just repeatedly rose and fell, in a slow ongoing cycle, up and down, over a cyclic period of about every 2 or 3 seconds.
• "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956, print from the 1968 re-issue, per the date code of the print stock), projected at 30fps. The bullfight sequence in the bullring.
• Aerial combat scene from the film “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970)
• And finally a bit of musical redemption from the Mother Abbess herself, (Peggy Wood): song “Climb Every Mountain” in "The Sound of Music" (1965).
*) “vinegar” = acetic acid decomposition
| | Comments on KRRR #19 (2026) from 4 members of the contingent from Lithuania, with thanks to Aleksas Gilaitis for compiling them.
With Festival Ambiance for film festival food fans | |  A few extras - photos from the festival area
Sandra: I am from Lithuania. It was my first time at the film festival and I would definitely go again and recommend it to others. I learned about the film festival from film lover Aleksas. I am just an ordinary film viewer myself, not related to film production in any way, especially since I don't know much about 70 mm film.
I liked the festival program, it was diverse: intended for both film screenings and those who want to learn more about the technical side. The program is quite intense and there are films for all "tastes". Maybe the 9 o'clock screening was too early for me. But the entire structure of the festival is smooth and well thought out, starting with souvenirs and ending with relaxation areas.
| |  Vykintas: I traveled to Krnov, Czech Republic to attend the Krrr! Film Festival. Since we drove all the way from Kaunas, the journey was quite long and a bit tiring, but overall smooth and without any major issues.
I really enjoyed the festival. It was my first time at a 70mm film festival, and the whole experience felt very genuine. The organizers clearly love what they do — you could even call them true enthusiasts or geeks of the format. The audience also knew exactly what they came for, which created a great atmosphere. It was nice to be surrounded by people who were all equally excited about the event itself.
I managed to watch quite a few films. Marooned was the first one — maybe not as grand as other films of its kind, but still interesting as a step back in time. The Searchers had some gaps in storytelling and didn’t always feel fully coherent, but I enjoyed the classic western vibe.
Sinners surprised me — I expected something more focused on slavery, so the vampire angle caught me off guard. Normally I’m not a fan of vampire films or musicals, but this one worked for me and even reminded me a bit of From Dusk Till Dawn.
| | 
One Battle After Another was a rewatch for me, but I wanted to experience it on the big screen, and I enjoyed it just as much, especially the humor. That’s Entertainment! was probably my least favorite — even though it showcased the glory of MGM’s 50 years and had plenty of impressive visuals, I found myself dozing off during much of it.
It was also fun to finally see Ghostbusters, a cult classic I somehow hadn’t watched before — a bit trashy, but entertaining. Back to the Future was another revisit; I used to think of it as somewhat silly, but seeing it again made me appreciate how well-written it is and how well it has aged. Oklahoma! was particularly interesting as the first film ever made in 70mm — despite being a musical, I genuinely enjoyed it and appreciated its humor.
This was my first time watching films in 70mm. The screen was definitely larger, but with today’s IMAX formats, I wouldn’t say the image or sound felt dramatically superior. That said, what stood out more was the sense of authenticity — you could see that not all prints were in the same condition, some more worn than others, which added a certain “realness” you don’t get with digital screenings. It felt less polished, but more alive.
70mm did add a kind of value — a sense of scale and importance. Knowing how expensive it is to produce these prints, it’s clear that this format was reserved for major films, which adds to the feeling of watching something significant.
| |  I also really liked the Kino Mir cinema. It’s well maintained, with a charming old-school atmosphere. Small details, like the curtain opening just before the screening, added to the experience — something you rarely see in modern multiplexes.
Overall, it was a very positive experience. From the place we stayed, to the cinema, to the organizers and the general vibe — everything came together nicely. There’s definitely a strong sense of nostalgia around 70mm films, and even practical things like catering and pricing were well handled. For a first-time experience, it was truly memorable.
Juozas: First of all, I would like to thank Aleksas for organizing the trip. Traveling with people you don't know very well can be challenging, but not this time.
The trip went smoothly, although we covered part of Europe without car documents :)
We arrived in the city of Krnov in the evening, in the rain, but the hilly terrain was really surprising. Lithuania has very few hills, so the Czech Republic greeted us with unforgettable views as soon as we set foot in it.
| |  We settled in an old but cozy garden house, which had many old things - from original photographs from the 19th century to a Depeche Mode magnetic cassette. The house is built on one of the highest points in the city, so there was a great panorama.
We didn't use a car for the entire festival - we walked everywhere and experienced the city in its entirety.
I am a representative of analog photography and an organizer of an art festival, so visiting the festival was very important to me. I noticed how much the Krrr festival organizers invested in advertising in the city, as well as in a shop where you can buy festival paraphernalia. The logo is very attractive – both aesthetically and conceptually. A considerable range of food and very tasty local beer were provided.
I also remembered the attention shown by the organizers that a lot of film people from Lithuania came to the festival. A small detail, but very important for the guests.
For me, this festival was the first film festival that I experienced, so it was important to get to know the culture of a film festival. It just so happened that we came from Lithuania with the organizers of film festivals taking place in Lithuania. Thanks to them, we managed to understand a lot about the organization of film festivals.
The educational part of “Fragments” was very meaningful and useful.
Aleksas also organized a mini-excursion to the place where the film projectors are located, and one of the film mechanics told about the projectors and the work at the festival.
The repertoire is also quite good, although I was not able to watch all the films. I will try harder next year.
Many thanks to both the entire Lithuanian company and the festival organizers for such a meaningful event.
| |  Marius: This was my second time at the festival and I was very willing to come back. I enjoyed this years film selection, catching some of newer films I had missed and seeing the epic retro classics was great fun. It's always a delight to see how passionate the organizers and technicians are about the 70mm format and the cinema experience in general. Apart from the film screenings, a presentation about the conditions of the copies and the process of acquiring them is always an interesting and educating listen, as well as the fun and unpredictable fragments section. Great atmosphere in the cinema and the town, improved catering - all adds up to great weekend.
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Updated 11-07-2026 | |
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