Introduction to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Cinerama’s “The
Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: Randy Gitsch, 4:00 P.M., October 3, 2022, Schauberg Kino, Karlsruhe | Date: 04.10.2022 |
 Randy
Gitsch presenting the European premiere of the restored "The Wonderful World
of the Brothers Grimm" at the Schauburg Cinerama,
in Karlsruhe 3. October 2022.
Picture: Thomas HauerslevGENERAL Intro [as read] [4:50] Guten tag zusammen…. …I’m Randy Gitsch and it’s great to be back in Karlsruhe and the Schauberg again and to see you all, including some familiar faces along with the new, all happy to be seeing big movies on a BIG screen again. Like some of you, we’ve been cooped up far too long, waiting for Covid to abate, so let’s hope it has. • Go to 16. Todd-AO 70mm-Festival 2022 • Go to Die Cinerama-Archäologen  Our isolation was put to good use, as it’s resulted in the very complicated scanning, re-mastering, re-combining and Smileboxing of the last 3-panel Cinerama feature film to be digitally restored, “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm". After consulting my production partner, Dave Strohmaier, Warner Brothers released their fine digital version of "How the West Was Won" in 2008. Our Cinerama team then took our first shot at re-mastering THIS IS CINERAMA and WINDJAMMER in 2010. Although underfunded, and slighted by less than optimal source material to work with, the reaction to those early releases was grateful and encouraging. We then tackled the re-mastering of CINERAMA HOLIDAY and SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD in 2012, and then CINERAMA’S SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE and SEARCH FOR PARADISE in 2014. Now given more funding, and an opportunity to utilize more original source material, although also more abused and problematic, we RE-tackled THIS IS CINERAMA in 2015 and WINDJAMMER in 2018, resulting in our most challenging, and best work. And before Dave turned his attention to re-master two single panel 70mm features and Cinerama-owned, short subjects, we got around to the 3-panel RUSSIAN ADVENTURE and BEST OF CINERAMA. We couldn’t have done that without you buying those DVD and Blu-ray releases and coming to our screenings of these pictures in the U.S. and Europe. So “Thank You.” to all of you. In 2015, Herbert Born invited Dave and I to come here to the Schauburg to screen 8 of our digital restorations. Karlsruhe became one of several stops we put together that spring with the help of Dusseldorf Metropol and Bambi theater manager, our friend, Udo Heimansburg. To complete that tour, Udo kindly drove us along the Romantic Road, to the Wierkersheim Palace, the City of Rothenburg ob den Tauber, Dinkelsbuhl and Neuschwanstein Castle as well, all of which were picturesque locations used in our film today. When we saw firsthand these beautiful historic locations, and how lovingly and carefully they’d been restored and maintained, it gave Dave motivation to make the film once again capable of showcasing their immense beauty and charm. So “Thank you, Udo” for providing us with those motivators. |
More in 70mm reading: Die Cinerama-Archäologen "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" to be released on BluRay from Warner Archive 60th anniversary of "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" Remaster Trailers Restoration and re-mastering “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" from 3-strip 35mm negatives The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. The legendary “lost” Cinerama Reviewed Information about the 3-strip movie "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" Life in Three Panels 16. Todd-AO 70mm-Festival 2022 Copenhagen Cinerama Introduction Gallery: CineMiracle at the Cinemateket, Copenhagen in70mm.com's Cinerama page Remastering the CINERAMA Library Cinerama's 50th Anniversary |
 Randy
Gitsch presenting the European premiere of the restored "The Wonderful World
of the Brothers Grimm" at the Schauburg Cinerama,
in Karlsruhe 3. October 2022.
Picture: Thomas HauerslevSo before we go any further, might there be anyone in our audience who was photographed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Cinerama in 1961 for this film at Weirkershiem, in Rothenburg, Dinkelsbuhl, Oberspay or at Neuschswanstein?. Please raise your hand if so. [Pause to point them out!] That’s terrific! “Woher kommst du?” You know it only made sense to shoot the German GRIMM story here in Germany, to utilize those locations, but another great reason to shoot on location here in Deutschland was the fact that there were then 22 Cinerama theaters here, more than in any country outside the U.S.. 2022 is the 70th Anniversary of Cinerama - the ultimate cinematic invention that turned all feature films widescreen, and it’s the 60th Anniversary of our restoration feature. So today we’re proud to be able to present to you on this big Schauburg screen, the European Digital Premiere of 1962’s, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM. For first-timers, let me mention our film will bring to life 3 of the lesser-known in the U.S. Grimm fairy tales, “The Dancing Princess”, “The Cobbler and the Elves” and “The Singing Bone”, based on Dr. Hermann Gerstner’s book, Die Bruder Grimm and using literary license it will also craft a bit of a “Hollywood” life story around the Grimm Brothers themselves. For example, as you know, Hollywood loves happy endings. Just one word before we start the show. This was the last feature-length motion picture shot in the 3-camera Cinerama process. Some may say that upon it’s release, it was a flop. A failure. Well I here to tell you that’s just not true. It earned 14 million dollars, making it the 13th most profitable picture of 1962. No, GRIMM made a handsome profit, as did it’s fellow 3-panel release, HOW THE WEST WAS WON…which made 50 million at the box office. However, WEST and GRIMM proved too costly to make, and the process - as far as directors and actors were concerned, too demanding to shoot in. So, just as Cinerama had turned square, feature motion-pictures wide after 1952, giving birth to dozens of widescreen processes, including Cinemascope, VistaVision and Todd-AO … after 1962, Cinerama became in “name-only”, one of those very processes, single-panel Ultra Panavision, presented in reserved-seat large theater luxury on a deeply curved, immersive screen, elaborately revealed under curtains, all the hallmarks of showmanship. Thank you, Herbert for having us here tonight, and in the best of Cinerama traditions, let’s also thank our projectionists in the booth, Markus Vetter and Vincent Koch. [Applaud] And now the man who remastered this picture, my production partner, Dave Strohmaier, would like to say a few words. Dave… |
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