widescreen
Faith, Hope AND Chariots A personal review of Widescreen Weekend 2019. Words by Mark Trompeteler
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling’s riff on the bible quote above is the place to start When Sir Christopher introduced the 1959 version of “Ben
reveres the spectacle, technology, legacy and culture of
Hur” at the 2019 Widescreen Weekend at the Science and
large format and widescreen cinema. The projection
Media Museum last October, his comment “Faith, Hope
equipment in the three-screen complex at the UK’s
and Chariots” neatly summed up the challenges and
National Science & Media Museum, in Bradford, allows
opportunities of programming this annual celebration of
delegates to enjoy films in 35mm. and 70mm. analogue
wide format film. For the past 23 years cinema
film, 2K and 4K digital, digital Imax, and three-strip
enthusiasts, cinema exhibition professionals, film critics,
Cinerama. It really is a rare and special cinema exhibition
authors, and academics have travelled from all over,
complex, and delegates travel to view films in all these
including the US and Australia, to attend an event that
formats in the space of three to four days.
T
he word Chariots indicates how
the flat screen on opening night, with the 1959 epic “Ben Hur”
the programmers continue to include
in a 4K DCP version on the curved screen on the closing night.
epics, the old roadshow movies and the
In between came “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story”
more
tentpole
both on 70mm film on the curve, with Kenneth Branagh’s
modern
large-scale
movies as part of the programme. These
“Murder On The Orient Express,” filmed on modern 70mm
showcase the advantages a plethora of premium large formats
film emulsion and projected in 70mm. Perhaps not my
that cinema culture has given us over the years, as well as
favourite version of the story, but the print looked immaculate
giving the audience’s existing demographic the kind of classic
and pristine on the flat screen. Also screened was a digital
and modern films they like to see. This element of the
presentation of “Ice Station Zebra.” In the smaller Broccoli
programming might also possibly draw in a new audience to
cinema, 35mm film prints featured in screenings of “Barabbas”
see such movies as they were intended to be seen on both a
and “Gladiator.” Imax screenings included the interesting
flat and a curved screen.
pairing of “First Man” and the documentary “Apollo 11” which
Last year, the weekend was bookended by two such films,
features newly discovered immaculate 70mm footage that
the screening of a 70mm film print of “Ready Player One” on
raises the impact and veracity of the well-known footage. It
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