VistaVision’s Back! See the Lost IMAX-Style Films No One’s Seen in 70 Years!

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The TCM Classic Film Festival not only showcases classic films but also revives antiquated methods of projection and display. In fact, this festival is renowned for resurrecting obscure techniques, such as Smell-o-vision, which it reintroduced during screenings in the 2010s. As TCM Festival director Genevieve McGillicuddy stated at the closing event on Sunday night, “We strive to bring back every format possible.

In this instance, she was discussing a presentation from the 2025 festival, which could have been even scarcer or delayed longer than releasing odor-infused films. On Saturday evening, the old technique known as VistaVision was honored at the TLC Chinese Theatre with the playback of two films shot in that format – “We’re No Angels” and “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.” However, there was an unusual aspect that makes watching these movies more exceptional than it may appear.

Instead of typical 35mm studio prints marked with the VistaVision logo, occasionally seen in revival theaters, the films screened at the Chinese Theater on Saturday were not merely played back but were actually projected using genuine VistaVision projectors. These devices are scarce worldwide, capable of handling oversized prints that move sideways through the projection system, similar to modern Imax. Films in this format are as uncommon as the projectors themselves.

What is the most recent occasion on which a VistaVision movie was displayed publicly, employing these unique prints and native VistaVision projectors that are not commonly used?

Charlotte Barker from Paramount, who oversees TCM screenings, mentioned to EbMaster during a break that it was around the mid-’50s when something similar last occurred. She emphasized that such an event hadn’t been publicly seen for nearly 70 years.

Returning to the auditorium to present “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” to an eager audience, Baker shared with those who attended both screenings: “I believe you are the first individuals ever to watch a double feature of VistaVision films in their horizontal, seven-perforation format. I find that quite fascinating. This unique event has never taken place before.

In her role as a film restoration director at Paramount Pictures, Barker became quite passionate about VistaVision, an innovative technology born within their studio in the early 1950s, designed as an alternative to CinemaScope to offer moviegoers a spectacle that would entice them into cinemas. However, by the start of the ’60s, it had ceased to exist.

Despite the fact that VistaVision is quite old, it remains captivating to film enthusiasts. For instance, “The Brutalist,” a recent Academy Award nominee, was marketed as having been filmed using VistaVision cameras. Similarly, Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming movie, “One Battle After Another,” was also shot with VistaVision technology. Interestingly, it’s rumored that Anderson intends to release a very limited version of his film using actual VistaVision projectors. If he succeeds in this, it would be the first time such an event has occurred in approximately seven decades. The TCM Festival hinted at Anderson potentially carrying out this daring concept: He had a trailer for “One Battle After Another” made in the horizontal, seven-performance format, which was shown publicly for the very first time during Saturday’s two historic revival screenings.

Is it truly unique, one might wonder, regarding VistaVision? Even ardent cinephiles who have watched a standard 35mm version of an original VistaVision release such as “Vertigo” or “The Ten Commandments,” perhaps at the New Beverly or the unrelated Vista, may find it visually pleasing but not extraordinarily impressive. However, those who have attended TCM screenings can testify to a significantly distinct quality when viewing actual VistaVision prints and projectors. The more finely-filmed classic movie, “We’re No Angels,” served as a striking demonstration of this. To my untrained eye, the pristine print seemed as crisp as modern digital Imax, yet retaining an added depth and richness due to its celluloid origins and printing process. Even the trailer for “One Battle” shown using the system was quite remarkable.

To provide a clearer understanding of VistaVision, which continues to intrigue some contemporary filmmakers, let me share an explanation given by Paramount’s Barker at the Chinese:

[Here is his description]

Paramount introduced a new cinematic technique similar to Cinemascope, by filming scenes sideways and using an eight-perforation image instead of the traditional vertical 35mm format. Instead of moving through the camera vertically like regular films, this method ran horizontally. It captured images across two 35mm frames, resulting in a wider screen image. Essentially, it provided filmmakers with a larger negative area, comparable to today’s 4K or 8K resolution. Interestingly, this format paved the way for IMAX, which we’re enjoying in this very theater.

One advantage of filming in VistaVision was that the final films could be reduced to standard 35mm prints, which could then be screened in various aspect ratios across different cinemas. In most cases, this is what occurred. Using projectors designed for VistaVision to show the film in its original ratio was a less common occurrence, although it was a stunning exception, limited to just a few theaters in the 1950s.

Originally, this (VistaVision) was designed solely as a camera format, not for projection. As a result, films made using it were scaled down to standard 35mm 4-perf for screening, making them compatible with any projector without requiring special equipment. However, when executives began demonstrating this impressive new format in 1954, there was a demand for viewing it in its native 8-perf format. Few projectors were constructed to support this horizontal format, and these were used in major cities worldwide, as we see today. Not every VistaVision film was released in the 8-perf format.

To clarify, “We’re No Angels” and “O.K. Corral,” both featuring Humphrey Bogart, were films originally intended for the horizontal eight-perf format but were not publicly shown in this way. The version of “Angels” that aired on TCM was actually a reference print made by Paramount in the ’80s. In contrast, several VistaVision films, including the inaugural movie, “White Christmas,” did receive public screenings using this more impressive process at theaters such as Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Warner Beverly Hills out west.

While delving into Paramount archives for research on my upcoming book about VistaVision, I stumbled upon some intriguing prints that had been hidden away. Among them was a preservation element of “Angels,” which surprisingly turned out to be about three decades old and had been forgotten in the archive. As for “O.K. Corral,” I found only a single reel on the premises initially, but when I screened it, Burt Lancaster’s captivating image appeared crystal clear, vibrant, and remarkably well-preserved. Inspired, I set out to locate the rest of the reels off-site, which I eventually did. Now, my goal is to share these discoveries with the public.

In regards to presenting concepts for TCM’s festival this year, Barker included his traditional VistaVision suggestions. Last year, he had suggested a 70th anniversary celebration for the vision, but it was Columbia’s centennial that received the celebration instead. This time, however, he proposed an audacious idea: “Why not go big or go home? We have some VistaVision film prints, and if you can find a projector, you can show them.” The notion seemed far-fetched at first, but it quickly became a possibility. Over the holiday season, everyone got to work. Team members from TCM, such as Charlie and Genevieve, were tasked with exploring the feasibility of the idea. Meanwhile, C. Chapin Cutler and Sean McKinnon from Boston Light & Sound began investigating whether they could secure projectors for the endeavor. By January, everyone was on board, marking the beginning of a large-scale collaborative effort.

She’s grateful to Cutler for supplying the essential projectors. To be precise, he provided three out of the original six projectors originally used for ‘White Christmas.’ Two functioning units were created from these three, and it’s these two that are currently operational in the booth.

Cutler shared with EbMaster, “I obtained them back in 1984. They were retrieved from a junkyard of a dealer in Dallas, Texas. These were two of the six initial prototypes made by Century within 28 days. I’m unsure about how they ended up in Dallas, but it remains a mystery to me.

According to Cutler, colonial Williamsbug previously owned projectors used for 40-minute special attraction films. In the 1970s, they sold these projectors to Lucasfilm, which utilized them for creating background plates and special effects in ‘Star Wars.’ Initially, visual effects artists preferred VistaVision due to its enhanced clarity, although scenes were later scaled down to standard 35mm when integrating with live-action elements. Moreover, Douglas Trumball employed VistaVision for the initial performances at the Luxor Hotel. A few of these machines are still in existence, but they’re not typically used for feature film production; rather, they’re utilized for special effects work.

Cutler is transporting the two projectors previously set up in China back to Boston since TCM Fest has concluded. However, Barker is optimistic that they’ll return next year to display even more of the colossal prints housed in the Paramount archive. “I’d love to venture back into the vault,” Barker says. “Personally, I would like to work on ‘The 10 Commandments.’ I’d like us to do ‘One Eyed Jacks,’ [the late ’50s release that was the final feature filmed in VistaVision during its initial run]. And I’d like us to present ‘The Big Country’ in Technorama, which is VistaVision in anamorphic format… it’s just more things on my bucket list.

It’s unclear at this point whether the P.T. Anderson film will be shown on the limited VistaVision projectors. According to Cutler, they have been pleased with how their trailer looks in VistaVision on a large screen, so they are hopeful for now.

For Barker, a dedicated preservationist known for her award-winning work on “The Godfather” and other Paramount projects, this year’s festival was a long-awaited dream. “I never thought this would become reality,” she expressed. “I’m the curious one who discovered prints in the archive. Sometimes, it’s the persistent, slightly annoying person that makes a difference.

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2025-04-30 03:47