PICTUREVILLE in Bradford is the only place in the world where you can see Cinerama - and this autumn there’s a chance to see some big screen classics in a special programme of “big, bold cinema experiences”.
The Widescreen Weekend film festival returns to the National Science and Media Museum to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the pioneering process of CinemaScope.
The programme includes the extended cuts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy shown back-to-back on the city’s curved Cinerama screen.
Running from September 28 to October 2, this year’s festival will explore screen history and cinema technology with a programme celebrating the past, present and future of film. Experience glorious print 35mm and 70mm screenings, Cinerama restorations, talks and events that will “re-ignite your love for the magical experience of going to the movies”.
It pays homage to CinemaScope, which dominated cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Created in reaction to the growth of television, the aim of the process was to entice audiences back to the cinema with a more immersive viewing experience.
Widescreen Weekend will open with a special screening of Kaagaz Ke Phool or Paper Flowers (1959), the first South Asian film to be in CinemaScope. A heartfelt story is told in black and white, it was widely considered to be ahead of its time.
Other screenings include The Robe (1953), the first film to be released in CinemaScope, and Lady and the Tramp (1955), the first animation using the process. The festival will also spotlight international adaptations of the process, including the French ‘Franscope’, with a screening of The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) and Japan’s ‘TohoScope’, with The Hidden Fortress (1958).
Celebrating some of the trailblazing actors of this era of cinema, the Queens of the Scope Age strand will spotlight Joanne Woodward, Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons, and Hideko Takamine, with screenings of No Down Payment (1957), Guys and Dolls (1955), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), and When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960).
Taking place on Saturday September 30 is the festival’s first overnight movie marathon. Festival-goers can experience all three of the extended cuts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Pictureville Cinema’s curved Cinerama screen - the last of its kind in the world - providing a truly immersive experience.
Cinerama utilises three synchronized projectors to project images onto a deeply curved and wide screen, accompanied by 7-track surround sound. With Pictureville currently the only remaining operating Cinerama venue in the world, the festival programme will feature opportunities to see this cinematic spectacle in both analogue and digital formats.
There will be a series of one-off Cinerama screenings, including Windjammer: The Voyage of Christian Radich (1958) and by popular demand, Battle of the Bulge (1965) - marking the 100th anniversary of Warner Brothers.
A further series of special events and screenings will be announced later this summer.
As well as events at the National Science and Media Museum, the festival will also be heading out across the city, with a series of double bills screening at Bradford Playhouse and other community screenings throughout the weekend.
Bradford Playhouse will be hosting: Haunted Houses - celebrate the spine-chilling thrill of widescreen haunted house horrors with 1960s gothic classic, House of Usher and 2014 Australian psychological horror sensation The Babadook;
Heists and Robberies - a double bill of widescreen heists, criminal capers, and daring getaways, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and Michael Mann’s seminal 1995 heist thriller, Heat; High Society - celebrate the opulence of widescreen period dramas with 1955 CinemaScope masterpiece Lola Montes and 2016 South Korean psychological thriller, The Handmaiden.
Sally Folkard, Head of Screen and Cultural Engagement, says: “We are thrilled that Widescreen Weekend Festival is returning this autumn with a packed programme celebrating a diverse range of stories from around the world.
“This year’s programme is particularly special as it marks the 70th anniversary of CinemaScope, a process which dominated cinema in its golden age. We’re excited to be opening the festival with a screening of Kaagaz Ke Phool the first South Asian film to be made in CinemaScope. It’s a beautiful film and a real treat for audiences to see it on the big screen.
“Our programme allows festival-goers to be immersed in truly unique cinema experiences, including being able to see Cinerama in the last remaining venue in the world to screen it. We already have a fantastic lineup of speakers and special events confirmed and will announce more very soon, so watch this space.”
The National Science and Media Museum is currently closed to the public until summer 2024 to undergo a £6 million transformation. Thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and money raised by the National Lottery, the major Sound and Vision project will create two new galleries, an additional passenger lift and an enhanced foyer space.
The project also has support from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2022-24, Bradford Council, and the Science Museum Group, which the National Science and Media Museum is a part of.
Throughout the period of closure, Pictureville Cinema and Bar will remain open seven days a week with an “enhanced programme of film screenings”.
* For more information about the Widescreen Weekend festival go to scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinema/widescreen-weekend
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here