Windjammer, a film made in 1957, was noted for a new camera technique, Cinemiracle. Unfortunately, the cinemiracle didn’t take off like the film did. Flicker Alley has now restored the film, and you can read all about it at Hyperallergic, as well as find the link to purchase the newly restored film.
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Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
I saw this film when I was a kid, though it must have been a re-release since I would have been too young in 1957.
I don’t remember too much about it, except one scene: the big gasp-inducing reveal when they opened out to full widescreen Cinerama. (The opening scenes used only the center third of the screen, then much like at the beginning of this trailer, the full width kicked in on a scene of the ship coming toward you under full sail.) That was pretty impressive.
The only other movie I’ve seen in Cinerama was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick also made good use of the wide format.
I saw it as a kid too, but same as you, because I was born in ’57.