Research theme - cinematography

CinemaScope — History and Characteristics

A historical overview of the successive introduction of wide formats into movies, specifically CinemaScope.

With the introduction of a new generation of television receivers with a 16:9 screen ratio (different from the 4:3 screen ratio up to now), new possibilities for the adequate broadcasting of CinemaScope films (1:2.35) on television are now available. That is the basic reason for the author’s engagement regarding the history of this wide screen format, the technical and creative problems during shooting and screening, as well as the most significant feature films in Croatian and world cinema. The last section talks about CinemaScope on television. Even though cinemas were the primary place where CinemaScope films could be seen and experienced, the time is at hand when this anamorphic procedure will live once again on television.

Cinemas introduced CinemaScope as weapon in its battle with competing television (1953). Now these two media complement each other precisely with the help of CinemaScope. We can assume that the broadcasting of CinemaScope films on television will also motivate a large number of new films that will be shot in that format and thus, at least partly, force out the presently dominant 1:1.66 ratio.

Krešimir Mikić