Once upon a time (or more
specifically 1952) the amazing Cinerama film process premiered with “This is
Cinerama”, and for the next ten years moviegoers lined up to hurl down a
rollercoaster, cling tight on a runaway train, make a dangerous flyover at a
volcano, even sit and watch an opera, in the comfort of roadshow seats. Three cameras filming in
synchronization and mounted on a shell the size of a refrigerator captured a
panorama of wonders from around the world. This undertaking was legitimized
when three projectors, along with a fourth reel just for the multi-track sound,
spread these vistas across a curved screen and across the country. Cinerama was
a technical marvel…and not a small response to television!
Finally, after a decade of impressive
travelogues, Cinerama joined forces with MGM. The objective: begin to produce
films with actual stories using this immersive presentation. In June 1961, the
popular LIFE Magazine series “How the West Was Won” began its transition to a
giant of a western film; an all-star cast with three directors attached. A
month later, George Pal began production on “The Wonderful World of the
Brothers Grimm” and it would also employ more than one director. Henry Levin
would handle the real-life dramatics, while Pal lent his gentle hand to the
three fairy tales that would surround the story.
“Brothers Grimm” actually opened
before “How the West Was Won” and got its share of kind but not outstanding
reviews. The three fairy tales presented are not as dynamic as a Snow White or
Cinderella, but of course those stories have been strongly “Disneyfied”, so it
certainly made more sense to use less familiar subjects. What played between
the tales could be another issue: the mixture of drama (including Wilhelm Grimm
being deathly ill in the last half hour) sandwiched with “The Dancing Princess”
or “The Singing Bone” seems a tough grind for an audience full of kids. But Russ Tamblyn is a major
contributor to the fun aspects of the film, with terrific comedy, dancing and a
few dangerous stunts.
With “Brothers Grimm” and "How the West Was Won",
three strip Cinerama went out with positive memories, but it did go out.
Audiences enjoyed it but directors and actors didn’t. A decent close up was out
of the question, actors had to look past their subjects to make it appear
normal for the camera, and cinematographers tried using several inventive ways
to hide the join lines.(Trees and doorways were popular.) The rest of roadshow
Cinerama would originate from various 70mm formats with an image squeeze to wrap
around the curved screen. It was not quite the same, of course, but it brought
success to epics like “Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “2001: A Space
Odyssey”. (Viewing the Cinerama version of “2001”, one fell into space, a
feeling not achieved with any regular 70mm version.)
Time had not been kind to “Brothers
Grimm”. For many years, home video used a print down version (merging the three
panels into a single strip) with less-than-stellar results. Indeed, it was
tough to judge the merits of the film because (to use the words of the late
Cinerama expert John Harvey) it became “The Grim World of the Brothers
Wonderful”. A last hurrah occurred at a Cinerama Dome festival several years
ago when a surviving three panel version played to grateful widescreen fans.
Note: with both “Mad World” and the previously lost “The Golden Head” on the
schedule, a few called the weekend “The Buddy Hackett Film Fest"! And Russ
Tamblyn came to the rescue again when the film broke down for a few minutes and
the movie’s wonderful woodsman filled the time with some behind-the-scenes
stories.
That night, those who were not around for “Brothers
Grimm”s initial Cinerama run discovered the glory previously hidden by its
video version. The surviving print had rough spots but no matter; when the
walk-out music began the Dome audience applauded with the attitude of “We’ve
finally seen this film the way we were supposed to.”
And that, we all thought, was
that.
Photo: Dave Strohmaier
Over the years, producer, editor
(and showmanship expert) Dave Strohmaier has gathered the best technicians in
film and video to transfer the original Cinerama films, including “How the West
Was Won” for the Blu-Ray format. The results are nothing short of remarkable,
and all those titles belong in a film fan’s library. In fact, “How the West Was
Won” has become the standard Blu-Ray for setup according to many home theater
buffs. But while that film’s elements were in excellent shape, some of “Brothers
Grimm” was not. Determining that a photochemical
restoration would be cost prohibitive, if not impossible, Dave Strohmaier, Tom
March and an army of experts set out to create a new digital presentation of
this abandoned work of widescreen art. The result is the best way to see George
Pal’s 1962 effort since, well, 1962.
Like the Warner Archive's Blu-Ray of “How the West Was Won”, “Brothers
Grimm” is a two disc set containing a “Letterboxed” presentation and a “Smilebox”
version, that replicates the experience of seeing the film in its curved screen
Cinerama glory. Choices like this are again another reason to appreciate the
disc medium.
Most may agree that “Brothers Grimm”
is one of George Pal’s most ambitious projects. But is it his greatest
achievement? Probably not. Justin Humphreys, curator of the estate of George
Pal, reflects that the film misses classic status, yet it does accomplish what
Pal, Levin, MGM and Cinema set out to make: a colorful, lively, musical, family
friendly event at the cinema. The money is up on the screen and the European
locations are major attractions.
So the greatness is found,
perhaps not in the film itself but certainly in this Blu-Ray presentation; many
home theater enthusiasts consider “Brothers Grimm” the home video release of
the year, and I agree. From the clarity of Leigh Harline’s Oscar-nominated
score to Paul Vogel’s cinematography, the film sounds and looks like it was
produced today. In fact, due to the richness of Technicolor, dare we say it
looks better than much of what we see in theaters today.
Special features are spread over
both discs; radio interviews, trailers, photo slideshows, a salute to William
R. Forman, promotional artwork, a delightful mini-doc “The Wonderful Career of
George Pal”. But the headliner is surely the 40-minute “Rescuing a Fantasy
Classic” documentary, an in-depth look at the massive digital restoration.
Thanks to the Warner Archive, Dave
Strohmaier, Tom March and the team involved, “The Wonderful World of the
Brothers Grimm” has been given another opportunity to entertain and to live on…happily ever after.