We’re very excited to announce the full line-up for the 19th edition of Widescreen Weekend, with individual tickets and passes now on sale. Back for 2015 from 15–18 October, we’ll be welcoming Hollywood royalty from both sides of the camera to join in the celebration of cinema technology and REAL FILM, REALLY BIG—if we do say so ourselves!
If you’ve not already seen the whole programme, let us take you through some of the highlights of what’s coming up. We’re delighted to welcome Oscar-nominated and double-BAFTA-winning screen goddess Leslie Caron for an exclusive talk to celebrate her life, work and unique contribution to the art of cinema. You’ll hear first-hand about her illustrious career, from dancing with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Rudolf Nureyev, to co-starring with Cary Grant, Henry Fonda and Orson Welles. Following the talk we also have a rare 35mm screening of her iconic musical Gigi on Saturday 16 October.
One of the great entrepreneurial film-makers of recent times, Douglas Trumbull, flies into Bradford to deliver Widescreen Weekend’s keynote address on the state of cinema and what he hopes the future may hold. Hired by Stanley Kubrick to provide many of the effects shots on 2001: A Space Odyssey, Douglas’ keynote speech will be followed by a rare screening of that film on 70mm, the way it was meant to be seen.
To further celebrate cinematic achievement in the sci-fi genre, Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin will give a behind-the-scenes look at how he and his team went about creating Oscar-winning imagery worthy of the widest of wide screens. With over 20 years’ experience in the business, Paul has helped to create many fantastical film worlds—from Hogwarts to Gotham City and beyond. Paul will take you through the making of Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s most recent blockbuster, followed by a screening of the film in 70mm.
Taking the unique widescreen experience even further, we’re bringing back what was hailed as the next cinematic marvel to stimulate audiences from 1960: Smell-O-Vision. 55 years after the original release of A Holiday in Spain (originally titled Scent of Mystery), we’re giving you the first chance experience the film as intended—restored, remastered, and in cutting-edge and glorious Smell-O-Vision!
We also hope to delight your ears with musical treats in the form of big screen presentations of Fiddler on the Roof and Oklahoma! with a special 60th anniversary screening celebrating the latter film as the first to be released on the Todd-AO format. The biggest Western adventures of all time will grace the museum’s screen, with The Magnificent Seven screened on 35mm, and How the West was Won in unique three-strip Cinerama. The museum is one of only three cinemas in the world able to screen this glorious widescreen format. This is the kind of technology that can bring you compilation films such as The Best of Cinerama and Cineramacana screening on Pictureville’s curved screen, allowing you to travel around the world and delve into 70mm clips from the museum’s archive.
We’re also very proud to pay tribute to the late, great Richard Attenborough with a 70mm screening of his acclaimed retelling of Operation Market Garden, A Bridge Too Far, with Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery leading an all-star cast.
Smellovision? WTF? LOL