Best of Cinerama (1963)

The first Cinerama production was titled, This is Cinerama. But it might as well have been titled This is Cinema because the roots go that deep. The five films compiled to make Best of Cinerama, bear a stronger kinship to the medium's pioneers than they do to Ford or Hitchcock. Part documentary, part travelogue, part amusement park ride, these Cinerama productions feel like the logical successors to the short curiosities and one-offs that the Lumiere Brothers and Edison trafficked in. Can't make it to The Louvre to see The Mona Lisa in its natural setting? Cinerama has you covered! Not tall enough to ride a rollercoaster? Cinerama has you covered! This is Cinema at its most elemental. This is Pure Cinema. And it is glorious.