Customer Reviews

CinemaScope Two: 20th Century-Fox

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Here is a follow-up book to "CinemaScope One: Stupendous in 'Scope" which provided a general overview of the CinemaScope (or widescreen) Revolution initiated by 20th Century-Fox in 1953 with "The Robe". The third book in the series, CinemaScope 3: HOLLYWOOD TAKES THE PLUNGE, was published in 2006. As the name implies, "CinemaScope Two" concentrates on 20th Century-Fox, that creative and innovative Hollywood studio which, under the inspired leadership of Darryl F. Zanuck, led the whole motion picture industry out of the TV doldrums and into the 21st century. Here is a complete list of Fox's CinemaScope releases and here are all the facts on some of the Fox films that captured the public's attention (and more importantly, money). No less than 140 of them in fact are lovingly detailed with extensive cast and technical credits and much background information. And to round the book off nicely, there are lots of interesting reproductions (in black-and-white, alas) of contemporary CinemaScope posters from all over the world.

The following five-star review by editor, Ross Adams, appeared in the May 2010 issue of "Dress Circle", the quarterly print magazine for Movie Enthusiasts and Collectors: "CinemaScope Two: 20th Century-Fox" was first published in 2005, but I am looking now at the 2009 reprint. Running at 260 pages, the book contains a wealth of information about the great CinemaScope movies from the Fox Studios and also some of the lesser productions in "Regalscope" that Fox released in the 1950s and 1960s. There is also a listing of British films released in 'Scope. On the opening page, author John Howard Reid gives a background to the CinemaScope revolution. At the back of the book is a complete listing in alphabetical order with release dates, plus a massive 42 pages of lobby card and poster reproductions. The front cover, as pictured, features a radiant photo of Rita Hayworth, while the back cover has a color shot from "How To Marry a Millionaire" showing Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable. In all, 141 movies are detailed and reviewed in John Howard Reid's inimitable style, with complete cast and crew personnel, production and release dates in the USA, England and Australia, alternate titles, dubbing, footage and running times. Each film also has a Synopsis, a viewer's guide, and reviews from other critics. This is a great book for the Fox CinemaScope aficionado who will no doubt drool over the array of films presented in such depth, including An Affair To Remember, The Agony and the Ecstacy, Anastasia, Bachelor Flat, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, The Blue Max, Can-Can, Carmen Jones, Carousel, The Comancheros, Daddy Long Legs, Demetrius and the Gladiators, Desk Set, Doctor Dolittle, The Egyptian, Fantastic Voyage, The Fly, Garden of Evil, The Girl Can't Help It, Good Morning Miss Dove, Hell and High Water, House of Bamboo, How To Marry a Millionaire, The King and I, King of the Khyber Rifles, The Last Wagon, A Man Called Peter, Night People, On the Threshold of Space, The Racers, The Rains of Ranchipur, The Robe, State Fair, The Story on Page One, The Stripper, The Sun Also Rises, That Lady, The Third Voice, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, The True Story of Jesse James, The View from Pompey's Head, The Virgin Queen, Von Ryan's Express, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Warlock, Way to the Gold, The Wayward Bus, What a Way To Go! And over 90 more!