What Technology Replaced Cinerama?

Filmmaking has evolved over the years to take on many different forms as new ideas. And processes have come to light through the more than 100 years of motion picture art. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cinerama was incredibly popular for filmmakers as the widescreen projection process would largely be a focus. But what technology replaced the Cinerama? Behold, the CinemaScope was the next big focus for filmmaking. And while it replaced Cinerama, some of the features provided were similar.

What is CinemaScope?

Cinemascope represents a unique cinematographic process that uses anamorphic lenses to compress a wide image and then uncompress it during projection.

Unlike previous methods of widescreen projection which would use multiple cameras to provide the desired results. The CinemaScope was the first of its kind to offer an affordable widescreen projection process that used a single lens. 

Popular, but not Lasting

CinemaScope films would become incredibly popular for a variety of reasons. They were more affordable than other forms of widescreen projection formats and they could be screened in theaters that had existing equipment from other widescreen formats previously in place.

While the CinemaScope replaced Cinerama, filmmakers and projectionists would not stick with the CinemaScope for too long, either. The evolution of the film industry is such that few formats have stuck around for long as we give rise to new and improved formatting year after year.

What Replaced the CinemaScope?

The anamorphic lens would become popular, and future introductions of other formats of widescreen. Including the manufacturing of anamorphic camera lenses. That would allow for more versatility would threaten CinemaScope films.

Panavision would ultimately push out CinemaScope. And, by the mid to late-1960s many major filmmakers would begin to turn to Panavision instead.

Various Formats

While CinemaScope films were seen in many theaters, many other formats were coming into play. As a result, many Cinemascope films were never actually released in full format, with stereo quality audio as they were intended. 

Rival processes that threatened CinemaScope were simply deemed “Wide-screen.” Soon, nearly every major filmmaker would be filming shows in wide-screen format. Which would ultimately become the standard of the time. 

Studios would seek development of their own widescreen processes, and various other optical processes would come to light as CinemaScope would slowly be pushed out for the Superscope, Techniscope, and other wide-screen formats.