Virtually every current widescreen movie, television broadcast or streamed image benefits from the techniques that have evolved since the widespread adoption of the first practical use of anamorphic photography: CinemaScope. Wildly successful, CinemaScope with its huge screen and vividly panoramic images lured audiences away from their television sets and ended a sharp decline in moviegoing attendance. And yet, generations who grew up from the 1960s through the 1990s experienced these films in a completely disfigured format, sized to fit black-and-white television screens of the era.

The chapters in this book provide a first-time re-evaluation of the cinematic qualities of all 538 major studio-produced/financed films shot in CinemaScope. Also included are excerpts of interviews with cameramen and directors who describe in detail the development and problems presented by widescreen production. Each title entry includes a brief synopsis including major cast members, an analysis highlighting the artistic values present or absent, and comments from critics and trade papers pertinent to the use of the wide screen process.