South Seas Adventure

This 1958 feature was the fifth and final travel spectacle produced using the Cinerama process, which involved shooting with three separate cameras that were calibrated to present a single, nearly-seamless picture when displayed via synchronized projectors. Most of the original Cinerama productions were glorified travelogues designed to showcase the method itself—the original high-definition theater format. Accordingly, South Seas Adventure offers a tour of the Pacific Islands and cultures, opening with a cruise to Hawaii where two young women go looking for excitement and romance, and then jumping around as different characters guide us through Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and then back to Hawaii for a dream wedding. Most of the sequences employ narration rather than dialogue to carry the audience along, with Orson Welles' easy voice of authority bridging the chapters. More historical oddity than rediscovered classic, it's a meandering nonfiction trip through beautiful vistas and native dances and rituals performed for the camera—albeit with truly stunning visual quality. Flicker Alley presents the complete experience here, with overture, intermission, and entr'acte, all in the “Smilebox” format, which flairs the image wide at the edges to simulate the wraparound big-screen experience. Presented on a Blu-ray/DVD Combo, extras include audio commentary, interviews, related archival shorts, and a booklet. Interesting both as cinema history and as a window onto 1950s South Seas culture, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)