CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[emdawgz1]

Warner Introduces "SmileBox" with 'How the West Was Won' Blu-ray
Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 11:00 AM ET
Tags: Disc Announcements, Warner (all tags)

Warner has announced an August Blu-ray release for 'How the West Was Won,' which will hit high-def in a first-of-its-kind "SmileBox" version, recreating the original Cinerama experience.

Starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Henry Fonda in one of the all-time classic westerns, 'How the West Was Won' will hit Blu-ray on August 26, day-and-date with a new standard DVD re-issue.
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Packaged in Warner's Digi-Book casing, the set includes a film historian audio commentary, the acclaimed Dave Strohmaier documentary "Cinerama Adventure," the archival featurette "Making of How the West Was One,' and the original theatrical trailer. The Digi-Book also contains a 32-page booklet with behind-the-scenes photos and rare press materials.

Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition will be a "SmileBox" version of the film. The first of its kind on a high-def release, "SmileBox" presents the image with a "unique curvature that virtually recreates the true Cinerama experience" in the home theater environment. (The "SmileBox" version will be included on the Blu-ray in addition to the standard theatrical presentation.)

Warner has not released exact tech specs or audio details as of yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $34.98.

You'll find the latest specs for 'How the West Was Won' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 26.

We've also set up a dedicated thread for Warner's latest in our Forums area -- click the following link to discuss the 'How the West Was Won' Blu-ray release.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Warner/Disc_Announcements/Warner_Introduces_SmileBox_with_How_the_West_Was_Won_Blu-ray/1691

WTH is smilebox you ask???


http://www.cineramaadventure.com/smilebox.htm

[garyfritz]

Good grief. They intentionally distort the video to make it look like you're sitting too close to a Cinerama screen!?

[perisoft]

I like how they need an "Inferno workstation" to do a one-dimensional warp transform on the bitmap. You could probably do that on my blackberry. In Java.