In 1958, the New York Times published a review of  Louis de Rochemont’s new movie “Windjammer.”  It began:

“Every last moviegoer with a drop of salt water in his blood will want to swing aboard “Windjammer,” which opened at the Roxy last night. For this giant, panoramic color picture of a 17,000-mile ocean cruise in a Norwegian training sailing vessel, shown in the new Cinemiracle process, which is akin to Cinerama, is so full of the thrills and beauties of ocean sailing that it takes the breath away.”

A worn and faded copy of the movie was located in 1997 and over the last decade a team of film professionals from Sweden and the United States has been at work restoring the movie.    A new DVD and theatrical version is hoped to be completed some time in 2011.

“Windjammer” – On it’s way to a home screen near you, and maybe the cinema too

FINALLY! The Windjammer Restoration Preview & Restored Trailer

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The movie follows the tall ship Christian Radich and its crew from Oslo, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, to New York City, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and then back home to Oslo.

The movie was shot in the “Cinemiracle” format using a three headed camera which captured an image with a 146 degree field of view and recorded sound in seven track stereo.  The movie was projected using three synchronized projectors on on a huge curved screen.  In its day, it was a hit playing for 36 weeks at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and for 24 weeks at New York’s Roxy Theatre where it was shown on a special curved screen 100 by 40 feet (12 m) in size.

Thnaks to Alaric Bond for passing the story along.