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Back in 1993 I was visiting Vegas and this was a month after the Luxor hotel casino had opened it's doors. Back then this building was amazing, with it's talking camels and the boat trip down the nile. Not so much now sadly, all gone!
On the lower floor of the buildings atrium originally were three cinemas, each one showing a part of a trilogy that had been produced by Douglas Trumbull. Each part of the trilogy was filmed in a one off film format, and need a special auditorium to screen them.
This first film of the trilogy "In search for an obelisk". was shot in Trumbull's Showscan format. but using rear projection.
The film itself is rather insipid, but the technique was amazing to view. At one point you are watching what appears to be a live TV talk show being filmed on a stage in front of you. In actuality, you are watching a movie, but he illusion is so real that actors come out an stand in front of the screen and you can't tell them apart from the filmed actors. It was amazing.
The second part "Luxor Live", was filmed in Showscan 3d 60fps format and was wonderful to see for the first time.
The third part was the most bizarre. If you can imagine a ultra panavision screen turn on its side vertically, from floor to ceiling.
The film "Secrets of the Luxor Pyramid" was filmed in vertical 7perf Vistavision running at 48 fps, this also used an anamorphic lens. This was the only presentation ever in this format, and again was amazing to see for the first time.
I am just wondering if anybody else saw this presentation, as I have been looking for years to find out more about the technical side of these films. Apart from them being listed on IMDb there is no other information about this experience. It's as if it didn't exist.
On the lower floor of the buildings atrium originally were three cinemas, each one showing a part of a trilogy that had been produced by Douglas Trumbull. Each part of the trilogy was filmed in a one off film format, and need a special auditorium to screen them.
This first film of the trilogy "In search for an obelisk". was shot in Trumbull's Showscan format. but using rear projection.
The film itself is rather insipid, but the technique was amazing to view. At one point you are watching what appears to be a live TV talk show being filmed on a stage in front of you. In actuality, you are watching a movie, but he illusion is so real that actors come out an stand in front of the screen and you can't tell them apart from the filmed actors. It was amazing.
The second part "Luxor Live", was filmed in Showscan 3d 60fps format and was wonderful to see for the first time.
The third part was the most bizarre. If you can imagine a ultra panavision screen turn on its side vertically, from floor to ceiling.
The film "Secrets of the Luxor Pyramid" was filmed in vertical 7perf Vistavision running at 48 fps, this also used an anamorphic lens. This was the only presentation ever in this format, and again was amazing to see for the first time.
I am just wondering if anybody else saw this presentation, as I have been looking for years to find out more about the technical side of these films. Apart from them being listed on IMDb there is no other information about this experience. It's as if it didn't exist.
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