In the DVD version there is a segment entitled Todd AO vs CinemaScope. They show why they had to film two separate versions... Todd AO was filmed at 30 fps and conventional 35mm was shot at 24 fps. Making the 70mm version incompatible for reduction to 35 mm for general release. In the documentary they demonstrated why Mike Todd developed this 70 mm process. Mike Todd had been a part of the first Cinerama production. His son Mike Todd Jr produced the famous roller coaster sequence. Mike Todd Sr later sold his interest in Cinerama and sought to develope a process that replicated Cinerama but did not require the use of three cameras/projectors thereby eliminating the join lines for a seamless picture. He approached American Optical and asked if they could come
up with a lens to have Cinerama out of one hole and they said yes. Todd AO was the end result. They could use a variety of lenses for long, medium and close shots, something Cinerama could not do because of the inflexibility of the camera. Todd AO used a 120 degree bug eye lens to capture a picture close to what Cinerama did but without those "damn lines" as one person is quoted as saying in the documentary. Mike Todd had to use a curved screen with  120 degree curve. Correct me if I am wrong but Cinerama had a patent on their 146 degree curved louvered screen. The documentary uses SmileBox curved screen simulation to show you, the viewer, what audiences experienced with the theatrical release of Oklahoma. My biggest complaint is not only why the 70mm print is not restored to look as it did originally but why not release it with the option to watch it as Mike Todd intended with the SmileBox simulated curved screen effect? The documentary shows us what it looked like with the curved screen simulation and it is impressive. David Strohmaier who has spearheaded restoration and preservation of the original 3 strip Cinerama travelogues uses SmileBox to replicate what audiences of the 1950's saw in the theater. David Stromaier reconstructed Mike Todd jr's Scent of Mystery filmed in Todd 70 and later coverted to 3 strip Cinerama as Holiday in Spain, using original 65mm negatives and 70mm prints to release it in SmileBox as a "Cinerama" film with the permission of Mike Todd jr's family. It is on blu ray and looks great considering the source material they had to work with. David Strohmaier is also working on the home video release of The Golden Head filmed in Technirama and MCS 70 which was released as a "Cinerama" film. It too is getting the SmileBox treatment preserving what audiences saw in 1964. Why release Oklahoma in a "flat" format when the point of it's release was to compete with Cinerama?? It is similar to what started in the 1980's with the colorization of black and white films. These were not intended to be shown in color. After Mike Todd's death all Todd AO films starting with South Pacific were shot at 24fps and projected on a flat screen. This departure totally ruined the original purpose of Todd AO to replicate Cinerama. Several theaters still used the curved screen into the 1960's. Toledo, Ohio had a single lens Cinerama theater set up in 1964 after the 3 strip Cinerama theater closed in 1963. They brought the giant Cinerama screen out of mothballs in 1973 and showed many 70mm films released as Cinerama films as well as Todd AO films one of which was Hello Dolly which looked spectacular on the giant Cinerama screen. It was like I Max...only better in my opinion. I Max is just BIG. It does not use a curved screen to replicate what we see peripherally. That would make I Max even more of a visceral experience. Just my opinion. Do not misunderstand me...I enjoy watching a good movie in black and white with a 1.33 to 1 aspect ratio. High Noon filmed in 1952 in b&w and the old 1.33 to 1 ratio...the same year Cinerama blasted onto the screen. I never tire of watching it. Why do these film studios invite us to a steak dinner only to find out it's a hamburger with french fries...and cold at that. If they are going to the expense of releasing a restoration of a film then for crying out loud release it as audiences saw it in it's original release! Failing to do so is like saying that showing Todd AO on a curved screen as Mike Todd intended never happened. They are in effect rewriting history and blotting out an extremely important part of film history denying a whole new generation to learn how the wide screen revolution of the 1950's changed the way we see films today. Similar films that lack the full theatrical treatment include It' A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Around the World In 80 Days, Grand Prix, 2001 A Space Odyssey and many many others. With flat screen televisions getting larger with higher definition and now utilizing curved screens SmileBox curved screen simulation allows us to get the feel of what it was like to watch a movie on a giant curved screen. To summarize, Mike Todd's Oklahoma used the catch phrase "You're In The Show With Todd AO" in their advertising. David Strohmaier, who is spearheading restoration of the early 3 strip Cinerama films says that this and Around the World In Eighty Days should br restored and made available in flat and SmileBox format to preserve the way Mike Todd wanted the film to be seen.
In the DVD version there is a segment entitled Todd AO vs CinemaScope. They show why they had to film two separate versions... Todd AO was filmed at 30 fps and conventional 35mm was shot at 24 fps. Making the 70mm version incompatible for reduction to 35 mm for general release. In the documentary they demonstrated why Mike Todd developed this 70 mm process. Mike Todd had been a part of the first Cinerama production. His son Mike Todd Jr produced the famous roller coaster sequence. Mike Todd Sr later sold his interest in Cinerama and sought to develope a process that replicated Cinerama but did not require the use of three cameras/projectors thereby eliminating the join lines for a seamless picture. He approached American Optical and asked if they could come
up with a lens to have Cinerama out of one hole and they said yes. Todd AO was the end result. They could use a variety of lenses for long, medium and close shots, something Cinerama could not do because of the inflexibility of the camera. Todd AO used a 120 degree bug eye lens to capture a picture close to what Cinerama did but without those "damn lines" as one person is quoted as saying in the documentary. Mike Todd had to use a curved screen with  120 degree curve. Correct me if I am wrong but Cinerama had a patent on their 146 degree curved louvered screen. The documentary uses SmileBox curved screen simulation to show you, the viewer, what audiences experienced with the theatrical release of Oklahoma. My biggest complaint is not only why the 70mm print is not restored to look as it did originally but why not release it with the option to watch it as Mike Todd intended with the SmileBox simulated curved screen effect? The documentary shows us what it looked like with the curved screen simulation and it is impressive. David Strohmaier who has spearheaded restoration and preservation of the original 3 strip Cinerama travelogues uses SmileBox to replicate what audiences of the 1950's saw in the theater. David Stromaier reconstructed Mike Todd jr's Scent of Mystery filmed in Todd 70 and later coverted to 3 strip Cinerama as Holiday in Spain, using original 65mm negatives and 70mm prints to release it in SmileBox as a "Cinerama" film with the permission of Mike Todd jr's family. It is on blu ray and looks great considering the source material they had to work with. David Strohmaier is also working on the home video release of The Golden Head filmed in Technirama and MCS 70 which was released as a "Cinerama" film. It too is getting the SmileBox treatment preserving what audiences saw in 1964. Why release Oklahoma in a "flat" format when the point of it's release was to compete with Cinerama?? It is similar to what started in the 1980's with the colorization of black and white films. These were not intended to be shown in color. After Mike Todd's death all Todd AO films starting with South Pacific were shot at 24fps and projected on a flat screen. This departure totally ruined the original purpose of Todd AO to replicate Cinerama. Several theaters still used the curved screen into the 1960's. Toledo, Ohio had a single lens Cinerama theater set up in 1964 after the 3 strip Cinerama theater closed in 1963. They brought the giant Cinerama screen out of mothballs in 1973 and showed many 70mm films released as Cinerama films as well as Todd AO films one of which was Hello Dolly which looked spectacular on the giant Cinerama screen. It was like I Max... only better in my opinion. I Max is just BIG. It does not use a curved screen to replicate what we see peripherally. That would make I Max even more of a visceral experience. Just my opinion. Do not misunderstand me... I enjoy watching a good movie in black and white with a 1. 33 to 1 aspect ratio. High Noon filmed in 1952 in b&w and the old 1. 33 to 1 ratio... the same year Cinerama blasted onto the screen. I never tire of watching it. Why do these film studios invite us to a steak dinner only to find out it's a hamburger with french fries... and cold at that. If they are going to the expense of releasing a restoration of a film then for crying out loud release it as audiences saw it in it's original release! Failing to do so is like saying that showing Todd AO on a curved screen as Mike Todd intended never happened. They are in effect rewriting history and blotting out an extremely important part of film history denying a whole new generation to learn how the wide screen revolution of the 1950's changed the way we see films today. Similar films that lack the full theatrical treatment include It' A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Around the World In 80 Days, Grand Prix, 2001 A Space Odyssey and many many others. With flat screen televisions getting larger with higher definition and now utilizing curved screens SmileBox curved screen simulation allows us to get the feel of what it was like to watch a movie on a giant curved screen. To summarize, Mike Todd's Oklahoma used the catch phrase "You're In The Show With Todd AO" in their advertising. David Strohmaier, who is spearheading restoration of the early 3 strip Cinerama films says that this and Around the World In Eighty Days should br restored and made available in flat and SmileBox format to preserve the way Mike Todd wanted the film to be seen.