CinemaScope Summer
July 11–Sept. 17
Introduced in 1953 by 20th Century–Fox, CinemaScope was Hollywood’s biggest bid to ensure theatrical entertainment held sway over broadcast television, which had grown rapidly since its commercial expansion in the late ‘40s. Utilizing anamorphic lenses developed by inventor Henri Chrétien that captured a wider image than previous formats, CinemaScope ensured that the motion-picture image would have a scale no tiny screen could compete with — and stories to match. As the pioneers of the format, 20th Century–Fox were the most invested in it, but in time all major American studios would make films in some version of the format (originally a 2.55:1 ratio, later standardized at 2.35:1 to include sound-on-film soundtracks). In Hollywood, the medium was utilized for spectacular genres like ancient-world epics, musicals and wide-horizon westerns, but innovative CinemaScope films also came from overseas in Italy, France, the USSR and Japan. (See our Tatsuya Nakadai restrospective for some examples.)
See more CinemaScope films in our Marilyn Monroe centennial series.
CinemaScope Summer is also part of Big Screen Summer, co-curated by AFI Silver, the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Asian Art and film scholar Lalitha Gopalan.
Introduction
Free ShowingShowtimes
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954)
Friday, July 17, 2026
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Thursday, July 23, 2026
BONJOUR TRISTESSE (1958)
Friday, August 21, 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Monday, August 24, 2026
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
CARMEN JONES
Friday, July 17, 2026
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Thursday, July 23, 2026
FORBIDDEN PLANET
Saturday, August 08, 2026
Sunday, August 09, 2026
Monday, August 10, 2026
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
GUNMAN'S WALK
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Monday, August 31, 2026
Tuesday, September 01, 2026
Thursday, September 03, 2026
THE INNOCENTS (1961)
Friday, September 04, 2026
Monday, September 07, 2026
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
Wednesday, September 09, 2026
Thursday, September 10, 2026
PICNIC (1956)
Friday, September 04, 2026
Sunday, September 06, 2026
Monday, September 07, 2026
Thursday, September 10, 2026
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
Friday, July 31, 2026
Saturday, August 01, 2026
Monday, August 03, 2026
Thursday, August 06, 2026
