This massive YouTube AI trend for '1950s Super Panavision 70' is amazing, gets MILLIONS of views, but makes me a bit queasy

Woman and boy in retro style
This image, from 1950s Robocop, is the closest I could find to 1950s fashion in any of the videos! (Image credit: AI FlickNips)

From almost nowhere, YouTube is filling with trailers for famous movies in '1950s Super Panavision 70' style. Whether the creators of these trailers have ever seen a Panavision lens is, however, open to doubt – as is their understanding of the 1950s – because every one of the trailers they're creating is made with AI.

Panavision partnered with MGM to develop immersive widescreen cinema images to compete with CinemaScope in the 1950s, culminating in Super Panavision 70. The first film shot on 70mm film using this system was 1959's The Big Fisherman, in 2.20:1 aspect ratio. Team members left, the company changed, the format fought on through the 1960s, but it wasn't really popular again until Quentin Tarantino revived it for The Hateful Eight in 2015.

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Adam Juniper
Managing Editor

With over 20 years of expertise as a tech journalist, Adam brings a wealth of knowledge across a vast number of product categories, including timelapse cameras, home security cameras, NVR cameras, photography books, webcams, 3D printers and 3D scanners, borescopes, radar detectors… and, above all, drones. 

Adam is our resident expert on all aspects of camera drones and drone photography, from buying guides on the best choices for aerial photographers of all ability levels to the latest rules and regulations on piloting drones. 

He is the author of a number of books including The Complete Guide to Drones, The Smart Smart Home Handbook, 101 Tips for DSLR Video and The Drone Pilot's Handbook

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