As usual, we had our trip planned down to the minute, with just enough time set aside to drive from place to place. I believe in being organized when I travel. You get to see and do so much more when you plan well. 
But then, a wrench: while touring Warner Bros, we discovered that not only was it the fortieth anniversary of the wonderful film “Giant” (1956), but the film was being shown as a special engagement at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. I had seen the film before and loved it; Matt had not. Well, you don’t often get a chance to see a classic wide-screen film on the kind of wide-screen screen for which it was intended, so we decided we had to go see the movie.
The movie clocked in at about 3.5 hours, so of course it threw off our schedule, but it was worth it. There is probably no cinema like the Cinerama Dome in the entire world. It was a real thrill to sit in the darkened theater, watching this sprawling Western with Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean and Mercedes McCambridge.
Now, comes word that the Cinerama Dome and its parent company, Pacific Cinemas, are being closed permanently owing to the virus. To say it is a great loss to cinema is an understatement. Since it opened in 1963, it has hosted hundreds of films, many made in the large 70mm format – in which the film image stretches far to your left and to your right, immersing the viewer in the story of the film.
If the Cinerama Dome is not saved, it will be an irreplaceable loss to the film-going public.
