Three Coins in the Fountain is one of the quintessential early scope productions, brimming with wide shots of the hills of Rome, and those fountains, along with a slight case of mumps, inherent in the process
As directed by Jean Negulesco, it was a crowd pleaser of the era, if only for the travelogue aspects, as the plot is paper thin.
As far as CinemaScope goes, it was in its second year of productions. Fox released three in 1953, and then the floodgates opened, with seventeen in 1954. Three Coins was released relatively early on, in May.
The other studios came in with far lower numbers, presumably because the process was owned by Fox. M-G-M released seven, equal to WB, while Universal had two. Paramount had created a superior process in VistaVision.
Twilight Time’s new Blu-ray is a pleasant way to watch the film, although color doesn’t quite pop as I recall in the original prints, which I believe were dye transfer.
The image is clean, with requisite grain, and the audio is nice to hear in 5.1 (or 4.0) stereo. Aspect ratio is proper in the early 2.55 ratio.
A pleasant film, and an important historical part of CinemaScope’s early history.
Image – 4.25
Audio – 5
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from DVD – Absolutely
Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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