Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in VistaVision

When the family of Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) is killed in a Comanche raid, he spends years looking for his kidnapped niece—but her uncle may prove more of a threat than her abductors. John Ford’s epic, morally complex Western drama has become one of his most revered films in the 70 years since its release. It has been cited as a favorite by many filmmakers, including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, and has influenced films as diverse as Star Wars (1977) and Hardcore (1979). Three-time Oscar winner Winton C. Hoch (The Quiet Man, 1952) shot the film in VistaVision on stunning outdoor locations, including Monument Valley, culminating in a powerful, frequently imitated final image.

The final film directed by blockbuster master Cecil B. DeMille is a lavish remake of his own 1923 silent epic. Charlton Heston, as Moses, leads a stellar cast, including Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Rameses II, Anne Baxter as the lustful Nefretiri, and Edward G. Robinson as the rebellious Dathan. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, and John Fulton (The Invisible Man, 1933) won for its special effects, which included such classic Biblical sequences as the Burning bush, the Ten Plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea.

Stanley Donen directed this charming May-December romantic musical comedy that pokes fun at the world of fashion photography and features songs by George and Ira Gershwin, as well as Technicolor cinematography of Paris locations. Fred Astaire plays the photographer (inspired by Richard Avedon, whose work appears in the film), and Audrey Hepburn is the shy bookshop assistant who becomes his model and muse.

Based on the unproduced play Next of Kin, Hot Spell is a New Orleans-set drama about matriarch Alma, whose boundless optimism stands at odds with her husband John’s philandering and her adult children’s desire to move on from the family home. Set during one sweltering summer evening, screenwriter James Poe, who also adapted Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), slowly ratchets up the pressure on the tenuous facade of the happy mid-century nuclear family. Starring a trifecta of Oscar winners—Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba, 1952), Anthony Quinn (Wild is the Wind, 1958; Zorba the Greek, 1964), Shirley MacLaine (Terms of Endearment, 1983)—and supported by another—Eileen Heckart (Butterflies Are Free, 1972) as Alma’s jaded best friend—this tender, layered production offers a heartbreaking view of generational tensions and the nuances of family dynamics.   

This popular musical comedy inspired by Irving Berlin’s Oscar-winning song from Holiday Inn (1942) was the first feature to be filmed and released in VistaVision. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star as war veterans and entertainers who become romantically involved with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen). Directed by Oscar winner Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, 1943), White Christmas features delightful musical numbers spotlighting more than a dozen Irving Berlin songs, including the nominated “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)”.

Seasoned performer Bill Benson (Bing Crosby) and rising star Ted Adams (Donald O’Connor) team up to find the perfect leading lady for their new Broadway show. Each performer finds a compelling talent—American Patsy Blair (Mitzi Gaynor) and French nightclub star Gaby Duval (Jeanmaire)—and the conflict of who to cast heightens the stakes. Blending backstage drama with a bit of farce, this beloved narrative offers a musical spectacle driven as much by personal risk as ambition. The film represents a significant first: Robert Lewis’s solo directorial debut after a storied career with The Group Theater. It also marks a historic last as Crosby’s final film for Paramount Pictures during the waning years of his film career.

John Robie (Cary Grant), a former French Resistance fighter and cat burglar, is enjoying his early retirement in the Riviera when a series of thefts make him once more the prime suspect—and for the beautiful heiress Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly), these suspicions only add to his appeal. Alfred Hitchcock paired two of Hollywood’s most effortlessly glamorous stars for this witty combination of romantic comedy and caper thriller, adapted by John Michael Hayes (Rear Window, 1954) from the novel by David Dodge. The Oscar-winning VistaVision cinematography of Hitchcock’s regular collaborator Robert Burks (Strangers on a Train, 1951) captures the beauty of the co-stars and the setting in all its splendor.

“It isn’t fair! Here we are, three desperate criminals who will stop at nothing to escape from Devil’s Island, and we have to fall in with nice people!” So laments Jules (Peter Ustinov), one of a trio of convicts stuck on the French-controlled isle on Christmas Eve, 1895, where they fall in with the lovely proprietors of a local supply shop. Crime, romance, and dark comedy collide in an entertaining tale of unexpected guardian angels from director and star of Casablanca (1942) Michael Curtiz and Humphrey Bogart, with the actor in a rare comedic role. The material was rich enough for director Neil Jordan to revisit in 1989, this time with Oscar-winning stars Robert De Niro and Sean Penn.

Hitchcock plays with the concept of the wrong man, a frequent theme in his narratives, in one of the most admired and entertaining of his mid-career films. North by Northwest stars four-time collaborator Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, a suave ad executive whose identity is mistaken for a government agent. Ruthless spy Philip Vandamm (James Mason) is after Thornhill; on a separate mission is a group of secret agents who follows Thornhill across the country. On the run, Thornhill meets Eve Kendall, a mesmerizing, peculiar woman whose mysterious identity amplifies the level of danger he is in. The film’s ironically ecstatic tone parallels the enchanting aspect of Grant’s portrayal of Thornhill—elegantly sarcastic with a witty sense of humor. Processed in Technicolor, this spectacular thriller showcases now-iconic action sequences such as the crop duster plane chase and climax at Mount Rushmore.

The second film from Dena Enterprises, the production company founded by actor Danny Kaye (White Christmas, 1954) and his songwriter wife, Sylvia Fine, The Court Jester is a delightful vehicle for the comedic icon to showcase his unparalleled timing, physical humor, and witty wordplay. Kaye is Hubert Hawkins, a retired carnival performer who disguises himself as a jester to help overturn an evil plot against a rightful British king. This ridiculous romp, with undeniable star Kaye at its center, is buttressed by a sincere Glynis Johns (Mary Poppins, 1964) as Maid Jean and an arch Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes,1939–1946) as Lord Ravenhurst. The most expensive comedy ever made at the time, primarily for its lavish sets, The Court Jester earned Kaye a Golden Globe nomination, and in 2004, the National Film Registry added the film to its list of titles considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

This gritty biopic dives into the smoky, dangerous glamor of Prohibition-era Chicago for the true story of nightclub performer Joe E. Lewis, famous for being one of the few people who could make gangster Al Capone laugh. Crooner Frank Sinatra, lauded by the film's marketing as “the most electric personality of our time,” follows Lewis’s highs and lows with the same realism and range he brought to The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Ol’ Blue Eyes also adds musical dimension to the character — the real Lewis was more comedian than singer—with director Charles Vidor (no relation to fellow director King) compounding his experience with musicals and comedies into a story with dramatic nuance.

This zany romantic comedy was the fourteenth film to pair iconic comic duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, released a year before their professional breakup. Martin plays Rick, a struggling painter, and Lewis is his roommate, Eugene, who is obsessed with a comic book character called Bat Lady. They become entangled with Bat Lady’s creator (Dorothy Malone) and her roommate/model (Shirley MacLaine) in a farcical plot that manages to incorporate government secrets and enemy spies. Frank Tashlin’s background in animation made him the perfect choice to direct this cartoon-infused romp, and he would collaborate often with Lewis after the split with Martin.

Fast-talking Rosalind Russell (His Girl Friday, 1940) is absolutely captivating as Kim Halliday, the daughter of a deceased career gambler who joins her father’s former business partner to run a Vegas casino. Russell's unflappable confidence is a fine match for the swagger of Fernando Lamas as Victor Monte, a rival club owner who vies for Kim’s affections—and her casino. There’s nothing quite like the neon lights of Sin City captured in high-definition VistaVision and vibrant Technicolor, which appear here in gorgeous documentary footage of the Strip; like most studio productions of the era, however, the bulk of this musical comedy was shot on producer Paramount’s lot.

Paul Thomas Anderson won Oscars for Directing, Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture (along with fellow producers Adam Somner and Sara Murphy) for his epic comedy-thriller, loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland, about a retired revolutionary (Best Actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio) trying to protect his teenage daughter from a fanatical military officer (Supporting Actor winner Sean Penn). Anderson’s longtime casting director Cassandra Kulukundis won the Academy’s inaugural Oscar for Casting, her expertly chosen ensemble including past Oscar winners (including Supporting Actor nominee Benicio Del Toro), veteran character actors, comedy writers, and impressive newcomers such as Chase Infiniti, who plays DiCaprio’s daughter.

Marlon Brando took on his only feature directing project—following the last-minute departure of original director Stanley Kubrick—with this character-oriented Western about a bank robber who tracks down a friend (frequent Brando co-star Karl Malden) who betrayed him. The Academy Award–nominated VistaVision color cinematography by Charles Lang Jr. (How the West Was Won,1962) makes strong use of scenic locations in Mexico and California, with vivid imagery of Brando riding his horse along the Monterey coastline. Until 2024, One-Eyed Jacks was the final film shot with the VistaVision process.