Movie With A Message

A good film, in the opinion of many movie critics, is one which evokes a positive emotional response. The noted playwright, Maxwell Anderson, likened such a response to a religious experience.

If this is the criterion for judging films, then there is an extremely good film being shown hourly in the Billy Graham Pavilion. The avowed purpose of "Man in the Fifth Dimension" is to move viewers to receive Christ as Savior and Lord -- right there and then. Certainly, this is a call to a positive emotional response, whose demand for immediacy and importance of decision is without precedent in film annals. But judging from the lines making their way to the counseling rooms behind doors at each end of the screen, it is a successful call.

The film, the focal point of the "crusade in Flushing Meadow," is shown in a red-carpeted, gold-draped theater which seats 400. The exterior brick walls of the theater are striking photo presentations in themselves. They are lined with 14 photographic enlargements which trace Mr. Graham's worldwide crusades. Two backlighted panels are four feet by 20 feet, and 12 panels are nine feet by four feet.

Made by Mr. Graham's own World Wide Picture Company, the 28-minute, 70mm Todd-AO color film was filmed at spiritually significant locales throughout the world, and details the story of man from the Creation. It closes with Mr. Graham's call to make a decision for Christ. During the first year of the Fair, it is estimated that more than one million people will see the film.

A unique feature of the film presentation is a simultaneous translation system, similar to that in use at the United Nations, to reach visitors from abroad. Speaking in English, Mr. Graham is heard narrating the film. A control built into the arm rest of each chair in the air-conditioned theater can switch the sound track to a choice of six different languages which are heard through a plastic earpiece: French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Japanese and German. The multi-lingual seven-channel system was installed by Round Hill Associates. It is hoped that in the second year of the Fair, eight-channel translation will be possible.

"Man in the Fifth Dimension" took seven months to shoot, and was World Wide Pictures' most ambitious effort to date. Scripted by James F. Collier, it was produced by World Wide's president, Dick Ross. Mr. Ross was an American Film Festival Blue Ribbon winner for the movie "Africa On The Bridge," a documentary of the Billy Graham Crusade in the emerging continent.

Filming took the company from Mount Palomar, where footage was shot through the great 200-inch telescope there, to the Holy Land. Interior scenes were filmed at Paramount's Studios in Hollywood.

Visiting the Holy Land can be a moving experience for anyone. But tensions between Israel and the Arab world can make location shooting there difficult.

The religious rift splitting the Holy Land was felt when Mr. Ross and Jim Collier went from the Jordanian side of Jerusalem, through the Mandelbaum Gate to the Israeli sector for some advance location scouting. The rest of the crew remained behind at the Ambassador Hotel in Jordan.

"We were at the King David Hotel, not more than a couple of hundred yards from the Ambassador," Mr. Ross notes. "but because of the restrictions on communications between the two countries, we couldn't call our friends to tell them of our plans.

"Finally, we called our London office and had them relay the message. We had to span continents to communicate with friends less than a quarter of a mile away."

 

THE MIRACLE

OF TODD-AO

 

TODD-AO is a revolutionary motion picture process in which the photographic methods and projection allow the audience to be a participant in every scene. The miracle of special lenses with 128 degrees of viewing angle and the curved screen provide realism and intimacy, using the principles by which the human eye sees.

The excitement of participation in the action is further heightened by the TODD-AO 6-channel sound system reproduced through five carefully spaced speakers behind the screen and a battery of "surround speakers" at the rear of the auditorium. The result to the viewer is the illusion of center seats in a great concert hall.

To the left on this page is a life-size reproduction of a strip of 70-millimeter film from Man in the 5th Dimension, showing the magnetic tracks on which the stereophonic sound is recorded on each side of the picture frame. 

an evangelistic

message for the

millions

presented in 7 languages

The "greatest man-made show in history" -- the spectacular New York World's Fair -- is open from April to October, 1964 and 1965.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not man-made, but it will be proclaimed day and night in several languages through "Man in the Fifth Dimension." This new film is to be shown 12 times a day, seven days a week, in the specially-designed Billy Graham Pavilion.

The dynamic message and glorious color of the film, the unusual wrap-around screen and the air-conditioned solitude of the theatre, will present the Gospel message with a powerful impact on every viewer.

As the film closes with an invitation from Mr. Graham, a trained staff of counselors -- fluent in several languages -- will minister to each inquirer.

To request information or to offer financial assistance, write to:

THE BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION

1300 Harmon Place, Minneapolis 3, Minnesota