Behind the Great Wall

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Movie Info

In an era when contact with mainland China was next to nothing, any film showing scenes from the People's Republic was worth seeing. In 1959, the shots of the Great Wall itself, the rolling green hills beyond it, harbors, temples, flower gardens, and cityscapes were all enhanced by an idiosyncratic, fleeting experiment in cinematic insanity: Aroma-Rama. Yes. A theater in Manhattan had special fragrance-producing substances hooked up to the air conditioning system. So when the flower gardens or temples are shown, jasmin or incense fills the air around the audience. Harbor smells and the smells of grazing lands offer different olfactory experiences too. The consensus was, in the end, that smelling a film just cannot make up for good direction, good acting, and good cinematography. However, for awhile the technique gave new meaning to the phrase, "this film stinks."

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Documentary
Directed By:

Charles Weiss, Carlo Lizzani
Runtime:

97 minutes

Cast

Chet Huntley
as Narrator

Critic Reviews for Behind the Great Wall

All Critics (3) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (1)

Check off the novel experience as precisely what we've labeled it -- a stunt. The artistic benefit of it is here demonstrated to be nil.

October 26, 2010 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic
Believe me, your nose would have had to be in very poor working, condition not to be able to get a strong whiff.

February 7, 2020 | Full Review…

June Kurisu
Shin Nichibei/New Japanese American News
..an Italian-made documentary tour of Red China, good enough to merit attention as a conventional or odorless travelogue.

October 16, 2019 | Full Review…

Clyde Gilmour
Maclean's Magazine