250 miles above us in outer space floats the International Space Station. IMAX: Space Station takes its viewers on a fantastic voyage, letting landlubbers such as myself experience the wonders of space.

Typical IMAX screens are 72 feet wide and 52 feet tall — in addition, IMAX: Space Station was originally filmed with IMAX 3D cameras. While initially I had reservations about how such a big film would look on the small screen, any such fears were alleviated once the film started. Regardless of screen size, this film is fantastic.

IMAX: Space Station documents the assembly and operation of the International Space Station. The film’s footage was recorded during the first and second expeditions to the space station in 2000 and 2001. The movie follows a logical order, taking viewers through astronaut training and through a launch before finally reaching the blackness of space. (more…)

Whether media is electronic, print, or online it’s a window to a different era. Even that post on a blog is a miniature time machine, tapping into a past perhaps just a few minutes ago. Maybe more than most, works in the public domain capture the zeitgeist of their times more than works in which copyright has been kept up to date.

The classic Superman cartoons produced by Max and Dave Fleischer in the 1940s are a prime example. The brothers are most well known for dozens of Popeye cartoons and for creating Betty Boop. They pioneered rotoscoping, which was used to animate live action, a process that is still in wide use.

The Superman cartoons are much like any of the other Fleischer cartoons, but at an even higher level. (more…)