by John Belton. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992; 300 p., ill., ISBN 0-674-95260-X (cloth), )-674-95261-8 (paperback).

The winner of the 1993 Krasna-Krausz Award for the best book on film technology certainly deserves the prize, as well as the attention of all concerned not only with the restoration of film but also with the environmental conditions of its viewing. For most spectators, words like Cinerama, Todd-Ao and Magnascope are nothing but the mysterious relics of a time when the cinematic experience was linked to the marvel of witnessing ever-changing attempts towards a broader, sharper moving image. With this precise yet highly readable survey, Belton effectively demonstrates that no film is truly preserved until its survival is linked to a full knowledge of its intended presentation. The fact that such presentation is difficult to reproduce for the modern audience is no excuse for not trying at all to revive it. In a way, a book like this is in itself a challenge to all film archives, and a passionate invitation to open an entire new front in their activity. Indeed, it is a pioneering work in a field whose creative implications for film history and preservation are potentially endless. (Paolo Cherchi Usai)