Reel Hub: Willy Wonka in Smell-O-Vision is Sold Out

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory in Smell-O-Vision
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
Thursday, December 13, 7:30
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If you missed the outdoor screening of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in Smell-O-Vision at Union Square this summer, you have the opportunity to miss it again. The indoor debut of the event is sold out.

Last July, a group of artists led by Megan Dickerson and funded by the Somerville Arts Council, presented the 1971 Mel Stuart children's flick Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory accompanied by the smells of the film, from chocolate to hay, blueberry pie to soda. It was the first known outdoor experiment in "Smell-O-Vision," a technique that had been pioneered and abandoned with the 1960 flick Scent of Mystery. Though many artists have paid homage to the technique -- many will recall that John Waters's 1981 film Polyester was shot in "Odorama" and screened with scratch-and-sniff cards -- Dickerson's group is notable for respecting the spirt of Smell-O-Vision and actually wafting the scents toward the audience.

Though advance tickets for the Brattle screening have sold out, there is still a slim chance that intrepid theatregoers might sniff out some tickets at the box office.

Let's hope that Dickerson and crew haven't perfected the smell of four old people in bed.