Space Theater Show Highlights Niagara’s Thrills

Annie Taylor went over the falls----with her cat in a wooden barrel. French daredevil The Great Blondin walked on water--or at least 190 feet over water--on a tightrope.

In “Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic,” a film playing at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater, notorious stunts such as these that were performed at Niagara Falls are re-created. The movie will screen several times daily at the theater and is scheduled to continue through spring.

“Niagara” was filmed in the world’s largest motion picture format and is projected 10 times larger than most movies, said Mary Hettinger, the theater and center’s community services coordinator. The Space Theater’s domed screen puts the viewer in the middle of the raging rapids.

The picture is the second in a series of educational films produced by Seventh Man Films Inc. According to executive producer, Richard James, the making of “Niagara” was no easy feat. The crew, which started shooting July, 1986, spent 55 days in and around Niagara capturing details and angles of the falls and gorge. Film-makers had to receive special permission to perform stunts over the falls.

“Many stunt people refused to work with us,” James said. “Everyone who had a scene in the water had an under-water cable attached to them. The water was ice cold and extremely frightening.”

The film traces Indian legend back to a myth of a maiden who watches over the falls and performs miracles. It is said that the presence of her ghost saves daredevils from the treacherous rocks and water and enabled the famous voyage of the sightseeing boat, Maid of the Mist II, as it navigated through the dangerous Niagara Gorge whirlpool rapids.

The movie also documents 7-year-old Roger Woodward’s plunge over the great cascade in 1960 after his parents fell out of their boat. Roger was the only person to survive the plunge without a life jacket.

James said it took 1 1/2 years to research the film.

“We tried to film everything the way it happened,” he said. “The scene with the Maid of the Mist II was a one-shot deal. After the boat went through the rapids, it was torn up. The stunt people on the boat had a water-tight capsule to go into for safety.”

James said the picture cost more than $3 million. The crew camouflaged all modern buildings and towers to authentically re-create the events.

In addition to showcasing the phenomena performed at Niagara Falls, the film captures the natural wonders of the area.

“Our primary goal is to give people a better understanding of these wonders,” James said. “We’re proud of what we do. If we’re helping to educate people about these wonderful places we’re achieving our goals.”