# Circa 1948

> Immersive 3D art app recreating post-war Vancouver with film noir aesthetic. (iPhone/iPad app by National Film Board / Office national du film.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/circa-1948/id836688265 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [National Film Board / Office national du film](https://appshunter.io/developer/329353641)
- Category: Photo & Video, Entertainment
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.40/5 from 22 App Store ratings · 71 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 8.0 · 1.9 GB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2014-04-19
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/circa-1948/id836688265/reviews.md

## What is Circa 1948?

“This trip to the past is a glimpse at the future” - TIME. Enter the shadows of a post-war North American city through this film noir inspired, historically based immersive art app. Requires iPhone 4S/iPad 2 and above.
 
The first Real-time 3D art app to tell a story inspired by real events. An immersive experience created by internationally renowned artist Stan Douglas and the award-winning NFB Digital Studio. Through photorealistic 3D illustrations rendered from Douglas’ extensive historical research, Circa 1948 takes users to the late 1940s, Vancouver, BC, a young city in the midst of urban planning, but divided along lines of race and income. Eavesdrop on long lost conversations in two carefully recreated locations: an Old Hotel in Vancouver’s affluent west side, then squatted by homeless war veterans, or the muddy streets of ethnically diverse Hogan’s Alley in the working class east side, populated by racial minorities, gamblers, prostitutes and corrupt police officers. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
 
Features
- Extensive historical detail
- Period music and audio
- 44 film noir influenced conversations
- Historically accurate props, architecture and landscapes
- Open-source real-time 3D engine
- Touch and gyroscope-driven navigation modes

Supported Devices
- iPhone 4S, 5, 5C and 5S
- iPad 2, 3rd and 4th generation iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini and 2nd generation iPad Mini.

## Key features

- Extensive historical detail
- Period music and audio
- Film noir influenced conversations
- Historically accurate environments
- Real-time 3D engine
- Touch and gyroscope navigation

## Recent user reviews (10 of 71)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/circa-1948/id836688265/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Keeps crashing

*2021-09-04*

I really wanted to enjoy this and try it- I can’t get past maybe the first 30 seconds.  It keeps crashing. This is frustrating and stupid. I hope there’s an update soon.

### 3/5 — barely works

*2021-06-12*

did they bother to work with app developers who actually know what theyre doing, jfc

### 1/5 — Don’t know anything about the game

*2020-11-02*

I don’t know anything about the game....
It would not load.
It crashed the first time I loaded it.
The second time it just stayed on the opening music and screen..
Nothing!

### 5/5 — Beautiful, and working again!

*2020-10-20*

FYI: WORKS AFTER iOS 14.1 UPDATE

Incredibly immersive, with an impressive amount of detail. I can easily lose track of time just taking in all the sights and sounds of this app. Unfortunately, it tends to crash occasionally, and it needs an update to take advantage of the resolution of newer devices... I can't even take one star off for the instability; it's just that stunning.

### 5/5 — Noir jazz

*2020-10-11*

Feels for the windy scenes

### 2/5 — Can’t get it to work

*2020-10-03, version 1.0.4*

Good idea, was looking forward to it, disappointing it would t work, got endless loop instead.

### 4/5 — Tough to run

*2020-07-21, version 1.0.4*

It’s an amazing app but due to its size and quality it is tough to run.

### 5/5 — Wonderful

*2020-07-05, version 1.0.4*

This is a wonderful app especially for those interested in Vancouver history. I wish the story continued but it provided a fascinating snapshot of post war Vancouver. I had no problem playing this on my iPad Pro so perhaps the problems identified in other reviews relate to memory or bandwidth issues.

### 2/5 — Fascinating and impressive - Wish it worked

*2020-06-07*

Can’t get the app to load reliably with iOS 13.  It goes into endless loop after introduction before loading chapters.  I’ve been able to stumble into the chapters enough times to see how rich and detailed the program is, lots of work and research.  Really beautiful.  Hope it can be updated to fix the loading bug.  Low rating due to reliability only.

### 1/5 — hangs on story selection

*2020-06-05, version 1.0.4*

zoom into hogan’s alley and repeat.   endless loop.  very sad

## Frequently asked questions about Circa 1948

### What is Circa 1948?

Circa 1948 is an immersive art application that transports users to a post-war North American city inspired by film noir. It uses photorealistic 3D illustrations and audio to recreate historical locations and conversations from late 1940s Vancouver, BC.

### What are the key features of Circa 1948?

Key features include extensive historical detail, period music and audio, 44 film noir-influenced conversations, historically accurate props and architecture, an open-source real-time 3D engine, and touch and gyroscope-driven navigation modes.

### How much does Circa 1948 cost?

Based on the provided information, this application is a paid app. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a one-time purchase model.

### What devices are supported by Circa 1948?

The app requires iPhone 4S/iPad 2 and above. Specifically supported devices include iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, and iPads 2, 3rd generation, 4th generation, Air, Mini, and 2nd generation Mini.

### What historical aspects does Circa 1948 explore?

The app explores the urban planning and social divisions of late 1940s Vancouver, BC. It recreates two distinct locations: an Old Hotel in the affluent west side and the ethnically diverse Hogan's Alley in the working-class east side, highlighting racial and income lines.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.4 — 2015-02-06

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

- iOS 8 Support
- fixed rendering bugs on iPad Air 2, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+

### 1.0.3 — 2014-04-27

Improved texture streamer to remove black surface popping and reduce visual artifacts.

### 1.0.2 — 2014-04-18

- Explains how to eavesdrop on conversations
- High resolution textures improved
- Bump maps implemented for more realistic textures
- Performance Optimizations for iPad2 and iPhone 4s

### 1.0.1 — 2014-04-15

- graphic enhancements on iPad Air
- stability improvements
- general bug fixes
- content corrections

### 1.0.0 — 2014-03-26

No release notes.

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## More apps by National Film Board / Office national du film

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All apps by National Film Board / Office national du film: https://appshunter.io/developer/329353641

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*