By Sean Kelly
Is his leitmotif also in 3D?
Even their greatest fans have to admit that 3-D movies are still a gimmick. Has anyone argued seriously for the inclusion of the third dimension as a vital next step for cinema? Certainly not these films’ makers, who capitalize on the gimmicky quality inherent in the endeavour and always make sure to include some sort of visual gag filmed for the 3D effect. I remember watching Beowulf and staring down the tip of a spear or, for a more ridiculous example, seeing Brendan Fraser spit out his toothpaste directly into my face in Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. Yet, despite their gimmicky quality, 3D movies are enjoying their biggest boom since the 1980s when moviegoers were lining up for 3D sequels to Jaws, Friday the 13th, and The Amityville Horror.
The current wave can be traced back to the development of IMAX and its 3D technology. James Cameron’s 2003 documentary Ghosts of the Abyss was my first experience watching a truly 3D film. The next step in the development was when The Polar Express was released in 2004 and became the first feature-length IMAX 3D animated film. A year later, Chicken Little helped debut the Real D 3D system, which allowed 3D films to be shown in normal theatres using only one projector (instead of the two usually needed for 3D films).
Fraser and Niles' most perilous adventure yet.
After animated films took off in 3D, the next step was to bring 3D back to live-action feature films. This was a slow process. There were always the documentaries, but those were specifically filmed for 3D, while most features were later converted in post-production. The exception to this would be Robert Rodriguez’s films Spy Kids 3D (2003) and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005), which featured scenes in 3D filmed with the same technology as Ghosts of the Abyss.
The first live action film to undergo a 3D conversion was Superman Returns in 2006. For the film’s IMAX release, about twenty minutes of footage, mostly major action sequences, were converted to 3D. However, I have to say it is a jarring experience holding the 3D glasses in your lap for most of the film, only to put them on for five minutes at a time when cued. The process was repeated the next year for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which thankfully saved the 3D effects for the climax of the film, instead of spreading them throughout.
Why so 3D?
Finally, last year, Journey of the Center of the Earth became the first live action feature to be filmed and released in the Real D format. Though this film is unlikely to be labeled a landmark, with Journey the door was now open for a new era of truly 3D cinema.
The wave grows with the recent release of My Bloody Valentine 3D, which received the widest release so far in the Real D format. The format is picking up attention from some big name directors. Along with the expected crop of animated 3D films, we can expect new 3D live action films, such as James Cameron’s Avatar and Tim Burton’s new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.
With 3D cinema progressively moving more and more into the mainstream, you can find yourself amazed at how far a format that began with B-movies in the 1950s has developed. This is one gimmick that may actually outlive its gimmickiness.
