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A festival in three dimensions >> 3D99 celebrates one of cinema's most notorious gimmicks
by MATTHEW HAYS
But 3D is making a comeback, particularly with the enhancing of the Imax spectacle with the technique; the trend is spreading across North America and Europe--here in Montreal audiences donned their multicoloured glasses for the opening film of our first downtown Imax, the Paramount, two weeks ago. And in a perfect bit of timing, the Imperial is hosting a retrospective of some of 3D's most notorious historical moments. Highlights include: House of Wax This is undoubtedly one of the finest examples of 3D, with the technique being used to its greatest ends. The unbeatable Vincent Price plays the evil proprietor of a wax museum whose life-like statuettes are utterly believable, precisely because they were once alive. Made in '53, the film has ripened into a winning balance of eeriness and camp. Dial M for Murder Hitchcock's stab at 3D was another class act, with Grace Kelly fearing her husband's intentions were the worst. Ray Milland is superb here, as the guilt-ridden, cowardly plotter. Hitch made sure shots in the film emphasized perspective--using an oversized telephone, for example, to sit in the foreground of a shot--effectively maximizing the film's 3D effects. Creature From the Black Lagoon Hugely popular in its day and one of the most notorious 3D movies, Creature boasts excellent underwater effects and a man-fish monstrosity whose mug has become almost universally recognizable. 3D99 will also screen Revenge of the Creature, the first of two sequels, which includes Clint Eastwood in his first big-screen role. Jaws 3-D One of those sequels that never should have been made (but now, come to think of it, we're glad they did), the film has Sheriff Brody's kids working in Florida's Sea World, where yet another member of that shark's extended family decides to move in for revenge. Almost rivals Beyond the Poseidon Adventure as the most insane evolutionary direction a sequel could take. The 3D effects, which include spear guns firing at the audience and closeups of hypodermic needles, are good fun. Comin' at Ya Probably the only 3D Western movie, this is a spoof of spaghetti Westerns, a parody that doesn't entirely work. Many of the effects, which involve various animals shot in closeup, appear to be better suited to the horror genre.
3D99 opens Friday, July 2 and runs until July 18 at the Imperial. The Imax Paramount is now open. See repertory listings for showtimes |
For most, 3D is thought of as a cinematic oddity, an effort to maintain audience numbers--when film producers were feeling the competing threat of TV--that ultimately failed. Thanks to the general cheesiness of many of the original productions that employed the technique, coupled with SCTV's astute send-up of them, 3D isn't taken too seriously any more. Since the '60s, when studios appeared to give up on it, the form has surfaced for the occasional lowbrow sequel (see movie franchises like Jaws, Amityville, Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th), though it has otherwise been written off.