3-D Renaissance, Just a Flash in the Panavision?

http://www.examiner.com/x-4977-DVD-Movies-Examiner~y2009m3d22-3D-Renaissance-Just-a-Flash-in-the-Panavision

 

March 22, 4:58 PM ·

DreamWorks’ March 27 release of Monsters vs. Aliens is the first of a whole slew of 3-D movie offerings that according to the studio’s head Jeffrey Katzenberg will create a film “revolution.” Currently Steven Spielberg is shooting Tintin in 3-D, and Peter jackson is working on the sequel;  George Lucas plans a rerelease of the Star Wars series in it.

A major article by Josh Quittner appeared in the March 30 issue of Time Magazine declaring a 3-D movie renaissance. To date 3-D, hasn't exactly revolutionized the movie business. The first stereoscopic movies surfaced in the late 20’s, vanished, then enjoyed a brief revival in the 1950s (House of Wax, 1953) along with, Cinerama, Vista-vision and other big screen effects as part of Hollywood’s attempt to get TV viewers to return to the theaters. There have been several revivals since (The Stewardesses, 1969).

Daniel Symmes, a 3-D historian and Hollywood veteran thinks this new revival is just another passing fad."To me, 3-D has always been the circus coming to town. Does the circus stay around? No. If it does, attendance drops off, the novelty is gone and the circus goes away."

But its backers are betting that digital 3-D is not the same as the analog versions in the past, with the cardboard glasses. I remember the old 3-D little as little more than a gimmick. Colors were not accurate; with viewers complaining about headaches and nausea. According to Quittner, The new system is based on polarization, rather than color-coding requiring disposable plastic-frame glasses with gray lenses.

The biggest hurdle, however, is the conversion of the movie theater to digital. This is very costly, and few exhibitors have been willing to scrap their old 35 and 70 mm projectors for state of the art digital equipment. Disney introduced digital with Chicken Little in 2005. However only 75 were willing to convert, but the 3-D version experienced a 400% increase in box office gross. Because of that success conversions have proceeded at a rapid pace and it is estimated that 2,000 theaters will be 3-D-ready by the end of March.

Another currently working in 3-D is Titanic director, James Cameron who says it "is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2-D viewing doesn't." He thinks that stereoscopic viewing actually uses more neurons. Tickets are estimated to cost around $15. Are patrons willing to ante up to experience all that extra brain activity? Will 3-D be the wave of the future, or just another flash in the Panavision?  Only time will tell.  But we should not be too quick to dismiss the new wave of 3-D movies as just a fad.  It must remembered that back in 1927, legendary producer Irving Thalberg of M-G-M (who was hardly ever wrong) stated that talking pictures would never replace silent films.