The Eighth Resurrection of 3-D

Imagine, if you will, sitting in a large, dark movie theater. The lights have dimmed. The previews have played. And now, a friendly reminder pops up on the screen, informing you that it’s time to put on your 3-D glasses.

Only a decade ago, that added dimension in cinema might have lead viewers to simply stand up and walk out; those cheap, cardboard glasses would have audience members feeling dizzy and even getting sick for hours after watching a 3-D film. However, we’ve come a long way since those dark ages of entertainment. Now, new technology is bringing back 3-D, and studio executives are hoping it will revive the dying “cinema experience.”

RealD is the company behind this reinvention. While 3-D has come back many times before as a passing fad, RealD is working with movie studios to insure that 3-D isn’t just a fleeting sideshow. The invention of special cameras has led to digital 3-D, allowing for sharper color and depth. Many animation companies are using this technology to give their kid flicks the added boost to stand out amongst the crowds of generic CGI animations. In fact, for the first time ever, the most prestigious animation studio around, Disney Pixar, is releasing a movie in digital 3-D entitled Up.

For a long time, 3-D has been associated with campy films. B-grade horror movies like House of Wax (1953), with all their cheesy, gory, 3-D goodness, attracted huge audience turn-outs back in the day. However, while past 3-D successes generally fell into the “it’s so bad that it’s good” category, RealD and production companies like DreamWorks and Pixar are working hard to legitimize 3-D for mass consumption. The glasses alone have undergone a revamp, morphing from red and blue lenses to hard plastic shades reminiscent of Ray-Bans.

After watching Henry Selick’s fantastic stop-motion 3-D film, Coraline, I know that RealD has truly made 3-D look like the future of entertainment. And, this winter, Titanic director James Cameron is hoping to push 3-D into the spotlight with his highly anticipated, high risk blockbuster, Avatar.

All over Hollywood, directors, producers and actors are throwing their support behind 3-D. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has said, "At some level, I believe that almost any movie benefits from 3-D… As a filmmaker, I want you to suspend disbelief and get lost in the film--participate in the film rather than just observe it. On that level, 3-D can only help." Oscar winning director Cameron has invested years of his life in 3-D entertainment, asserting time and time again that it is the next big step in connecting the audience to a movie. But why are Hollywood bigwigs putting all of their time and money into a project that’s been done many times before and has systematically failed?

The answer is simple. As online viewership, pirating and services like Netflix begin to dominate the consumer movie market, distributors are looking for a way to draw people back to the cinema. In addition to renovating multiplexes to include plush seating and gourmet restaurants, theater owners are shelling out the cash needed in order to buy digital projectors necessary for 3-D showings. Now, many movies are being released in both 2-D and 3-D in hopes that audiences will pay the little extra in order to see the “improved” 3-D version.

And so far, it seems to be working. On average, a 3-D movie makes three times more money than its 2-D equivalent. This is largely due to the increased ticket prices and the longer runs that 3-D films experience.

But a question still remains: Is this just a passing fad? Only time will tell. While history tells us that 3-D will likely fail (just like it did those past seven times), Hollywood’s insistence on pushing it into the mainstream public sphere might just make 3-D the next big thing. And, if they succeed, we’ll certainly be seeing more and more previews informing us when it’s time to put on our 3-D glasses.

Sources:
Khatau, Chelna. “Film Goes Back to the Future with 3-D.” CNN Online 15 Sept. 2008. 21 May 2009.
<http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/12/future.cinema/>

Quittner, Josh. “Are 3-D Movies Ready for Their Closeup?” Time Online 19 Mar. 2009. 21 May 2009.
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1886541-1,00.html>

Corliss, Richard. “3-D or Not 3-D: That Is the Question.” Time Online 28 Mar. 2009. 21 May 2009.
<http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1888264,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar>