# 3-D Films - Amazing! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474 "2004-12-01T10:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/1 "2004-12-01T10:11:58Z")
Thanks to redundancy and my membership of the UK’s National Film Theatre, I have seen my first ever film in true 3-D, closely followed by the second. They were so amazing I wondered why so few films are made in that format. The first one I saw was “The House of Wax”, famously directed by a bloke with only one eye. The 3-dimentional effect was obvious right from the opening credits and the intentional 3-D business - the geezer with the paddle-bats, the can-can dancers etc - worked so well a woman in front of me kept ducking. Last night I was privileged to see “Flesh for Frankenstein”, which I’d seen “flat” at University in 1978. Apart from being completely bonkers, the 3-D stuff was tremendous, particularly at the end where Udo Kier gets skewered and the audience is treated to a bit of his liver waving merrily in their faces. I have read that audiences didn’t like wearing the glasses. What morons! I’d put up with anything to be able to enjoy such lifelike effects! Gawd knows what a 3-D film in IMAX would look like… ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/2 "2004-12-01T11:56:25Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > Gawd knows what a 3-D film in IMAX would look like… I don’t claim deity, but they are pretty cool actually. I saw one on undersea life in the Monterrey Bay. I don’t have an IMAX theater in my neighborhood now, but I assume they’ve made other 3-D IMAX movies. Sounds like seosamh has a treat in store! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/3 "2004-12-01T12:03:46Z")
Yeah, I saw a polaroid 3D movie about space living at the iMax theatre in Huntsville, Alabama. Unfortunately the movie was utter pants, but the effects were astounding. There is (or was a few months ago) a 3D ‘flight inside a mummy’ show at the British Museum. Not great, but a nice inexpensive diversion. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/4 "2004-12-01T14:40:54Z")
I saw The Polar Express this weekend in IMAX 3-D. That was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/5 "2004-12-01T18:08:14Z")
Nothing compares to Muppets 3D. ---
**Author:** ![Amazingrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Amazingrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazingrace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/6 "2004-12-01T18:18:23Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > Nothing compares to Muppets 3D. Oooh, you beat me to it. I remember seeing it was little and thinking that everything popping out of the screen was headed right toward me (and no one else). Besides, bubbles com out of the ceiling. Can’t beat that. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/7 "2004-12-01T18:58:29Z")
The first 3D film I ever saw was the misnamed _Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein_. (_Flesh for Frankenstein_ is a better title.) Anyway, I was twelve, and apart from warping my mind, it immediately led to a lifelong fascination with all things stereographic. Picked up some anaglyphic glasses and drew 3D geometric figures with pink & cyan felt pens, worked out how to use colour-filters and double-exposures to take 3D snaps (before photoshop came along and made it a whole lot easier and better,) made a little contraption with polarizing filters that makes it look like your shadow is solid and reaching from behind the surface of the wall to mirror you. Very spooky! I loves me the 3D – and I wish they’d make more quality 3D pictures. All 3D-rendered features should be released in IMAX 3D format as a matter of course. I haven’t seen _The Polar Express_ in IMAX yet, but I’ve seen a few IMAX3D documentaries, (my favourite being _The Last Buffalo_ - kick ass,) an something fantastic in that format would rock my world. _The Incredibles!_ Please! Hell, I would probably even have watched that Final Fantasy movie if it was in IMAX3D. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/8 "2004-12-02T00:02:14Z")
IMAX showed a 3D demo film hosted by Stuart Pankin IIRC and including Elvira! I saw the one about Monterey Bay, too. I have seen “Kiss Me Kate” and Pixar’s “Knick Knack” in 3D (the latter at an animation festival in SF). I really want to see “Muppets 3D”. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/9 "2004-12-02T00:53:23Z")
I’d wager that the 12 year-old **Larry Mudd** must have been rendered completely dumbstruck by the 3-D “Frankenstein”, especially if he saw it in its uncut version, as I did last week! [apparently there is only 1 full version in existence, owned by the [German Film Institute](http://www.deutsches-filminstitut.de/)] I haven’t seen a 3-D IMAX job myself yet, although the glasses provided by the NFT for both “Flesh for Frankenstein” and “House of Wax” came from the British Film Institute’s IMAX cinema just across the way in Waterloo. But I reckon my eyeballs would explode with delight - despite my asymmetric optic nerve. As I mused in the OP, why the hell aren’t there more 3-D films? (never mind IMAX, which is a completely different kettle of fish altogether). The effects are so absolutely fantastic I’d have thought people would have been clamouring for it in their droves. And why are the extant 3-D films mostly of the horror genre? Surely there are lots of situations where things can be thrust at the audience? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/10 "2004-12-02T01:16:50Z")
I certainly was dumbstruck, **seosamh**. I was troubled and confused by incest-free versions of _Frankenstein_ after that. I don’t know if it was uncut but it was pretty f\*d up. I think the second 3D pic I ever saw was _Parasite_, that same summer. I must say it provided a lot more nightmare fodder than _Frankenstein_ ever came close to. _House of Wax_ was just fun. Personally, I’d like to see more subtle 3D movies, too. It can still be impressive without going all Dr. Tongue on the third dimension. Just about any movie could be improved by adding a binocular element to it, without adding in the obligatory “throw stuff at the audience” scenes. Well, maybe not _My Dinner with Andre_, but most movies. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/11 "2004-12-02T02:18:31Z")
[Here’s an IMDB list of 3-D films, for those that are curious](http://www.imdb.com/List?tv=on&&keywords=3-dimensional) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/12 "2004-12-02T02:27:27Z")
I saw one of the oldest 3-D film experiments existing (dating back to the teens, IIRC) at the NFT several years ago. :sniff: I miss the South Bank… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/13 "2004-12-02T02:59:08Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > [Here’s an IMDB list of 3-D films, for those that are curious](http://www.imdb.com/List?tv=on&&keywords=3-dimensional) [_Dial M for Murder_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046912/)? I had _no_ idea. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/14 "2004-12-10T06:05:02Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > [_Dial M for Murder_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046912/)? > > I had _no_ idea. Cool. Oh, I saw that one in 3D! I remember Grace Kelly reaching back for a scissors or something to fight off her attacker, and everybody ducked to avoid her hand. That may be the first movie I saw in 3D I saw it probably 20 - 25 years ago at the Nuart in Los Angeles. I wonder if that place is still there. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-d-films-amazing/277474/15 "2004-12-10T06:20:19Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Yeah, I saw a polaroid 3D movie about space living at the iMax theatre in Huntsville, Alabama. Unfortunately the movie was utter pants, but the effects were astounding. Haha. I saw the same film at the exact same place when I was 6 or 7. I jumped at one point because the effects looked so real and I thought we were really crashing into something. Erm…guess you had to be there.