# Movie 3d: Winner or Flash in the pan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219 "2011-11-27T05:17:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/41 "2011-11-29T15:19:00Z")
The colors are horribly diminished when wearing those stupid glasses. I’d rather see rich , luscious colors than a snowball or something stupid pop out on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/42 "2011-11-29T15:20:16Z")
I’ve got two movies in 3D for my home theater,\* Alice in Wonderland\* and _Tron Legacy_, and I saw \*Avatar \*in 3D in the theater and have the BluRay at home. In all three cases, I do think the 3D version has a little added something that makes it a richer experience. But I’m also content to watch them in 2D if I don’t feel like wearing the glasses. 3D is cool, but not essential, when it’s a movie I enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/43 "2011-11-29T15:26:07Z")
Christopher Nolan doesn’t think the image quality of 3D movies is as good as regular movies. That’s why The Dark Knight Rises will not be in 3D. I have to agree with him. All of the 3D movies I’ve seen have looked fuzzy or blurry, like my contacts are acting up, but I never can get them cleared up all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/44 "2011-11-29T15:55:47Z")
I hope 3D movies are a passing trend (like the last time the fad hit in the 1980s) but am a bit pessimistic about the chances of this happening. It just feels to me like too many film-makers are relying on 3D to turn their movies into some kind of theme park ride instead of just focusing on making good movies in 3D or not. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/45 "2011-11-29T16:34:44Z")
Hugo is worth seeing in 3D ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/46 "2011-11-29T16:39:33Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Is it a fad that will soon pass? I doubt it. Last I looked, 3D movies are still making plenty of money. Theaters have invested a lot in 3D equipment, and innovations and improvements in 3D cameras and filming techniques are ongoing. The same was true of Sensurround and previous iterations of the ThreeDee fad. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/47 "2011-11-29T16:44:53Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Christopher Nolan doesn’t think the image quality of 3D movies is as good as regular movies. That’s why The Dark Knight Rises will not be in 3D. I have to agree with him. All of the 3D movies I’ve seen have looked fuzzy or blurry, like my contacts are acting up, but I never can get them cleared up all the way. When Thor wasn’t too dark for me to see what was going on, I kept trying to clean the smudge off my 3D glasses. Maybe it wasn’t a smudge? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/48 "2011-11-29T16:59:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s worth noting they said the same thing about movies with sound and movies with color. 1. Adding sound and color did not require the viewer to wear special glasses. 2. Adding sound and color did not induce nausea in a significant portion of the audience. 3. Adding sound and color did not degrade image clarity or brightness. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/49 "2011-11-29T17:09:08Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Roger Ebert hates the 3d format; he predicts that it will fade away as a fad. [One point he makes](http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/05/the_dying_of_the_light.html) is that the prevelance of ThreeDee causes movies in general (not just ThreeDee showings) to be projected at half normal brightness, because it’s easier for multiplexes to leave the ThreeDee polarizers in place than to have the projector minion take the time to swap it out (and possibly break something in the process). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/50 "2011-11-29T20:12:01Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Go see [_Hugo_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-kP-olcpM) and _then_ let me know what you think. [This column](http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/11/22/can-scorsese-save-3d/) posits that _Hugo_ may be the technology’s last stand – either turning the decline around, or rendering it one with Nineveh and Tyre and Sensurround and Smell-O-Vision: > [@](#): > > That’s where Scorsese comes in. If “Hugo” stuns audiences, perhaps they’ll give 3D filmmaking a second chance. If not, we might as well stow away those black-framed glasses until the next generation of filmmakers decides it’s time to try 3D all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/51 "2011-11-29T21:23:11Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Adding sound and color did not degrade image clarity or brightness. Early iterations of color _would_ have degraded both clarity and brightness, until they learned to compensate. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/52 "2011-11-29T22:01:51Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > [This column](http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/11/22/can-scorsese-save-3d/) posits that _Hugo_ may be the technology’s last stand – either turning the decline around, or rendering it one with Nineveh and Tyre and Sensurround and Smell-O-Vision: There isn’t any “decline” to turn around. The linked article reads a bit like Python’s Black Knight in terms of denial. Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, and James Cameron are making 3D films. I don’t recall Billy Wilder, John Ford, and Elia Kazan making films with “Percepto” to see if there might be something in it. When top-tier filmmakers go 3D, you see the difference. It’s not a crap effect applied in post, and it’s not a tool that’s wielded half-assed and clumsily - these guys are serious. The impression you have after seeing _The Hobbit_ will not be compare with the feeling you have after sitting through _Captain America_ “in 3D.” ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/53 "2011-11-29T22:42:53Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > There isn’t any “decline” to turn around. Evidently there is, as indicated by the cited examples: > [@](#): > > Audiences quickly caught on, and box office numbers for 3D films sank. “Drive Angry,” “Step-Up 3D,” “Fright Night” and “The Three Musketeers” all flopped, while other 3D films simply underwhelmed (like this month’s “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas”). > We’ve been hoodwinked (another 3D flop) and we’re not in the mood to keep paying extra for the chance to see a movie’s title float off the big screen. > [@](#): > > The impression you have after seeing _The Hobbit_ will not be compare with the feeling you have after sitting through _Captain America_ “in 3D.” Actually, the experience will be precisely identical: 1. _Captain America_ is coming out “in 3D.” 3D gives me a throbbing headache. I pay money for products that cure headaches, not products that cause them. Pass. 2. _The Hobbit_ is coming out “in 3D.” 3D gives me a throbbing headache. I pay money for products that cure headaches, not products that cause them. Pass. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/54 "2011-11-29T22:49:29Z")
Missed the edit window, but did want to offer my condolences in case your optimism led you to make some [bad investments](http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-05-31/entertainment/30031288_1_reald-3d-imax-screens). :smack: > [@](#): > > shares of RealD, a 3D technology company, are crashing – down 11% today (5/31/11) ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/55 "2011-11-29T23:27:06Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Missed the edit window, but did want to offer my condolences in case your optimism led you to make some [bad investments](http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-05-31/entertainment/30031288_1_reald-3d-imax-screens). :smack: That article’s from half a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/56 "2011-11-30T00:27:50Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > That article’s from half a year ago. Hokay, [here’s one from three hours ago](http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/11/29/reald-shares-plunged-what-you-need-to-know-.aspx): > [@](#): > > **What:** Shares of 3-D projection technologist RealD (NYSE: RLD ) are out of focus today after falling as much as 10.1% on very timid trading volume. > **So what:** RealD jumped sky-high on Monday as legendary director Martin Scorsese pounded the table on the virtues of three-dimensional storytelling. Today, the same man vowed to stay away from remaking any of his old films in the new format. Scorsese’s strong support is yesterday’s news and investors are going back to the same old fundamentals; Monday’s gains have all but disappeared. As for the longer-term trend, the shares are trading at a bit under $10, down from a 12-month peak of about $35. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/57 "2011-11-30T00:31:13Z")
Coming back to normal after a spike is hardly evidence that the technology is failing. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/58 "2011-11-30T01:09:24Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Evidently there is, as indicated by the cited examples: > > > [@](#): > > > > Audiences quickly caught on, and box office numbers for 3D films sank. “Drive Angry,” “Step-Up 3D,” “Fright Night” and “The Three Musketeers” all flopped, while other 3D films simply underwhelmed (like this month’s “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas”). What that proves is that we’re very far away from _ **every** _ movie being in 3D (which moviemakers keep threatening us with). I’ve never seen a 3D movie (unless you count an IMAX nature film with the cardboard glasses when I was 10), but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to show a trend either way at this point. Big event films do well in 3D and smaller (usually gimmicky) 3D pictures do terribly. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/59 "2011-11-30T02:04:44Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Christopher Nolan doesn’t think the image quality of 3D movies is as good as regular movies. That’s why The Dark Knight Rises will not be in 3D. I have to agree with him. He’s missing the point. The reason _The Dark Knight Rises_ shouldn’t be in 3D isn’t because of concerns about image quality, it’s because Batman movies aren’t the sort of movie that benefits from 3D. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219/60 "2011-11-30T02:11:54Z")
Come to think of it, the only 3D film I’ve _enjoyed_ was during the _Terminator 2 3-D: Battle Across Time_ attraction at Universal Studios, probably because they didn’t overdo it. There are a few awesome moments of a Robert Patrick T-1000 literally poking his head out into the audience, but no real effort to render the motorcycle chase in 3D - it was limited to the CGI effects only. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-3d-winner-or-flash-in-the-pan/604219.md?page=4)