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3 D Films


hilldweller

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There has been a lot in the news recently about old and new screenings of films in 3 D.

This brought to mind a film I saw as a kid of around 6 or 7 which would make it 1953/4.

I can't remember much about it, but I remember it was a Western and it was probably screened at the Gaumont or possibly the Cinema House.

When you bought your tickets you were issued with a set of cardboard specs with coloured cellophane filters and I remember that they were all one size and didn't fit a 6/7 year old very well.

The reason I remember that It was a Western was that the gun barrels seemed to be sticking out into the auditorium and the bullets flying past your ears.

I'm not sure if special equipment was required to show those films or if it was all on the film itself. If special equipment was required perhaps that would narrow down the theatre where I saw it.

Does anyone else have any memories of 3 D films which seemed to come and go in a matter of about 2 years ?

HD

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My Mum & Dad always talked about going to see "House of Wax" starring Vincent Price in 3D. Typically of 3D films, part of the action involves something "coming out of the screen" towards the audience. In "House of Wax" it was a man hitting a ball that was attached to the bat with a piece of elastic towards the audience.

3D in the early days was, as mentioned previously achieved by projecting two offset images and viewing them with red and green lenses. This tended to give a muddy appearance to the movie.

I saw "Friday the 13th Pt3" in 3D which used the current method of polarised lenses. The colour isn't affected and gives a great effect. It's nice to see 3D making a comeback over recent years and especially as older films can be digitally remastered to utilise the polarised method.

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My Mum & Dad always talked about going to see "House of Wax" starring Vincent Price in 3D. Typically of 3D films, part of the action involves something "coming out of the screen" towards the audience. In "House of Wax" it was a man hitting a ball that was attached to the bat with a piece of elastic towards the audience.

3D in the early days was, as mentioned previously achieved by projecting two offset images and viewing them with red and green lenses. This tended to give a muddy appearance to the movie.

I saw "Friday the 13th Pt3" in 3D which used the current method of polarised lenses. The colour isn't affected and gives a great effect. It's nice to see 3D making a comeback over recent years and especially as older films can be digitally remastered to utilise the polarised method.

My mother mentioned the house of wax the other day, it must have been a memorable film.

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There has been a lot in the news recently about old and new screenings of films in 3 D.

This brought to mind a film I saw as a kid of around 6 or 7 which would make it 1953/4.

I can't remember much about it, but I remember it was a Western and it was probably screened at the Gaumont or possibly the Cinema House.

When you bought your tickets you were issued with a set of cardboard specs with coloured cellophane filters and I remember that they were all one size and didn't fit a 6/7 year old very well.

The reason I remember that It was a Western was that the gun barrels seemed to be sticking out into the auditorium and the bullets flying past your ears.

I'm not sure if special equipment was required to show those films or if it was all on the film itself. If special equipment was required perhaps that would narrow down the theatre where I saw it.

Does anyone else have any memories of 3 D films which seemed to come and go in a matter of about 2 years ?

HD

I have already mentioned 3D films in another thread

3D films in Sheffield

The Creature from the black lagoon

It came from outer space

Dial M for Murder

were all made in 3D.

The western you are referring to I can vaguely remember, it had a name something like "Fort Laramie". It was shown on channel 4 TV in its first year of broadcasting in 1982 during an experimental trial week of 3D TV broadcasting. The red / green glasses were given away free with that weeks TV times magazine.

The red / green analglyph system is all on one standard film which will run on any projector so it could be shown in any cinema, however every member of the audience needed a pair of those glasses which made things a bit awkward.

It was very popular in the 1950's but did have its drawbaclks. To create the third dimension the colour had to be sacrificed so that nothing was left in its natural colours and there was some "crossover" of the images making the picture a bit blurry around the edges.

At the same time (1950's) Widescreen came along, which on wide 70mm film gave a sharp, large picture "in glorious technicolour and stereophonic sound" to quote a song of the time. This ultimately proved more popular and successful and 3D seemed to fade away.

Modern 3D films like "Jaws 3D" made in the 1980's use a cross polarised polaroid system which overcomes all of the problems of the earlier system so hopefully 3D may one day make a come bavk, - it would work in the cinema but at present polarised light from a TV screen isn't possible and this may be holding the technology up.

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I have already mentioned 3D films in another thread

3D films in Sheffield

The Creature from the black lagoon

It came from outer space

Dial M for Murder

were all made in 3D.

The western you are referring to I can vaguely remember, it had a name something like "Fort Laramie". It was shown on channel 4 TV in its first year of broadcasting in 1982 during an experimental trial week of 3D TV broadcasting. The red / green glasses were given away free with that weeks TV times magazine.

The red / green analglyph system is all on one standard film which will run on any projector so it could be shown in any cinema, however every member of the audience needed a pair of those glasses which made things a bit awkward.

It was very popular in the 1950's but did have its drawbaclks. To create the third dimension the colour had to be sacrificed so that nothing was left in its natural colours and there was some "crossover" of the images making the picture a bit blurry around the edges.

At the same time (1950's) Widescreen came along, which on wide 70mm film gave a sharp, large picture "in glorious technicolour and stereophonic sound" to quote a song of the time. This ultimately proved more popular and successful and 3D seemed to fade away.

Modern 3D films like "Jaws 3D" made in the 1980's use a cross polarised polaroid system which overcomes all of the problems of the earlier system so hopefully 3D may one day make a come bavk, - it would work in the cinema but at present polarised light from a TV screen isn't possible and this may be holding the technology up.

I thought it was making a comeback, there have been a few 3D films last year

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http://tv.sky.com/skys-3d-telly-news

Just like Garlic Bread, "It's the future"

As science students at university we used to refer to the popular BBC TV programme presented by Raymond Baxter, "Tomorrow's World" as "Yesterdays World" because half of the new inovations they were showing as "new" we had known about for years.

Likewise 3D may be new to TV (for reasons I have already given) but in reality it has been around for years, - since the 1950's in fact.

For 3D still images (in full colour this time) it even predates that with things like the ViewMaster 3D stereoscope slide pair viewers.

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There has been a lot in the news recently about old and new screenings of films in 3 D.

This brought to mind a film I saw as a kid of around 6 or 7 which would make it 1953/4.

I can't remember much about it, but I remember it was a Western and it was probably screened at the Gaumont or possibly the Cinema House.

When you bought your tickets you were issued with a set of cardboard specs with coloured cellophane filters and I remember that they were all one size and didn't fit a 6/7 year old very well.

The reason I remember that It was a Western was that the gun barrels seemed to be sticking out into the auditorium and the bullets flying past your ears.

I'm not sure if special equipment was required to show those films or if it was all on the film itself. If special equipment was required perhaps that would narrow down the theatre where I saw it.

Does anyone else have any memories of 3 D films which seemed to come and go in a matter of about 2 years ?

HD

The only film I ever saw in 3 D was at the Unity Cinema, and that was a Western way back in the 50s. W/E

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The only film I ever saw in 3 D was at the Unity Cinema, and that was a Western way back in the 50s. W/E

I am sure there were several 3D western films as "cowboy films" were very popular in the 1950's.

Problem is remembering the names of some of them, - and who was in them.

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I am sure there were several 3D western films as "cowboy films" were very popular in the 1950's.

Problem is remembering the names of some of them, - and who was in them.

I've found a website which seems to list most films ever made in 3D together with the year. LINK

Cowboy type films listed include :-

The Stranger Wore A Gun 1953

The Nebraskan 1953

Louisiana Territory 1953

Gun Fury 1953

Devils Canyon 1953

Charge At Feather River 1953

Jesse James Versus The Daltons 1954

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I've found a website which seems to list most films ever made in 3D together with the year. LINK

Cowboy type films listed include :-

The Stranger Wore A Gun 1953

The Nebraskan 1953

Louisiana Territory 1953

Gun Fury 1953

Devils Canyon 1953

Charge At Feather River 1953

Jesse James Versus The Daltons 1954

Used the link but it seems to just deal with very modern DVD / BluRay / HDTV / computer projection applications of 3D using the latest technology.

I can't find the bit on old 3D films, - although it does mention the older red - green (or red - cyan) analglyph system.

Have I missed a section somewhere?

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Used the link but it seems to just deal with very modern DVD / BluRay / HDTV / computer projection applications of 3D using the latest technology.

I can't find the bit on old 3D films, - although it does mention the older red - green (or red - cyan) analglyph system.

Have I missed a section somewhere?

Just click on the first highlighted link labelled something like Blah Blah 3D Movies 1915 to present then scroll down page.

HD

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Just click on the first highlighted link labelled something like Blah Blah 3D Movies 1915 to present then scroll down page.

HD

Thanks hilldweller,

I had seen all that modern stuff and overlooked it, - just hadn't scrolled down the page far enough :rolleyes:

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In view of the current vogue for 3-D movies, I thought that I would add some more detail to the earlier posts.

In fact, very few 3-D films were shown in Sheffield back in the 1950's, and I can only find references for 8 of them.

The process had been started in 1952, by an American producer named Arch Oboler. He filmed a cheap jungle quickie called "BWANA DEVIL" ( starring Robert Stack) which had nothing going for it, except the new process of 3-D. The ads promised you "A Lion in your lap, and a lover in your arms !". The film was a sensation in the States and Warner Brothers - looking for a way to combat the onslaught of television in the early '50's - quickly took up an option on the process.

(I can find no record of this movie ever having played in Sheffield at that time.)

Warners made their first 3-D movie in 1953 - "HOUSE OF WAX" (starring Vincent Price), and it was a MASSIVE hit, all over the world.

It was the first 3-D feature seen in Sheffield, and it played at the Hippodrome from Sept. 7th to 19th, 1953. You wore a special pair of glasses in order to see the illusion of depth, and these cost an extra sixpence.

Several other 3-D movies followed, all playing at the Hippodrome. These were:

"SANGAREE" - with Fernando Lamas & Arlene Dahl (Dec 30th, 1953 to Jan 5th, 1954)

"THE CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER" - with Guy Madison & Frank Lovejoy (Jan 18th to 23rd, 1954)

I believe that this is the Western that the guy in the earlier posting remembers seeing back then?)

"CEASE-FIRE" - a curious, semi-documentary film about the Korean War, with real soldiers, and no stars.(April 26th to May 1st, 1954)

"HONDO" - with John Wayne & Geraldine Page (One of the best 3-D movies made) - (May 24th to 29th, 1954)

"KISS ME KATE" - Kathryn Grayson & Howard Keel (June 7th -12th, 1954)

"THE PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE" - Karl Malden & Claude Dauphin (Aug 23rd - 28th, 1954)

The last of the Warner Bros 3-D movies was Hitchcock's "DIAL "M" FOR MURDER" (Sept 13th - 18th, 1954), but this was shown here "flat".

Interest had quickly begun to wain in 3-D, and people didn't like having to wear (and pay for!) the special glasses, complaining of eye strain and headaches. It was also apparent that the new process that 20th Century Fox had been developing - CinemaScope, was going to be a huge success, and Warners soon bought a license from Fox and went into CinemaScope production too, as did nearly all the other Hollywood studios.

Warner's first CinemaScope movie was - "THE COMMAND" - with Guy Madison.

It ran at the Hippodrome from October 18th to 23rd, 1954

M.G.M.'s first CinemaScope film - "KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE" - with Robert Taylor & Ava Gardner) quickly followed it, running from Dec. 1st to 6th, 1954.

Other studios too produced 3-D movies, but most of these were only shown "flat" here. Most notably Universal's "THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON" which played at the Cinema House. The Gaumont showed several others - "MONEY FROM HOME" with Martin & Lewis, "THE FRENCH LINE" with Jane Russell and "THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE" with Rhonda Fleming. All of these "made in 3-D" films were shown "flat", and not in 3-D.

The only other Sheffield cinema that I can find a reference for having shown 3-D films was - the Essoldo, Sheffield Lane Top.

They had the Sheffield premiere of "IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE" from Feb.15th to 20th, 1954, and subsequently played several of the above 3-D films.

(Later on, the Essoldo was also the first suburban cinema to show CinemaScope films in Sheffield.)

That was more or less it for 3-D here. The process came, and went within the space of a year. CinemaScope had proved to be the winner, and films like "THE ROBE", "HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE", "THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN",etc,etc were MASSIVE hits, all over the world....and Sheffield !

By the way, the film mentioned in the earlier posting that was shown on ITV in 3-D, in October, 1982 was Columbia's weak effort - " FORT TI " - with George Montgomery. This did play at several local cinemas in the '50's, but not in 3-D.

CinemaScope, and Stereophonic Sound were here to stay (at least until the late 1960's), and "THE ROBE" ran for 8 weeks at the Palace, Union Street, from February, 15th to April 10th,1954.

An unprecedented run at that time.

Oddly enough, the second CinemaScope movie - "HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE" (Marilyn Monroe,Betty Grable & Lauren Bacall) beat "THE ROBE" into Sheffield by two weeks - playing at The Gaumont from 1st to 13th February, 1954.

The reason for this being that....normally, the Gaumont would have the first runs of 20th Century Fox, Columbia, United Artists and Universal's movies (with the Hippodrome taking Warner Bros, M.G.M. and Paramount's fims)......in the main.

However, J.Arthur Rank told Fox that he would take their CinemaScope films, but he couldn't tell the difference between Stereophonic Sound and the normal mono......so, he didn't want to go to the extra expense of installing that in all his theatres.

Fox said "No way!....you can't have one, without the other. It's a package". So, foolishly, Rank said "I'll leave it then" ! (he later relented).

Fox then approached independent cinemas in each city to be the exclusive exhibitor of their sensational new product, and the Palace, Union Street

was the winner in Sheffield.... and that is where nearly all the early CinemaScope films were first seen here.

Notice the selling point in the early ads for CinemaScope......."You see it without the use of special glasses".

In later years, other studios tried to revive 3-D in one form or another, but with little success.

It proved to be a gimmick that the public soon grows tired of.

I wonder how long today's 3-D trend will last for ??????

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In view of the current vogue for 3-D movies, I thought that I would add some more detail to the earlier posts.

In fact, very few 3-D films were shown in Sheffield back in the 1950's, and I can only find references for 8 of them.

I must admit that I saw both "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" and "It Came From Outer Space" at a special showing at the cinema owned by the council near the Grosvenor Hotel (The Anvil??) in 1977 or 1978 and NOT when they came out in the 1950's.

However, I did see them at a cinema in Sheffield.

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In view of the current vogue for 3-D movies, I thought that I would add some more detail to the earlier posts.

In fact, very few 3-D films were shown in Sheffield back in the 1950's, and I can only find references for 8 of them.

Thanks S24, a very nice collection of original 1950's film advertising posters. Brilliant

What stands out (if you'll pardon the 3D pun) in these posters is that the thing that jumps out of the screen at you isn't the moving objects or the monsters at all

It's the star actresses well endowed assets :o

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I must admit that I saw both "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" and "It Came From Outer Space" at a special showing at the cinema owned by the council near the Grosvenor Hotel (The Anvil??) in 1977 or 1978 and NOT when they came out in the 1950's.

However, I did see them at a cinema in Sheffield.

Yes, Dave.......I saw those two movies there too. They had a special 3-D revival week, as I recall ?

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Thanks S24, a very nice collection of original 1950's film advertising posters. Brilliant

What stands out (if you'll pardon the 3D pun) in these posters is that the thing that jumps out of the screen at you isn't the moving objects or the monsters at all

It's the star actresses well endowed assets

Yes indeed. The actresses' assets were always the two most important selling "points" in Hollywood's marketing !

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Yes, Dave.......I saw those two movies there too. They had a special 3-D revival week, as I recall ?

Yes they did, - that's the one I went to.

I only remember the date as being around 1977 or 78

Any idea of when the exact week was?

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Yes indeed. The actresses' assets were always the two most important selling "points" in Hollywood's marketing !

Just waiting for the release of the 3D version of the film "Twin Peaks" lol

It may not be about what you think it's going to be about :o

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Yes they did, - that's the one I went to.

I only remember the date as being around 1977 or 78

Any idea of when the exact week was?

Not at the moment....but, i'll look it up, next time i'm having a session at the library.

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Will 3D TV ever be any good?

I don't mean technically, - I.m sure modern technology is well up to the job.

I mean aesthetically.

Wouldn't a 3D TV just look like everything was happening inside a Punch & Judy booth?

Effectively you would just be looking "into the box" :unsure:

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Will 3D TV ever be any good?

I don't mean technically, - I.m sure modern technology is well up to the job.

I mean aesthetically.

Wouldn't a 3D TV just look like everything was happening inside a Punch & Judy booth?

Effectively you would just be looking "into the box"

I don't know Dave....I havn't seen it yet.

I suppose it would be just like watching a 3-D movie. Your TV has the same, flat screen?

I shall have to try and catch up with a football match in 3-D, if I can be bothered to trail out to find a pub that's showing it!

Have you seen IMAX yet ? That works surprisingly well, and the glasses aren't uncomfortable to wear.

From the photos i've seen in the press, the glasses for the TV 3-D experiments look to be the same.

If you havn't seen it yet, The National Media Museum in Bradford have regular IMAX showings (Currently showing "Avatar"), and it's well worth a visit.

They are also one of only three cinemas in the World that are still equipped to show the gigantic Wide-Screen process from the 1950's - CINERAMA.

They have the authentic, 3 panel set up, and their own print of the first Cinerama film - "This is Cinerama" (the one with the roller coaster ride).

They usually show this on the first Saturday afternoon of every month and you can find details on the attached link:

http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/

They also have their own Cinerama print of "How the West Was Won", which they show a couple of times a year.

If you havn't been yet, it's a great day out.

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I don't know Dave....I havn't seen it yet.

I suppose it would be just like watching a 3-D movie. Your TV has the same, flat screen?

I shall have to try and catch up with a football match in 3-D, if I can be bothered to trail out to find a pub that's showing it!

Have you seen IMAX yet ? That works surprisingly well, and the glasses aren't uncomfortable to wear.

From the photos i've seen in the press, the glasses for the TV 3-D experiments look to be the same.

If you havn't seen it yet, The National Media Museum in Bradford have regular IMAX showings (Currently showing "Avatar"), and it's well worth a visit.

They are also one of only three cinemas in the World that are still equipped to show the gigantic Wide-Screen process from the 1950's - CINERAMA.

They have the authentic, 3 panel set up, and their own print of the first Cinerama film - "This is Cinerama" (the one with the roller coaster ride).

They usually show this on the first Saturday afternoon of every month and you can find details on the attached link:

http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/

They also have their own Cinerama print of "How the West Was Won", which they show a couple of times a year.

If you havn't been yet, it's a great day out.

I have been to Bradford several times, and each time I have been in the National Museum of Film, Photography and Television but not recently.

Apparently its now called the National Media Museum

Last time I went the IMAX was there but I didn't get to see it as I am so interested in photography, cimematography and television I could spend hours just studying the other exhibits and not bother viewing a film at all.

Must make a point of doing so if I get the chance to go up to Bradford again.

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