I am convinced, after seeing the Buzz Lightyear space adventure opening sequence in TS2, that Star Wars absolutely needs to be released in 3-D. Imagine everything from that huge-ášš Imperial destroyer to the leap to warp speed displayed in that format. Mind-blowing.
Plus it’s the only way George Lucas characters will ever be three dimensional.
Zing!
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Yeah, I’ve always thought the same as well. The final battle in the trenches of the Death Star in 3-D could have half the audience doubling over from motion sickness though.
But, Peter .. ! Would you really wish Episode 1 in 3-D on us???? Have mercy!
Bringing our daughter tomorrow – turning 7 in November and already both a Pixar and Star Wars expert; she agrees with me that Lucas should have not been involved in the prequels.
Coming soon, I’m told. When I was shown a clip from “Star Wars in 3D” a few months ago, imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be the Anakin/Obi-Wan Coruscant chase scene from Episode II. Even the Ewoks would have been better than that!
Zing Indeed.
Even though I no longer wear glasses after having had PRK surgery 3 years ago, I really struggle with 3D glasses and 3D movies. My eyes just want to rebel whenever I put them on.
I’ve been kind of hoping that this new/renewed 3D fad would die out like the last one did. It was a cheesy gimmick in the 50s and it’s still a cheesy gimmick.
Afraid of losing their audience to the new media of TV studios and theaters came up with gimmicks to get folks back into theaters. Vistavision, Cinerama, CinemaScope and, of course, 3D.
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And now, with the rise of widescreen TVs, DVDs, TiVo/DVR and, most notably, the Intertubes…
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Can Sensurround be far behind?
Robert, when done poorly any gimmick or idea can be cheesy. The problem that most 3-D films suffered from was they filmed them with the idea that they would fill the screen with stuff to see in 3-D whether it made any sense or not.
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That doesn’t have to be the case though. I had several friends who, like you, could care less about that kind of thing and ended up raving about how perfectly it was executed in Monsters VS Aliens. I’ve seen films where it worked quite effectively as well.
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If it can be done well and you will have the option in theaters and on DVD to not watch it in 3-D; why wish it ill will or for its demise when others may well enjoy it? Personally I want to see more of it when the director knows how to use it well. Hëll, for that matter I wouldn’t mind seeing theaters do stuff like they did with The Tingler and other William Castle…. er…. classics. Stuff like that was actually fun.
It’s been my experience that most people don’t enjoy it, or at least don’t actively seek it out. Pretty much everything I heard or read about the 3D version of Up claimed that the 3D didn’t add anything to the movie, for example. It just seems like a gimmick foisted upon the public where there really wasn’t a demand for it. I don’t feel bad for wishing its demise. I’m pretty sure those who enjoy would get over it.
When it comes to entertainment, public demand means absolutely nothing. One of the major aspects of commercial success is trying to keep ahead of the curve: Giving the public not what they demand, but what they’ll go for if presented to them as an option.
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That’s true, to an extent. But I also don’t think the public is “going for” 3D in a way that justifies the big marketing push it’s receiving, or, really, its very existence. And if I’m wrong about that, I wish the public would stop going for it. Maybe it’s the purist in me, but there’s something about 3D that, to me, tarnishes the artistic integrity of a film, and makes it feel cheap and exploitative, reducing it to mere spectacle.
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That said, I will admit that the upcoming 3D version of A Christmas Carol looks really cool.
That’s true, to an extent. But I also don’t think the public is “going for” 3D in a way that justifies the big marketing push it’s receiving, or, really, its very existence.
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I imagine the same was said decades ago when TV was pushing the fact that it was broadcasting “in living color.”
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I think the push isn’t so much a ploy to get people to watch 3-D movies as to get theatres to switch to digital projection and ultimately reduce distribution costs.
I can imagine many of those arguments being made when color was first introduced.
Not sure I want every movie to be 3D but it can be fun and most of the ones that have come out have had 2D versions playing too.
I hope it stays around. If it does, you can get over it.
3d has been a big success in Horror movies recently Movies that would go away quickly are making a decent box office because of the 3d. My bloody Valentine and the new Final Destination (both horrible films) have 3d to thank for doing well.
“I imagine the same was said decades ago when TV was pushing the fact that it was broadcasting “in living color.””
“I can imagine many of those arguments being made when color was first introduced.”
You say that as if 3D was just introduced. But it’s been around for nearly 60 years. Besides, color has been around, in one form or another, almost as long as movies themselves have been around. So no, I don’t imagine those arguments were very common when color was introduced. Certainly not when TV turned to color, at a time when color was already the norm on the big screen. Who wouldn’t want color TV?
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But even if people did say that about color, that doesn’t really have anything to do with my opinion on 3D. I suppose I’m meant to infer that I should embrace 3D as the wave of the future in the same way that color detractors eventually embraced it, but that argument assumes an awful lot, not the least of which is that 3D is something I need to “get used to.” I’m used to 3D. I’ve been watching 3D since I was a kid. I used to think it was really cool. But I’m over it. I’m even over IMAX 3D, and I once thought that was the greatest thing ever, the closest thing I could get to a Holodeck. But it bores me now. The sense of spectacle and awe has worn off, and all I’m left with is the gimmick, the sense that I’m watching 3D for the sake of 3D. Getting used to 3D is exactly what killed it for me. I don’t imagine many people have claimed to have gotten tired of color.
Whether or not 3-d itself has been around for a good few decades, the current technique they’re using to create is much smoother and quite different from the 3-d of the 70s.
Peter David: Imagine everything from that huge-ášš Imperial destroyer to the leap to warp speed….
Luigi Novi: Warp speed?? Uh-oh, anybody else feel that? I sense a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of tiny little Star Wars nerds harumph in protest at this franchise slip…. 🙂
…and were suddenly silenced by massive phaser fire from the Star Trek nerds.
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Or maybe it was just the avocado salad I had for lunch.
I’m in Columbus for Mid-Ohio-Con right now, and I’d HOPED to be able to go to the Arena District cinemas to see the Toy Story 3-D double-play. It turned out to be the only cinemas in the area that WEREN’T showing the TS movies.
On the other hand, I’m doing my best to avoid the recommendation of a friend at work to go see Pandorum.
But I did get a t-shirt today that I can’t wait to show to that same friend and several others at work next week. It reads “… and then Buffy staked Edward. The End.”
Hey, Peter, was it Caroline first time seeing Toy Story? I didn’t realize it until it was pointed out, but Toy Story 2 is 10 years old, and this re-release is almost a way to introduce the film to kids who weren’t even born when that movie came out.
Usually, not much makes me feel old, but that kinda does.
Seeing this made my wife force me to show her the Toy Story 3 trailer on youtube… wasn’t the biggest TS fan, mostly casually entertained, but now I’m wanting to go see it.
Must say I’m more excited about the Princess and the Frog because I miss those 2D Disney days.
I guess it’s a limited release? Because it doesn’t seem to be playng anywhere near Gainesville Ga, including the IMAX (which has “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” in 3D)…
I think it is limited release; my local theatre (which always has the latest animation/family film) is not carrying it whereas the mall cinema 30min away is.
I also heard it’s playing for two weeks only.
The GTC Hollywood Cinemas in Gainesville has it showing at 12, 4, and 8.
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Isn’t the Internet spiffy sometimes?
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It is, but I hardly think that the chain of theatres I work for are the only ones who have the incorrect times reported on internet sites. I’d be inclined to double check with a phone call anytime I see times online that aren’t directly from a theatre’s personal website.
Lucky me. The cinema closest to me has Toy Story 3-D on two screens (one the new faux-Imax) and Meatballs 3-D (which I’ve heard good things about) on a third.
Sounds good. Of course *I’m* still blown away by “Valiant Vision”…
Yeah sure Peter, it was Caroline who wanted to see it. 😀
Though I must admit, since I usually go to the latest Pixar film alone, I do get the occasional sideways glance from the usher.
I love 3-D. My only complaint is when they release to video, they change from the gray-gray method to the red-blue method, which eliminates most of the color perception. I was so happy that Coraline came out in 3-D on blu-ray, only to discover it was a red-blue version. We couldn’t stand the loss of color and switched to 2-D viewing after 15 minutes or so. Too bad, because the 3-D effect was amazing at home–minus the loss of color, of course.
Did the kiddies (not just yours Peter) have any trouble sitting still for back to back showings of the two movies?
Is there an intermission twixt the two?
I know this is only a 2 week run so I’m on the fence as a single guy that owns the DVD’s as to go or not.
Scott45 —
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I’m one who prefers to NOT spend extra money, but I have seen some of this year’s 3-D movies simply because they were in 3-D with the new process.
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I’ve seen both Toy Story movies, didn’t care for them a lot, yet I’ll be going tomorrow to see them in 3-D.
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I like the new process that much.
3D, like color or even CGI, is nothing but another tool for filmmakers to use. Yes, it can be gimmicky, but it can also be used to create images that are closer to how we perceive reality. It just takes some time for directors to learn to use it in ways more advanced than a poke in the eye.
And while 3D has been around for a long time – it has not been around in it’s current form for more than a couple of years. And the difference between polarized 3d, and the old stuff, is huge.
It’s the same thing. Polarized 3D IS the “old stuff.”
No, polarized 3D uses the clear (or slightly gray) lenses. By the “old stuff” I was referring to the anaglyph style red/blue or red/green variety. Though principles are similar, they are not the same.
No, I understand that, what I’m saying is that most of the old 3D movies used the polarized glasses. The only difference now is that the movies are digital.
No, I understand that, what I’m saying is that most of the old 3D movies used the polarized glasses. The only difference now is that the movies are digital.
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Right; now it’s just the people who make the movies who are polarizing…
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Ba-dum-bump.
I saw the Toy Story double feature last night at 9 pm local, when I figured the theater would be realitively empty, which it was. I don’t think there were more than a dozen other people there besides myself.
I enjoyed it, but also came up with a theory on what some say is the biggest problem in the movie.
SPOILER WARNING! If you have not yet seen the first Toy Story and plan to do so some day, do NOT read any further!
The problem some people have is the scene where the toys all come to life to give bully Sid a good scare. The question is, why don’t the toys to that all the time, especially Buzz Lightyear who, for most of the movie, doesn’t even realize he IS a toy?!
My theory is that, for all the toys to start movie around like they did to scare Sid, it has to be an act of Collective Will. One toy, by itself, desiring to come to life around a human, would not be able to do so. That toy would drop or freeze here it stood, maybe making the human wonder how it moved from where it had been, but not too concerned. But, if all the toys in a room (or a yard, as in the movie) got together and agreed to start moving, they could do so. They could also do quick, unseen movement, such as Woody and Buzz winking to each other after they’re finally reunited with Andy.
Besides, I also know that, when I was a kid, I had a feeling my toys came to life the minute I left my room. Of course, when I was a kid, I was also convinced that lions and tigers were hiding in the hallways of my house at night, waiting to pounce on me.
Anyway, I call this sort of thing giving myself a no-prize. Because, eventually, Marvel’s No-Prizes were given out when people gave a convincing solution for what “seemed” to be a mistake in a story.