The Week: Most Recent film--tv-technology

The Wizard of Oz 3D: Will it spoil a cinematic classic?

By The Week Staff — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:45:00 -0400

Attention, fans of Dorothy and Co.: The next time you're off to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz, you should probably bring your 3D glasses along. This week, Warner Bros. announced that it will celebrate the company's 90th anniversary by converting its most beloved film — 1939's The Wizard of Oz — into 3D. (Watch a trailer from a previous Wizard of Oz re-release below.) The Wizard of Oz's fully remastered, 3D-converted re-release will arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray in fall 2013, and a 3D re-release in movie theaters is widely expected to follow. Of course, not everyone is excited...

Is Titanic worth seeing again in 3D?

By The Week Staff — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:21:00 -0400

Fifteen years after Titanic smashed box office records and swept the Academy Awards with 11 wins, director James Cameron's blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is heading back to theaters — this time in 3D. Cameron, who has blasted other filmmakers for their shoddy attempts to convert 2D films to 3D, spent 60 weeks and $18 million trying to get the process right for Wednesday's release of Titanic 3D, timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the real-life disaster. The burning question: How many people have yet to see a movie that took in $1.8 billion during its first...

Is Star Wars: Episode I any better in 3D?

By The Week Staff — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:28:00 -0500

Can a 3D revamp make Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace watchable? It's fair to say that the 1999 prequel is the least beloved of the six-film Star Wars saga. When it premiered 13 years ago, critics blasted its narrative obsession with trade taxation routes (yawn); its wooden performances; the creepy flirtation between Natalie Portman's Queen Amidala and 9-year-old Jake Lloyd's Anakin Skywalker; and, above all, the cringe-inducing stereotype known as Jar Jar Binks. Director George Lucas has since spent well over a year on a painstaking 3D conversion (debuting this weekend), which ...

3 ways The Great Gatsby could change 3D movies

By The Week Staff — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:55:00 -0500

On the surface, The Great Gatsby seems like an unusual choice for a 3D movie. But that's precisely the kind of film that director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) is making. At first, devotees of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic — about a tangled web of New York social climbers in the Jazz Age — raised their eyebrows upon learning that the literary masterpiece was getting the 3D treatment most closely associated with Avatar and Transformers. But after a recent New York Times outline of Luhrmann's motivations and aspirations for a 3D Gatsby, skeptics aren't just on board — they...

3D's fading promise

By The Week Staff — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:02:00 -0500

When did Hollywood first use 3D?
It took off in the 1950s, when the studios saw 3D features as a way to lure customers away from their new television sets. But most filmmakers treated the technology as a gimmick, and after a string of mediocre movies with titles like Cat-Women of the Moon, 3D survived only in theme parks and the occasional animated feature. It was not until the 2009 release of James Cameron's Avatar, filmed using new, high-definition 3D cameras, that 3D realized its potential in a mainstream film. The sci-fi epic quickly became the highest-grossing film of all time, with 85 percent...

Titanic in 3D: Why it 'truly impresses'

By The Week Staff — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:31:00 -0400

Fourteen years ago, James Cameron's Oscar-winning epic Titanic first introduced us to Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack, who froze in icy waters as the unsinkable ship sank, and Kate Winslet's Rose, whose heart went on and on via YouTube and Netflix. Next spring, the beloved/ridiculed film will return to theaters painstakingly converted to 3D at a cost of $18 million. Cameron recently previewed 18 minutes of the 3D footage for the press and, while films rarely dazzle when a third dimension is belatedly tacked on, commentators say the Titanic 3D conversion "truly impresses." Here's why:

1. Cameron's...

The Lion King 3D's 'surprise' box-office success: 4 theories

By The Week Staff — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:40:00 -0400

The film that dominated this weekend's box office isn't a blockbuster new release — but a hand-drawn animated film first released in 1994. The Lion King's 3D re-release (only the second time the film's returned to the big screen) more than doubled studio estimates for its weekend gross, amassing $29.3 million. With most commentators agreeing that 3D is dead and hand-drawn animation is a has-been style, what's behind the film's surprising success? Here, four theories:

1. A new generation jumped at the chance to see The Lion King
A "circle of life" thing is happening here, says Disney executive...

Can Transformers save 3D films?

By The Week Staff — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:20:00 -0400

It wasn't so long ago that Hollywood seemed to be on the brink of a 3D revolution. Avatar raked in a whopping 80 percent of its record-breaking box office gross through 3D showings, sparking a trend that led to 40 planned 3D releases in 2011. But then, increasingly, audience members began turning their noses up at 3D glasses. They complained of 3D's less sharp picture quality, shaky effects that cause headaches and nausea, and skyrocketing ticket prices. Indeed, this summer's first four major 3D releases— Pirates of the Caribbean, Kung Fu Panda 2, Green Lantern, and Cars 2 ...

Werner Herzog's 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams': A new dimension for 3D?

By The Week Staff — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:40:00 -0400

In movieland, the third dimension is typically the province of big budget animated flicks and franchise fare. But, this weekend, theatres are handing out the special glasses for decidedly artier fare: Werner Herzog's documentary about Paleolithic cave paintings, Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Has the acclaimed German director (Grizzly Man, Aguirre: The Wrath of God) managed to de-cheese the technology as he immerses audiences in ancient caverns? (Watch the film's trailer.)

Yes, Cave is an amazing use of 3D: I typically associate 3D movies with cheap thrills and overblown franchises, but Herzog's use...

Wimbledon in 3D: Will audiences watch tennis in theaters?

By The Week Staff — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:06:00 -0500

The finals of this summer's Wimbledon tennis championship will be filmed in high-definition 3D and screened live, as the matches unfold, in 3D-equipped cinemas around the world. The streaming video, produced by Sony and the All England Lawn Tennis Club, will also be available for 3D TV broadcasts. Will Wimbledon really be better in 3D — and will fans shell out for tickets at the cineplex?

This experiment is doomed: What an "absurd" idea, says Lindsay Mannering at The Stir. The technology just "isn't that great" yet. "Tennis is a super fast sport with jarring angles and lightning speed movements...

Can 3D save 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace'?

By The Week Staff — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:50:00 -0500

For many fans, the Star Wars prequels, from The Phantom Menace (1999) to The Clone Wars (2008), are a cruel farce — a woodenly acted, highly profitable mockery of the beloved three original films. But Star Wars creator George Lucas has no intention of sweeping the prequels under the rug. Last week, details of a long-rumored plan to release the Stars Wars films in 3D emerged. A 3D version of The Phantom Menace will hit theaters first, on February 10, 2012, followed by the next five films in the franchise's narrative sequence, one per year. Will 3D really give the derided prequels new punch...

Penthouse 3D: Will Europe embrace a new dimension of porn?

By The Week Staff — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:20:00 -0500

Penthouse is adding a new dimension to its porn by launching the world's first 3D adult television channel. On Tuesday, Penthouse 3D joined the lineup of Europe's Astra satellite network. Television sets equipped with 3D technology still have not gained widespread popularity since manufacturers began touting them last year, and there has been "a relative dearth of 3D programming," says Mark Hachman in PC Magazine. Will the new Penthouse channel help boost sales, or will the interest of European viewers fail to be aroused?

This is a perfect match: "Fake jiggling breasts, pert bobbing behinds, and...

'Transformers' 3D masks: Awesome or dorky?

By The Week Staff — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:05:00 -0500

The image: For the 3D fan who doesn't feel sufficiently awkward slipping on a pair of movie theater-provided glasses, Hasbro has just the product for you. At this year's New York Toy Fair, the company announced that it would begin selling 3D-equipped Transformers helmets, which it advertises as "role-play masks that are 'MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!'" The masks, which are $10 each, come in Optimus Prime and Bumblee models, and will work at most 3D theaters. So customers can theoretically use them at a screening of Avatar 2, even if transformers and the Na'vi don't have much else in common.
The reaction...

Will 'The Great Gatsby' legitimize 3D movies?

By The Week Staff — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:18:00 -0500

Director Baz Luhrmann is hinting that he might shoot his film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby, in 3D. If he does, it could mark a turning point for the technology, whose use to date has been limited to boisterous action movies, from the computer-animated Bolt to the effects-heavy Avatar. Could Luhrmann's Gatsby convince moviegoers that 3D is more than a passing gimmick? (Watch a clip from the 1974 film version)

This will show how 3D can help tell a story: Luhrmann loves to "shake up the status quo," says Steven Zeitchik in the Los Angeles Times, but why fuss about...

The next Batman: IMAX vs. 3D

By The Week Staff — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:35:00 -0400

After the enormous success of both The Dark Knight and Inception, Christopher Nolan may be one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood. So when "the Hitchcock of superhero cinema" says he will not film the next Batman movie in 3D — he has previously complained about the lack of brightness in 3D filming and admitted he's "not a fan" of the technology — Hollywood takes notice. What does Nolan's decision to film The Dark Knight Rises in a two-dimensional IMAX format mean for the future of movies? (Watch Nolan praise the IMAX experience)

This doesn't bode well for 3D: When the most respected...

Does anyone need 'Star Wars' in 3D?

By The Week Staff — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:45:00 -0400

Earlier this week, Lucasfilm announced plans to convert all six Star Wars films to 3D for a series of theatrical re-releases, beginning with Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 2012. The announcement has drawn fervent reactions from Star Wars' notoriously rabid fans. Will Luke Skywalker and friends be appreciably improved by the ability to leap into moviegoers' laps, figuratively speaking, or is this just a grandiose money-grubbing scheme?

Lucasfilm is just exploiting "Star Wars" groupies: "C'mon, does Lucas really need another $15 bucks a film from his all-too-eager fan base?" asks Mike Noyes at ...