Dimensions a Trois
"The corn is popping in your face, and it's ... 3-D!" so sayeth the Swedish chef, in one of the Muppet movies. He's manning the popcorn booth at the 3-D movie theater, wearing 3-D glasses, throwing popcorn into the air and letting it fall on his face.
How many times did my sister and I shriek that phrase and throw things in the air as we did, letting them fall on our faces. Raisins, I think. I think we used raisins.
J.R. Eyerman, 1952
I went to my first 3-D movie yesterday. I was tempted, when I sat down, to throw my popcorn in the air and let it fall on my 3-D-glassesed face. I didn't.
The movie was Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, at Film Forum. It was good in 3-D, but it would have been good in 2-D too - the only scene that is truly enhanced in 3-D is the murder scene, when Grace Kelly stabs her attacker with scissors. Otherwise, the 3-Dness is just a novel effect. The movie was filmed in 3-D, but was released in 2-D shortly thereafter; 1950s audiences apparently felt the same way.
Most interesting 3-D tidbit: The finger that dials the "M" in the movie is a huge wooden replica, as is the telephone; 3-D effects, apparently, didn't work well when the filming was close up, as it was with the finger and telephone. So Hitchcock had enormous models built and filmed those instead.
I like the way Hitchcock sees obstacles - a too-small finger, the MPPC code - as challenges to appreciate and solve. I liked being in a theater where I knew everyone was wearing 3-D glasses.
I got to keep my 3-D glasses.
How many times did my sister and I shriek that phrase and throw things in the air as we did, letting them fall on our faces. Raisins, I think. I think we used raisins.
J.R. Eyerman, 1952
I went to my first 3-D movie yesterday. I was tempted, when I sat down, to throw my popcorn in the air and let it fall on my 3-D-glassesed face. I didn't.
The movie was Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, at Film Forum. It was good in 3-D, but it would have been good in 2-D too - the only scene that is truly enhanced in 3-D is the murder scene, when Grace Kelly stabs her attacker with scissors. Otherwise, the 3-Dness is just a novel effect. The movie was filmed in 3-D, but was released in 2-D shortly thereafter; 1950s audiences apparently felt the same way.
Most interesting 3-D tidbit: The finger that dials the "M" in the movie is a huge wooden replica, as is the telephone; 3-D effects, apparently, didn't work well when the filming was close up, as it was with the finger and telephone. So Hitchcock had enormous models built and filmed those instead.
I like the way Hitchcock sees obstacles - a too-small finger, the MPPC code - as challenges to appreciate and solve. I liked being in a theater where I knew everyone was wearing 3-D glasses.
I got to keep my 3-D glasses.
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