Silver Age 3-D 1966-1997 including the 1980s 3D revival

[Richard--W]

Original post deleted



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[Taygan315]

Thanks for this post Richard!! And your RIGHT ON about the studios and re releasing these on 3D blu!!! We need EVERY SINGLE one of the 3D releases!!!! I'd buy all of them!!!

[Richard--W]

I'd buy 'em all, too.

You bet I would.

The 1980s 3-D films were all live-action films made without the benefit of CGI. Sometimes the opticals and f/x were not the best, but the image was always sharp, clear, resolute and in hard color. None of the dim murky soft digital capture that is ruining the industry today. I prefer live-action 3-D to animated, CGI 3-D.

[hotandserious]

Hi Richard -

A great read - I hate to see this post drop with so few comments!

Thanks for the well researched post. I'm especially interested to find out more about Earl Owensby. And it goes without saying, any of these titles released on Blu-ray 3D would be a day one purchase for me too.

[gamermwm]

It would be awesome if they were released. The only thing offputting about the classic 3D movies we have gotten so far is the higher price. You'd think an older movie would be more affordable but many times that hasn't been the case with the 3D version. This is why I have rented and not bought many of them

[deltatauhobbit]

There's so many neat looking titles there that I'd definitely be interested in getting. I've already voiced that I want Spacehunter since it's a guilty pleasure of, but Treasure of the Four Crowns, Metalstorm, Revenge of the Shogun Women, Starchaser, The Man Who Wasn't There and Tales of the Third Dimension are on my radar now!

[Jimmy Smith]

Are any 80s 3D movies actually good flicks? All the ones from that decade I have seen are little more than cornball horror flicks that in any dimension are disposable

[datlocolatino]

I saw Jaws, Friday the 13th and Amityville all in the theater woohoo!!!

[bavanut]

I would like to offer some respectful additions and corrections:

First, we should underscore that Chris Condon of StereoVision offered two incompatible single-strip systems over the years. His earlier, side-by-side anamorphic system was used to film The Stewardesses and a handful of other softcore porn flicks in the 1970s. His later, over-and-under lenses were meant to be more or less compatible with SpaceVision and other such systems, and did not employ anamorphic optics of any kind. The left and right pictures were roughly the size of Techniscope frames and were stacked one above the other. These two-perf frames, exposed and projected using spherical lenses, had a natural aspect ratio of 2.4:1 or slightly wider, depending on the masking being used in the projector.

Condon’s side-by-side anamorphic projection system was used in the rerelease of House of Wax in 1971 and 1982, and in the 1982 rerelease of Dial ‘M’ for Murder. My understanding is that the 1980 “rerelease” of Dial ‘M’ was in fact a simple matter of newly struck dual-strip prints being made available to those repertory theaters who cared to show them--like the Tiffany in L.A.--and that Dial ‘M’ was never made available in single-strip format before 1982.

Dynasty and Revenge of the Shogun Women were not filmed using Chris Condon’s StereoVision, but Mike Findlay’s Super Touch 3-D. After Findlay’s untimely death, Super Touch 3-D went through a period of further refinement and eventually resurfaced as Optimax III. Optimax III was used in turn to shoot Comin’ at Ya. My understanding is that Panavision eventually acquired Optimax III, did some substantial redesign work on it, and employed it for most of The Man Who Wasn’t There, on which more below.

You mention correctly that House of Wax and Dial ‘M’ for Murder were shot two-strip and rereleased in single-strip format, but remember that Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone was also shot two-strip, using a two-camera rig engineered by Ernest McNabb. Special effects sequences for The Man Who Wasn’t There were also shot dual strip-- in 65mm no less!--using a rig proprietary to Panavision.

I’m sure you realize that Paramount didn’t make Jaws III, but Universal. The story I have heard is that Condon’s StereoVision was employed on that flick for about a week, at which time production switched to a basically compatible over-and-under system called ArriVision. But there were unexpected problems elsewhere. When special effects footage for the film was completed, it was discovered that the center-to-center distance on those particular left and right frames did not match the center-to-center distance for the rest of the film. Extensive and costly optical realignment was necessary, which is why the sequences involving the underwater submarine have a substantially wider aspect ratio than the rest of the film in original release prints.

I wholeheartedly agree that Rottweiler offers some surprisingly fine stereoscopic 3-D. While Owensby may have been very patient and willing to make accommodation to the technology, I think the real credit for Rottweiler’s pleasing stereo imagery goes to lens designer Chris Condon and (most especially) stereographer Lenny Lipton. I’ve read that Lipton and Condon managed to get Rottweiler screened for some mid-level brass at Universal prior to production on Jaws III, in hopes of landing that gig. These mid-level executives praised the 3-D, but stated flat out that they could never justify screening such an awful movie as Rottweiler for the real decision makers at the top!

Last of all, let me underscore that I present this information in a spirit of profound respect. I very much enjoy reading your posts, Richard. It’s never easy for us 3-D enthusiasts to sort out the accurate data from the misinformation, and it may even be that I myself am mistaken on a point or two here. I share your intense appreciation for 3-D, and I very much respect your zeal to share your information with others.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Taygan315

Thanks for this post Richard!! And your RIGHT ON about the studios and re releasing these on 3D blu!!! We need EVERY SINGLE one of the 3D releases!!!! I'd buy all of them!!!

Agreed.
This is a great listing of 80's 3D and the entertaining Cover Art along with it! Thanks for posting all of it.

I didn't know Parasite had a 3D version. That is good to know. I heard this was how Demi Moore got started, with this movie.

Those classic and sometimes comical covers are something we don't see too often these days.

Thanks again Richard! I wish most of this was available on blu ray 3D today.

[robtadrian]

Comin At Ya is screening in Seattle Nov 28-30 http://www.cominatyaagin.com/ and in Vista Ca December 2...so maybe a disc next year?

[VisualMind75]

I also wish the studios/private labels would release the 3D films of the 1980s onto 3D blu-ray. Using a bit of google-fu, I've managed to track down a few jpegs of the original movie posters from Earl Owensby (apart from Hit The Road Running). Regardless of the fact that the films by Owensby were low-budget (and perhaps less-than-stellar films), the accompanying movie posters are detailed and colorful (aside from the poster for Hyperspace, which is more simplistic than the rest).

3D_Rottweiler01b.jpg
3D_Tales3rdDimensionb.jpg
3D_ChainGangb.jpg
3D_Hyperspaceb.jpg

[Zivouhr]

Thanks for posting those VisualMind75. Rottweiler 3D could be something if they have the dog's jaw barking and growling out of the screen.

3D keeps returning to theaters over the decades probably because some filmmakers also want to represent their movies the way most people see every day; in 3D. As long as they offer it in medium to strong 3D, it's worth seeing in 3D.

I wonder what percentage of the classics offered 3D in the mild, barely 3D range that we see more often today?

[Robert Furmanek]

I wonder what percentage of the classics offered 3D in the mild, barely 3D range that we see more often today?

Zero.

I've seen about 45 of the 50 Golden Age features and most of the 70's and 80's titles. Every single one had layers of depth and were truly three-dimensional compared to the popular 2.5-D movies shown today.

The only one from the 1950's that reduced parallax and minimized the depth for certain shots was DIAL M FOR MURDER.

[Nocturnaloner]

Originally Posted by VisualMind75

So naturally this poster for HYPERSPACE caught my eye.

Just stop what you're doing, take 5 minutes, and watch this thing:

Gremloids (1984) - YouTube

This is amazing. I will own this. Long ago, in a suburb not very far from here someone said, "I am going to make Star Wars, in 3D, in a supermarket!!" And they did.

[Mao]

Wow! Thanks for reviving this thread!

I saw 11 of the these theatrically...I couldn't get enough!

Friday the 13th 3D was amazing in 3D! Years later while working at a video store (yup, I was on of those!) in California, I met and befriended Martin Sadoff, the stereographer...cool guy...

I would kill to get my hands on some 80s 3D Blu!

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

Zero.

I've seen about 45 of the 50 Golden Age features and most of the 70's and 80's titles. Every single one had layers of depth and were truly three-dimensional compared to the popular 2.5-D movies shown today.

The only one from the 1950's that reduced parallax and minimized the depth for certain shots was DIAL M FOR MURDER.

Thanks for the info Robert. I believe it. It's such a relief when a movie offers well composed, strong 3D compared to some of the flatter, nearly 2D movies we've seen in recent years (even with some modern filmed 3D movies sadly).

Originally Posted by Nocturnaloner

So naturally this poster for HYPERSPACE caught my eye.

Just stop what you're doing, take 5 minutes, and watch this thing:

Gremloids (1984) - YouTube

This is amazing. I will own this. Long ago, in a suburb not very far from here someone said, "I am going to make Star Wars, in 3D, in a supermarket!!" And they did.

That was funny stuff, thanks. "Just browsing" said the Darth Vader like guy after he blasts the cashier. Great music score. Gremloids. Surprised I never heard of that one before. The C3PO's cereal shown had the strangest tasting cereal I ever had as a kid. Cool box though.
Gremloids looks like Hyperspace, the Jawas in the cart shooting laser guns. I'd like to have this one in blu ray 3D.

Originally Posted by Mao

Wow! Thanks for reviving this thread!

I saw 11 of the these theatrically...I couldn't get enough!

Friday the 13th 3D was amazing in 3D! Years later while working at a video store (yup, I was on of those!) in California, I met and befriended Martin Sadoff, the stereographer...cool guy...

I would kill to get my hands on some 80s 3D Blu!

Agree. Looks like fun.

[the13thman]

There isn't a single one of these I wouldn't buy on 3D blu ray whatever the price but I'd kill for Friday the 13th Part III, Dynasty and Revenge Of The Shogun Women

[Nocturnaloner]

Richard--W hasn't been here since November 27th, that's too bad. Good post.

[Zivouhr]

YouTube

Trailer of Star Chaser 3D, looks cool in a Star Wars animated style. I can't believe I never saw this cartoon before. Rotoscoped appearance, similar to The Lord of the Rings by Bakshi.