Golden Age 3-D Features

[jimqk]

Originally Posted by punkskins

If ten years ago you said we have 20 of the 1950s 3D films available I think people would have been content with that number. We will reach the half way mark of 25 I do think so

It took a little bit after 3-D TVs hit the market in the early 2010s for any Golden Age 3-D movies to be released on Blu-ray. It wasn't until October 2012 when we finally got Creature From the Black Lagoon and Dial M for Murder. But even before that, The Mad Magician became available for purchase on PS3, and that was the first thing I bought.

In those days, I wasn't as educated on Golden Age 3-D movies as I am now (thanks Bob Furmanek), but there was a list of movies in my mind that I thought for sure would get released soon after those early releases. That list would have been different had I known about movies like Inferno (which is one of my very favorite 3-D movies), Man in the Dark, Taza, Son of Cochise, and Second Chance (which I'd love to see before I die.)

My original list - in addition to the three mentioned - included Revenge of the Creature, House of Wax, Gorilla at Large, Phantom of the Rue Morgue, The Maze, It Came From Outer Space, Gog, Robot Monster and Bwana Devil. I thought for sure that those movies would certainly get released over the course of the next two or three years.

But, that never happened. It took a full year after Dial M for Murder was released until we got another 3-D Golden Age classic, House of Wax. The studios really dropped the ball early on. They were sitting on gold, but did nothing about it. Had more of those movies been released early on, it's highly possible TV manufacturers would still include a 3-D option in their sets.

I bought my first 3-D projector a few months before Creature and Dial M were released in 2012 (that's the reason I bought it). I'll never forget showing those movies to family and friends, and their reactions. They thought it was amazing! Meanwhile, newer 3-D movies paled in comparison to the old ones. The only really good new 3-D movie, Avatar, was only available to people who bought Samsung TVs. Stupid. It was like saying, "Here, check out this new medium of home entertainment, but only if you buy this type of TV." What about the people who already owned a model from a different company?

The studios needed to strike while the iron was hot, and they failed to do that. If it wasn't for Bob Furmanek, his team of experts, and the good folks at Kino Lorber, we would not have, literally, half of the 3-D Golden Age movies in our collections that we now own.

It seems like Universal would have never released It Came From Outer Space if the archive hadn't restored it for Panamint. Apparently, Panamint made a deal with Universal to release the movie, along with the archive to restore it. When Universal saw the finished product, it suddenly made plans to release it in the U.S. themselves. I also wonder whether the movie would have included that amazing magnetic three-track stereo soundtrack had the archive not been involved?

The amazing thing, however, is that it took a long four years after Creature From the Black Lagoon for Universal to release another classic 3-D movie, as It Came From Outer Space didn't finally become available until October 2016. By that point, interest in 3-D TVs was waning hard.

Would MGM ever had taken the time to restore Gog in 3-D? No way. That was the archive and Kino all the way. We are extremely lucky to have that one. And we're lucky to have everything else we got.

The biggest disappointment is Warner Brothers. Of the 15 titles they own, they only released three. I've been dying to see Phantom of the Rue Morgue in 3-D since the 1970s and it looks like that probably won't ever happen now. And they have a lot of other exciting titles in their collection, too, that I would have loved to see like Charge at Feather River, Dangerous Mission and Second Chance.

But the great news right now is there are two more of those 50 titles that at some point soon we'll get to add to our collections. This is big time. Don't get me wrong - I love all the Silver Age stuff and am always thrilled to add titles to my collection from that era. But it's the Golden Age stuff that gets me really pumped. There's something magical about 3-D movies from the period of time from 1952 through 1955 that is hard to put into words. When Bob stated the upcoming Kickstarter for a "primo" Golden Age title, he revealed nothing because as far as I'm concerned, every title from this period is primo.

[jimqk]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

He's already made a deal with The Film Detective to distribute his holdings. This has been covered elsewhere, but I'm not sure if it's been mentioned in the 3-D threads.

The question is: Does the deal include those three movies and will they be restored in 3-D? If they're released flat, that would be a letdown of gargantuan proportions.

[Robert Furmanek]

You don't know how hard I was trying to get ANY vintage material restored and available on 3-D Blu-ray starting in 2011. I received apathy and constant rejection from the rights holders. Frank Tarzi was the first one to take a chance with us in 2014 and we haven't stopped since then.

I'm pleased to say, we are VERY busy with lots of great titles and surprises in the pipeline!

Up next:

A Golden Age rarity that should be announced by Kino this weekend.

Another Golden Age gem that will be available for pre-ordering via Kickstarter in a few weeks.

In addition, we've just finished a 90 second preservation/restoration test from the original 35mm over/under camera negative (it looks spectacular) on a Silver Age classic that we are negotiating to license as we speak.

And more!

(PS - We also have this massive non-3D restoration project on the table as well:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...n-one-restored)

[jaws3dfan]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

Y

A Golden Age rarity that should be announced by Kino this weekend.

Another Golden Age gem that will be available for pre-ordering via Kickstarter in a few weeks.

In addition, we've just finished a 90 second preservation/restoration test from the original 35mm over/under camera negative (it looks spectacular) on a Silver Age classic that we are negotiating to license as we speak.

And more!

Very Cool, I can't wait to hear what the Golden and Silver Age releases are.

[robtadrian]

Just a note that the Tell Tale Heart will be an extra on the Columbia Classics 2 set

[Camps]

Originally Posted by jimqk

In those days, I wasn't as educated on Golden Age 3-D movies as I am now (thanks Bob Furmanek)

Seconded!

And, hear, hear!!

[cinerama]

Originally Posted by robtadrian

Just a note that the Tell Tale Heart will be an extra on the Columbia Classics 2 set

Probably not in 3D so I'll pass.

[Robert Furmanek]

It does not exist in 3D.

http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/golden-age-3-d

[cinerama]

Originally Posted by jimqk

The biggest disappointment is Warner Brothers. Of the 15 titles they own, they only released three. I've been dying to see Phantom of the Rue Morgue in 3-D since the 1970s and it looks like that probably won't ever happen now. And they have a lot of other exciting titles in their collection, too, that I would have loved to see like Charge at Feather River, Dangerous Mission and Second Chance.

.

On TCM right now but of course not in 3D.

[Interdimensional]

Originally Posted by robtadrian

Just a note that the Tell Tale Heart will be an extra on the Columbia Classics 2 set

The first time I watched that, given the abstract styling, I had a hard time understanding how it would've been 3-D at all, but more recently I took a look at it, and I could visualise many possibilities. It's a lot of work to create animation in 3d using 1950s technology, and there's really not that many examples.

It's incredibly frustrating that the 3-D does not survive.

[jimqk]

Originally Posted by Interdimensional

It's incredibly frustrating that the 3-D does not survive.

I must have read the information about this cartoon about a dozen times on the 3DFA site and it frustrates me every time, especially considering that it did exist. I'm certain the 3-D version would have looked spectacular.

One thing I will say is that we now have access to a majority of those Golden Age 3-D shorts listed on the 3DFA site, and we're getting more of those shorts with the release of Revenge of the Shogun Women, including Persian Slave Market and College Capers.

Bandit Island, a 3-D short with Lon Chaney, is also apparently lost forever. It was a 25-minute long non-stop chase scene with no talking, just action. It was about bank robbers getting chased by cops. I'd love to see this one, too.

[revgen]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Great news!

[Camps]

Yowzah! A historic movie (first British 3D feature) with lots of action and SFX, and a bit of a proto-Bond movie. A no-brainer for Golden Age 3D fans...

[Robert Furmanek]

The only Golden Age 3-D feature photographed in Great Britain. Released flat in 1954, this is the world premiere 3-D release and will be seen for the first time in widescreen since the original theatrical release!

[jimqk]

Originally Posted by Camps

Yowzah! A historic movie (first British 3D feature) with lots of action and SFX, and a bit of a prototype-Bond movie. A no-brainer for Golden Age 3D fans...

Very exciting! I've never seen this movie so it will be awesome to watch it for the first time in the format for which it was designed to be viewed. And I love James Bond movies, and if it's a Bond prototype, that's even better.

[Camps]

Originally Posted by jimqk

Very exciting! I've never seen this movie so it will be awesome to watch it for the first time in the format for which it was designed to be viewed. And I love James Bond movies, and if it's a Bond prototype, that's even better.

Well I originally wrote “proto-Bond” and had to fix it after (Damn you, Autocorrect!) it was changed on me. “Prototype” comes across a bit too formal.... but suffice to say it’s got villains using sci-fi-tinged technology with global implications.... and Dennis O’Keefe at least would have made for a better ‘50s American Bond than Barry Nelson...

[Robert Furmanek]

With outstanding stereoscopic cinematography by the brilliant Charles Smith!

[jimqk]

It had to be upsetting to the filmmakers of movies like Jivaro, The Diamond Wizard, Dragonfly Squadron, and a few others, to go through all of the trouble of making 3-D features only to see them released flat. I had never seen Jivaro until the Kino Blu-ray was delivered to my door, and during that first viewing, it was obvious throughout that this movie was required to be seen in 3-D in order to fully enjoy it.

Some movies like Dial M for Murder at least had some 3-D showings back in the day, but others like The Diamond Wizard had zero 3-D showings. Although I've never seen it, I'm certain the 3-D effect will enhance the enjoyment of this movie tremendously.

[Robert Furmanek]

Ironically, as the camera systems and technicians improved, fewer and fewer people got to see their work in the way that it was intended. The stereo cinematography in this film is outstanding. Seven decades later, we are finally correcting those wrongs!

Here’s what killed 3-D exhibition in 1953. http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/what-killed-3D

[cinerama]

7/16/54 premiere:


7/17/54 review: