Best Blu-ray 3D title of the year (poll UPDATED for 2021)

[cinerama]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

Wow, not much love for WINGS OF THE HAWK?

Unfortunately, that does not bode well for any additional westerns on 3-D Blu-ray!

WINGS OF THE HAWK is a fantastic Blu-ray. You get the following on the disc:

Includes 3-D and 2-D Versions of the Feature and Cartoon

Newly Restored in 3-D by 3-D Film Archive – From 2K Scan of the Left & Right Eye IPs

Full Feature Audio Commentary by Film Historian Jeremy Arnold

Includes Hypnotic Hick - 1953 Woody Woodpecker Cartoon

20-Minute Audio Commentary by 3-D Expert Mike Ballew

Theatrical Trailer

3.0 Original 1953 High Dynamic Range Theatrical Mix

5.1 Surround (2020 Compressed 3.0 Midnight Movie Mix)

Dual-Layered BD50 Disc

Optional English Subtitles



Hypnotic Hick has eleven mostly extreme pop-outs, some examples below:

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by cinerama

WINGS OF THE HAWK is a fantastic Blu-ray. You get the following on the disc:

Hypnotic Hick - 1953 Woody Woodpecker Cartoon

The cartoon alone makes the disc worth buying and for me ties with Two Guys From Tick Ridge as the best 3D extra feature of the year.

While Wings of the Hawk itself is a fun good old-fashioned Western, I preferred Taza, Son of Cochise overall. The native 3D gives them both fantastic rewatch value though and neither disc should be overlooked by anyone serious about 3D.

Ultimately though I think Westerns are beautifully suited to 3D and would love to see a fully restored Comin' at Ya! as well as all the Golden Age ones. If only the powers that be could bring us Hannah Lee as well as Hondo! It's a real shame we only have a few Westerns on 3D Blu-ray so far. There isn't one that couldn't be funded via Kickstarter I bet...

[Damon1281]

Originally Posted by cinerama

Hypnotic Hick has eleven mostly extreme pop-outs, some examples below:

[Show spoiler]

You don't write for Cinemablend, do you?

[cinerama]

Originally Posted by Damon1281

You don't write for Cinemablend, do you?

?

[Damon1281]

Originally Posted by Damon1281

You don't write for Cinemablend, do you?

It was a joke about their "glasses off" test.

[Steedeel]

Flesh is easily the best 3D I have seen since Inferno. Several incredible pop outs and fantastic depth.

[cinerama]

Originally Posted by Damon1281

It was a joke about their "glasses off" test.

Yeah, not the place to go to for 3D reviews.

[Just_Discovered_3D]

Originally Posted by cinerama

Yeah, not the place to go to for 3D reviews.

It still seems like a valid test to me, or at least the goals of the test are. My experience has been that people take off the glasses in part because they want confirmation that they are working, which the blur provides.

Although it is working backwards, because if the 3D were proper and strong then the viewer wouldn't need to take off the glasses to know that they are working.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by Just_Discovered_3D

It still seems like a valid test to me, or at least the goals of the test are. My experience has been that people take off the glasses in part because they want confirmation that they are working, which the blur provides.

Although it is working backwards, because if the 3D were proper and strong then the viewer wouldn't need to take off the glasses to know that they are working.

I must admit, I did that when I started watching Dragon Rider, which is by far the weakest 3D title we got last year.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by Just_Discovered_3D

It still seems like a valid test to me, or at least the goals of the test are. My experience has been that people take off the glasses in part because they want confirmation that they are working, which the blur provides.

I found out early-on "blur" that results from equal distancing of the left and right images, seen on the screen as separation, will fuse as only 2D placement in the minds-eye. Only blurred 3D images that actually have variable subject distances (creating depth), will resolve distance on the screen. Left-to-right and/or right-to-left variable placement fuses the "blur" into recognizable 3D, resolving the on-screen, out-of-screen, in-the-screen placement.

[hasslein]

I think it would be interesting to have a poll - Favorite film/release restored in 3-D by 3-D Film Archive... I have a clear cut #1... I'd start the poll but I'm afraid I'd leave one out.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by hasslein

I think it would be interesting to have a poll - Favorite film/release restored in 3-D by 3-D Film Archive... I have a clear cut #1... I'd start the poll but I'm afraid I'd leave one out.

I'm glad you didn't. With more outstanding 3-DFA titles coming this year (Robot Monster, Treasure of the Four Crowns etc) and beyond, the poll options would become incomplete very quickly and they can't be edited once posted.

It's always better in these circumstances to just have a discussion instead of posting a poll.

Perhaps this thread might be a good place: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=290417 - though unfortunately not every Golden and Silver age title was restored by the 3-DFA, quite a few of them would look a lot better if they had been...

[hasslein]

Well its never going to be complete. Wish I'd just done it. There is never a tally in a discussion.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by hasslein

Well its never going to be complete. Wish I'd just done it. There is never a tally in a discussion.

Any tally would be out of date as soon as Treasure of the Four Crowns comes out. Then again when Robot Monster comes out.

In a discussion people can vote for more than one title. Allow that in a poll and it becomes meaningless.

Let's face it, there isn't a 3-DFA title that isn't worth buying. Everything they restore is native 3D and everything looks great. I would struggle to choose a favourite because I don't have one - take this poll for example, I voted for Flesh For Frankenstein but I LOVED Dynasty and Revenge of the Shogun Women. That can come out in a discussion but not in a poll.

[Just_Discovered_3D]

Originally Posted by the13thman

Any tally would be out of date as soon as Treasure of the Four Crowns comes out. Then again when Robot Monster comes out.

In a discussion people can vote for more than one title. Allow that in a poll and it becomes meaningless.

Let's face it, there isn't a 3-DFA title that isn't worth buying. Everything they restore is native 3D and everything looks great. I would struggle to choose a favourite because I don't have one - take this poll for example, I voted for Flesh For Frankenstein but I LOVED Dynasty and Revenge of the Shogun Women. That can come out in a discussion but not in a poll.

I am a bit confused by the significance of everything that they restore being native 3D, isn't everything 3D from that time period native 3D?

Modern 3D, what I believe has been dubbed the Bronze Age of 3D. (Although, given how weak-to-bad the 3D is in too many high profile modern 3D films, maybe this is the Dark Age?) has taught me that native is no guarantee of 3D greatness.

That 3DFA does great work is something with which I agree completely.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by Just_Discovered_3D

I am a bit confused by the significance of everything that they restore being native 3D, isn't everything 3D from that time period native 3D?

Yes. The significance is that everything they restore has value BECAUSE it's all native 3D. And vintage native 3D doesn't tend to suffer from the same timid conservatism as many modern native 3D titles do. So you can't rate them as easily as those or conversions where again some are very mild and others strong.

[Just_Discovered_3D]

Originally Posted by the13thman

Yes. The significance is that everything they restore has value BECAUSE it's all native 3D. And vintage native 3D doesn't tend to suffer from the same timid conservatism as many modern native 3D titles do. So you can't rate them as easily as those or conversions where again some are very mild and others strong.

Timid conservatism is charitable, having just watched TASM2 I am still somewhat stunned at how Sony pushed the film as a 3D flagship when it is practically a clinic on how not to make a 3D film. Very confusing how even these 2 Chinese films from ~half a century ago have a far greater grasp of the 3D format than does a modern, multi-gazillion dollar film made by a company to promote its own 3D hardware.

[Damon1281]

Originally Posted by Just_Discovered_3D

Timid conservatism is charitable, having just watched TASM2 I am still somewhat stunned at how Sony pushed the film as a 3D flagship when it is practically a clinic on how not to make a 3D film. Very confusing how even these 2 Chinese films from ~half a century ago have a far greater grasp of the 3D format than does a modern, multi-gazillion dollar film made by a company to promote its own 3D hardware.

It's a result of trying to please everyone to increase the customer pool and ending up pleasing no one. I wish they would learn that their customers that always buy, like it strong. People that don't like it strong, don't really like it.

To be fair, The Amazing Spider-Man II has over 50 distinct "before the screen" momento and some medium depth throughout.
I would say Tomb Raider is how not to make a 3D movie.