Cheesefest in 3-D, yeehaw!

By Paul Sambla

Some say that without art and culture, civilization is doomed to lead a life of insolent backwardness.

Art shows us for what we really are, so we should all be thankful the Bloor Cinema has decided to hold its first 3-D Film Festival in eight years.

On first glance, the idea of a festival devoted to old black and white B-movies shot in the magic of 3-D might seem just a bit cheesy, but upon closer inspection, it’s actually super cheesy.

It Came From Outer Space, written by Ray Bradbury, set the formula for all future alien invasion films. Aliens crash-land, a scientist discovers they’re harmless, townsfolk and the authorities want to kill them, and the aliens themselves… well, they’re really something, those crazy aliens. They came in peace, but once attacked they certainly give as well as they get.

Back in the early ‘50s, 3-D “stereoscopic” filmmaking was seen as a huge technological breakthrough. Today, IMAX films are still filmed in the same manner, but mainstream film has forgotten the benefits of the 3-D experience.

What can the third dimension add to a film? Way-the-hell cooler effects than you’ve ever seen in Jurassic Park.

There was one scene in It Came… where a telescope swung towards the camera and the entire audience, decked out in 3-D glasses, had to duck to get out of the way. In another scene, huge boulders roll down a hill and into your lap, making you jump out of your seat to dodge them.

Of course 3-D film isn’t for everyone.

Some people might prefer depressingly 2-D Scandinavian art films to a movie like Flesh for Frankenstein, described as being “a real goriest,” where “the 3-D effects are used to project livers on lancers dangling over audiences’ heads.”

But hey, there’s no accounting for some people’s tastes.