Stereo3dguy Reviews

Silent Madness (1984)

Goofy slasher works best in the original 3-D

[6/10 · 11 August 2006]

Don't bother if you can't see it in 3-D.

This came quite late in the 1980's 3-D revival and only received limited distribution. It did play in 3-D in my area and I loved every cheesy minute.

Best scene: the killer throws an ax at the camera and it turns into a cartoon and freezes in space over the audience's heads for about 3 seconds! A very low budget affair with lots of stupid but fun gimmick shots.

Belinda Montgomery went on to appear on "Days of our Lives" and "Doogie Howser M.D.".

Dogs of Hell (1983)

Shot and originally released in 3-D

[5/10 · 23 January 2006]

This film must be seen in the original widescreen 3-D process; as the excellent use of stereoscopic space is its only virtue. If you like cheesy horror flicks, you'll likely appreciate it a bit more. Earl is no actor, but he's fun in this silly little movie.

After seeing COMIN' AT YA! rake in the cash in 1981, Earl got the idea (as did many a producer at the time) that 3-D would bring attention to his low budget southern flicks and decided to shoot everything that way! This was the first of SIX 3-D movies made by Earl Owensby in the 1980's. The others were TALES OF THE THIRD DIMENSION, CHAIN GANG, HIT THE ROAD RUNNING, HYPERSPACE, and HOT HEIR (aka GREAT BALLOON CHASE).

The Creeps (1997)

It works better in the original widescreen 3-D!

[9 January 2004]

THE CREEPS was shot in widescreen and 3-D but released most widely on video, where it is presented flat and panned and scanned. It has been shown in 3-D in a few theatres, mostly during 3-D festivals.

Director Charles Band also directed two earlier 3-D films, PARASITE (1982) and METALSTORM (1983).

Sangaree (1953)

Average historical "epic" notable for 3-D process only

[27 September 2003]

This was Paramount's first 3-D film of the 1950's, which reportedly had begun production as a flat film, but then re-started in 3-D in the race to get a stereoscopic project into the theatres as soon as possible. Fernando Lamas also appeared in a second 3-Dimension film, JIVARO, in 1954.

Inferno (1953)

Best appreciated in the original 3-D prints

[27 September 2003]

This was one of the better 3-D movies of the 1950's. Rhonda Fleming is excellent as the not so innocent wife of Robert Ryan. Fleming appeared in two other 3-Dimension films of the 1950's, the others being JIVARO and THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE.

Jivaro (1954)

Fun jungle adventure, shot in 3-D

[7/10 · 9 June 2003]

Cheesy in the extreme, this one is a lot of fun. Lon Chaney, Jr (The Wolfman) is in a supporting role. Rhonda Fleming's third 3-D movie and Fernando Lamas' second. By the time this one was released, the 3-D boom was over so it was shown flat. However,you can glimpse some 3-D clips in the IMAX 3-D film ENCOUNTER IN THE THIRD DIMENSION, which is available on DVD.

In September 2006, the 3-D version made its public debut (53 years after it was made!) at the World 3-D Film Expo II. It's even more fun in the intended 3-D form. The restored print was quite nice and it is wonderful that this film can be seen in the stereoscopic version as shot.

The Bubble (1966)

great 3-D; the only real asset

[18 April 2003]

This was not the first polarized 3-D movie by a long shot, as over 50 3-D movies were released in polarized 3-D in 1953 and 1954. Some of those were later downconverted to the inferior red/blue anaglyph format but they were not seen that way upon their initial release.

However, this was the first film widely distributed in a single strip/one projector 3-D process instead of the dual strip/dual projector system used in the fifties.

The film has been compared to an overlong "Twilight Zone" and that is an apt description. The widescreen 3-D is quite good. It's a bit slow, and the film was cut from the original 112m version to 90 mins for a wide 1976 3-D re-issue under the title FANTASTIC INVASION OF PLANET EARTH. Later 3-D video versions cut it further to 75 mins.

Rhino's DVD restores the original title but is the 90 min version, and has been downconverted from polarized to inferior red/blue anaglyph. Still, the red/blue presentation is better than most; and is worth a purchase for 3-D fans. Just don't expect it to look as good as the original polarized glasses version.