Remember the huge 3D craze in the mid 2000’s? That’s all thanks to James Cameron and his revolutionary film, Avatar. The Oscar nominated film wasn’t the first film to be in 3D: Jaws 3-D, House of Wax (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon are just some of the names that experimented with the 3D concept. However, the difference is, Avatar is the only one to make over a billion worldwide. Since studios and executives saw the huge potential, the next few years saw yearly releases of the 3D films. Ang Lee is a filmmaker who used the concept for two movies: Life of Pi and Gemini Man. However, the 69-year-old doesn’t particularly look back at that time with fond memories;
“In general, not only my two movies, 3D in general … [is] so bad.” Lee said in an interview with Indiewire. “The filmmakers are bad. The theaters are bad. The whole ecosystem is bad. It’s not made for [3D]. I refuse to complain, to blame it on the medium… it’s the audience, and the industry, [who] were not prepared.”
Is Ang Lee right? That era did spawn several films who became Oscar contenders. Lee even won Best Director for Life of Pi! he understands the gimmick and the high caliber filmmaker is trashing that important time period.
The 3D Gimmick Had Flashes Of Potential
The reason that Avatar, Life of Pi, and Gravity were so great because the 3D gimmick enhanced the respective film. Sure, you can say that Avatar is nothing special on the story side. However, Cameron found an incredible way to use the visual to boost the narrative he was telling. Avatar is by no means a bad film. Life of Pi was not an easy one. Many felt that the story was a hard concept to translate onscreen, but Lee managed to prove the doubters wrong by masterfully telling such a complex narrative with eye-popping visuals.
Gravity is in the same boat. To watch that entire film in outer space was simply stunning. It was a compelling character driven piece isn’t remembered just for the remarkable 3D. None of these films are remembered for that specific reason. Sure, the gimmick is a big part of the success, but these films showcased how 3D can evolve storytelling. These movies felt more interactive because 3d felt more intimate and personal; It helped us getting into the story deeper and the messages of this films kept you glued to the seat. The 3D concept itself was never a bad idea. It also paired with animated films nicely.
It’s a huge reason audience flocked to Avatar: it was something unique and bold that was supposed to revolutionize the business, but all 3D did was highlight greedy executives and theaters can be.
Bad Films Killed The 3D Concept
What ultimately killed the 3D craze was the mountains of terrible films that came from it. At best, there’s only a dozen of great films that use the gimmick, but only several of them are in live-action. Films like Resident Evil Afterlife, Saw 3D, Texas Chainsaw 3D, and Wrath and Clash of the Titans have grasp the true purpose of 3D. The gimmick wasn’t cleverly incorporated into the story, so it felt weird when a random scene would have a chainsaw pop out of the screen. Plenty of the 3D aspect felt tacted on became the ticket prices for 3D were quite high. Hollywood is a business first and foremost, so they likely figured slapping on the once novel concept equals big returns at the box office.
3D worked for a while until the abundance of terrible films crowded the North American market. By the time 2019 rolled around, the craze severely died down. 3D television stopped production and films were reverted back to the original 2D. 3D was an expensive endeavor that could’ve worked had the quality been up to snuff. Sure, there were going to be a few clunkers every now and then, but once audiences realized that it wasn’t the revolutionary concept that many hoped it would, they stopped paying for those crazy ticket prices.
Can 3D Films Truly Work?
Lee stated in the same interview that the gimmick can work, but Hollywood just wasn’t ready to capitalize on it. I strongly agree with this sentiment. Given that Avatar: Way of the Water made over two billion went it was released once the craze ended, it’s clearly that audiences are willing to shell out the big bucks for the gimmick if it’s done wrong. Hollywood needs to study what made films like Gravity, Avatar, and Life of Pi such a success. It wasn’t just that there were good, but it highlighted how 3D can enhance the viewing experience. 3D films can truly work, but the gimmick can’t be slapped onto just any film. If studios can figure out
Follow Us
