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3D Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) (1 Viewer)

StephenDH

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It's about time someone rescued this movie from limbo. After its run during the 80s 3D revival it just vanished.
It had a good cast, an OK plot, decent FX and some deliberately restrained 3D photography by Frank Tidy.
The production design was also quite impressive: in fact, the one thing everyone seems to remember about it is the weird sailing ship on rails.
Odd coincidence that two of the Brat Pack members both got their second movie roles in 3D films: Molly Ringwald in "Spacehunter" and Demi Moore in "Parasite".
It's a pity it bombed at the box office as the characters could definitely have supported a sequel if not a series.
There's a questionable Japanese VHD transfer in existence (like the old House of Wax one) but nothing official/legal.
 

RolandL

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I'm guessing one of the 1950's titles from below would be the next 3D Blu-ray from TT. Probably Miss Sadie Thompson or Mad Magician.

Fort Ti
The Stranger Wore a Gun
Gun Fury
Miss Sadie Thompson
Jesse James vs. the Daltons
Drums of Tahiti
The Mad Magician
 

StephenDH

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If you value your eyesight don't bother with the dodgy VHD copy, it's horrible. However it does highlight how good a Blu-ray version might be.
 

RolandL

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StephenDH said:
If you value your eyesight don't bother with the dodgy VHD copy, it's horrible. However it does highlight how good a Blu-ray version might be.
The VHD was 1.66 which was different than the other 1980's titles which were 2.:35. Maybe Greg or Bob would know why the change in the AR. I know it was released 2.35 in the theatres but I don't know if the 1.66 was cropped or just opened up.
 

RolandL

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StephenDH said:
Maybe it was cropped to make it a better fit for 16:9 TVs.
The 3D VHD's were released in Japan in the 1980's, before 16:9 TV's.
 

Mike Ballew

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You may remember that Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone was filmed using a two-strip camera rig engineered by Ernest McNabb. The lenses were spherical. Depending on the wishes of the director and the D.P., it would have been very possible to film at 1.37:1, 1.66:1 or 1.85:1, keeping in mind that the final 3-D release prints were going to be 2.4:1 (or wider) owing to the "over-and-under" 3-D format. In fact, some sources insist that the film's 2-D ratio is 1.85, but I myself do not know that to be absolutely correct.
 

StephenDH

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RolandL said:
The 3D VHD's were released in Japan in the 1980's, before 16:9 TV's.
I didn't realise VHDs were quite that old. Maybe they were aiming for 4:3.
The one I've seen has so much juddering on one image that when combined the resulting 3D picture is horrible and a trial to watch.
As much as I like Spacehunter, I don't think I can sit through the whole thing.
 

Stephen_J_H

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Caught this in 2D on Encore Avenue (retro commercial-free movie channel in Canada) over the weekend. Shown in 1.78:1 and looked cropped, but still fun. I really want a 3D BD of this.
 

FoxyMulder

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andySu said:
I vaguely recall seeing this at the cinema down town years ago '83.
I saw it in 3D too, i recall not wearing my glasses, it was a phase, didn't like wearing them, so it was all a bit blurry, just like my memories but, i could swear the film had an opening starfield scene which came out of the screen at you, am i mad. ?
 

Stephen_J_H

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You're absolutely right, Malcolm. The title and "The End" also popped out of the screen. The starfield scene was like going through a star-lined tunnel in space.
 

FoxyMulder

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Stephen_J_H said:
You're absolutely right, Malcolm. The title and "The End" also popped out of the screen. The starfield scene was like going through a star-lined tunnel in space.
That's good to know, i have cancelled the doctor's appointment.
 

LeeBob

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Saw this back when it came out at the Uptown Theatre in Mpls. It was in a 3D double feature with :"Creature from the Black Lagoon".

I really went to see creature in it's original 3D, which was a real thrill. I don't recall much about Spacehunter - I remember it as a slocky sci-fi B-movie with some "out of the screen and in your face" 3D moments.
 

johnSM

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Thought I'd give this thread a bump - I'd love to see a bluray release of this, it's been a guilty pleasure ever since I saw it back in '85/'86-ish one night on TV here in the UK. The widescreen DVD actually isn't too bad, but if Battle Beyond the Stars got a superb bluray release then this B movie classic surely deserves to as well. A film that definitely has its fair share of memorable scenes, set designs, photography, great chemistry between Molly Ringwald, Peter Strauss & Ernie Hudson, a scenery-chewing Michael Ironside as the decidedly freaky looking villain, and a superb score too (listening to it right now) by the late, great Elmer Bernstein. Definitely far more original than the usual post Star Wars rip-offs of that era. With the world on the cusp of going Star Wars mad again later this year, with the inevitable mass consumer interest in space movies likely to rapidly balloon again, now might be an ideal time for studios to cash-in and dust off more classic sci-fi movies on blu.

John
 

Bob Cashill

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Me, too. Amityville 3D is the only 3D film of its era properly available in that format on Blu.
 

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