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- Bob
Here is my personal top ten list for vintage pre-1990 3-D on blu-ray. I've tried to balance the position based on
the quality of principal photography; the digital restoration and overall content.
I'm going to try very hard not to be biased in favoring our 3-D Film Archive restorations!
1. 3-D RARITIES - The incredible response (currently rated 8.9 on IMDB) and overwhelmingly positive reviews have put this historic collection in the top position. There is truly something for everybody in this release from Flicker Alley. Here's a handy link to professional reviews: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4561026/externalreviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
2. HOUSE OF WAX - The first one out of the gate from a major studio in the short-lived fad of 1953/54. The WB restoration - off the original color separations - is superb with only a few imperfections. I’ve seen this film many times over the past thirty years in dual-35mm polarized 3-D and this is the best it has ever looked.
3. KISS ME KATE - A classic MGM musical and another outstanding restoration. George Sidney had a great understanding of stereoscopic composition and the excellent cinematography by Charles Rosher – properly matted for widescreen - has never looked better. My only quibble is that some of the medium shots are a wee bit tight and it would have benefited from mastering in MGM’s recommended AR of 1.75:1. This wonderful 3-D Blu-ray belongs in every collection!
4. INFERNO - Outstanding "desert noir" and beautifully photographed by Lucien Ballard. A prime example of the typically deep 1950's 3-D with a wide parallax budget. The HD master was prepared by the late Mr. 3-D, Dan Symmes. I restored an original 1953 Technicolor 3-D print in the 1990's and this is an extremely accurate digital representation.
5. DIAL M FOR MURDER - Masterful direction and 3-D cinematography. Some minor flaws in the restoration with a slightly dim image but still an excellent example of the general high quality of 1950's third-dimensional photography. Due to the high contrast and deep parallax budget, some displays may exhibit ghosting aka crosstalk. Rest assured, it's not the original photography or the restoration.
6. THE BUBBLE - The first over/under single-strip 3-D feature in Space-Vision. Contains some of the most effective off-screen “popout” in stereoscopic film history. An interesting story with excellent performances. So far as the restoration? Well, you can read what people are saying with the links on our homepage at http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home
7. DRAGONFLY SQUADRON - Never released in 3-D until our Blu-ray. Another prime example of the deep parallax budget found within Golden Age titles. Many issues were fixed for this HD restoration. Please see the article on our website and reviews on our homepage. http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/dragonfly-squadron
8. CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON - An iconic Universal Studios monster and outstanding underwater 3-D photography. Unfortunately, some baked-in vertical alignment issues were not fixed and the restoration took liberties with the original stereoscopic convergence to make it user friendly for displays with less-than-optimum cancellation properties. This loses points and should have been better.
9. MAN IN THE DARK - A 19-day quickie from Columbia but well-photographed and beautifully restored by Sony. The alignment fixes are spot-on with the only flaw being a brief flat shot that is truly stereoscopic in the original 1953 prints. The film was Sepia-toned in theaters and that should have been replicated.
10. AMITYVILLE 3-D - One of the better examples of 3-D cinematography and direction from the brief 1980's revival. This could have been better on Blu-ray but none of the alignment issues were corrected. A missed opportunity.
COMING SOON