3D Put THE MASK on now! (1 Viewer)

[phillyrobt]

The package came in the mail Saturday. I resisted the temptation to open it knowing that it would suck me in (and that a big screen showing is later in the month in Maryland). But late last night at 324am, I succumbed and put on the MASK! It was great!

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Wonderful!


So Amazon is sending out the orders already?

 

[Bob Furmanek]

"The legendary 3-D sequences in The Mask are more than worth the price of admission."


DVD Savant on THE MASK: http://trailersfromhell.com/the-mask-3-d/#.VkDsjb9yQUS

 

[phillyrobt]

Usually order from Amazon to support HTF but I ordered directly from Kino with Fed Ex delivery.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Just ordered directly from Kino.

 

[Mike Ballew]

I want to address briefly something Glenn Erickson says in his review: "The 3-D dream hallucination sequences have little connection to the framing story..."

I'm going to have to wait for my customary two Blu-Ray copies to arrive so that I can watch the sequences again with a view to really defending my position, but I will state right now that the dream sequences in The Mask have a deeper connection to the main story than Glenn Erickson and others may suppose, if for no other reason than that they are meant to say something about the interior life of the main character.



SOME SMALL SPOILERS FOLLOW:



Those odd masks worn by every male figure in Dr. Barnes's hallucinations appear to me to be in the shape of actor Paul Stevens's face. I think we can conclude that all the male figures-- the Hapless Wanderer, as I call him, as well as the Sinister Ones-- are projections of various aspects of Dr. Barnes's own psyche. One female figure wears a mask patterned not after Barnes's lovely but somewhat matronly fiancee, but after his smoldering-under-the-surface secretary. This likeness to the secretary I take to be an expression of repressed lust that later leads to great danger for the secretary herself, in Barnes's waking world. And while the altar and the mask and various other accoutrements in the dream sequences seem vaguely Mesoamerican, other items (the hooded robes of the sinister priests, the clothes worn by the Hapless Wanderer, the particular oar we see rowing the Styx-like waters in one sequence) look European to me, and I think are meant to reflect Dr. Barnes superimposing aspects of his native culture onto the dream world conjured up by the Mesoamerican shamans responsible for The Mask.



END OF SPOILERS.



Anyway, I can already see that, once I have the discs in hand, I'm going to become a great apologist for this film. I already think highly of it; the discs will enable me to think deeply about it.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

There's more to the 3-D sequences than initially meet the eyes!

 

[Mike Ballew]

Bob, am I right in thinking The Mask offers what amounts to the first 3-D zoom?


There's a moment in one of the dream sequences where an optical printer is employed to effect a zoom. (It looks to me to have been done in post, certainly not in the camera.) I cannot think of an earlier example of this in any 3-D film that I personally have seen.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Interesting point, I'll have to think about that!

 

[RJ992]

Wonderful!


So Amazon is sending out the orders already?

Guess Amazon is eager to fill the gap left by the sell-out of INFERNO!

 

[Richard V]

Why does the title of this thread remind me of this:

 

[Jason Pichonsky]

but I will state right now that the dream sequences in The Mask have a deeper connection to the main story than Glenn Erickson and others may suppose, if for no other reason than that they are meant to say something about the interior life of the main character.

I just wanted to jump in and comment. I absolutely agree. Roffman had consulted a psychiatrist in order to help develop the 3-D sequences. He was definitely interested in tying the two worlds together and having the 3-D world reflect Dr. Barnes suppressed thoughts (especially the darker ones). I doubt he would have been so quick to throw away the work done by Vorkapich and Len Lye (who had previously taken stabs at these scenes) had they managed to satisfy his sense of of Barnes' inner world. I like your reading of it, but I think because of the very nature of the sequences themselves a number of interpretations could be valid. I still haven't decoded these sequences in any satisfactory way for myself. I'm still working it out.

 

[Mike Ballew]

Thank you for offering that, Jason. You don't know how much I am looking forward to hearing your commentary on The Mask.


Also, welcome to the forum! I hope you'll come around frequently and contribute to the discussion. I happen to think we've got a good, friendly group here, with tons of shared enthusiasm for 3-D. I'd sure look forward to hearing more of your views on all sorts of films, not just this particular under-appreciated gem.

 

[bgart13]

One question I do have -- was the feature on the disc intended to be viewed with glasses on the entire time? Was the picture timing, etc., done for this? Or was it done to watch it without glasses for the 2D segments but then use the glasses during 3D segments as originally intended by the filmmakers? I still do think it's rather disappointing for fans without 3D tvs to have to watch the feature in 2D on the bd and then go to the anaglyph segments separately afterward. I know they can get the DVD instead, but that really shouldn't have been the case for them. Also: I got the bd today, and it looks and sounds better than I could've hoped for.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Yes, you are supposed to put the glasses on when the time is right. Do not leave them on for the entire film!

 

[bgart13]

Thanks for answering, Bob.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

For fans of vinyl, THE MASK soundtrack is now exclusively available from Ondes Positives in a deluxe, limited edition! http://www.ondespositivesrecordings.com/product/the-mask-soundtracks

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

I am glad when I ordered this earlier today from amazon The price spiked almost 10.00! I am sure it will drop again soon, but glad I got it ordered in time to watch it this weekend.

 

[Todd J Moore]

The blu ray and DVD versions showed up today. Will be watching later this week.

 

[ahollis]

Just received my copy yesterday. I'll be putting the mask on tomorrow after turkey dinner.