3-D Movies Turn 50 ... Sort Of

jonerik writes "The Associated Press has this article on the 50th anniversary of the release of 'Bwana Devil.' Released on November 26th, 1952, the film would be largely forgotten today if not for the fact that it's generally regarded as the first full-length 3-D movie, kicking off a burst of 3-D filmmaking which lasted into the mid-'50s and which still takes place today, particularly in the adult film industry and on the IMAX circuit where this year's 43-minute 'Space Station 3-D' has brought in about $33 million so far. 'Bwana Devil' utilized the Polaroid method, which used two lenses filming, and involved lightwaves passing in perpendicular planes to the other lens. However, considering that a long string of 3-D films were made as far back as 1922 using more primitive processes, the claim that 'Bwana Devil' was first can be regarded as open to question. Either way, Robert Stack, who starred in 'Bwana Devil,' is somewhat ambivalent about his small part in movie history, saying 'I'm not sure it was anything to be proud of. It's an honor like being the world's tallest midget.'"

Comments

Not Polaroid...polarized!

[i22y]

Devil' utilized the Polaroid method, which used two lenses filming, and involved lightwaves passing in perpendicular planes to the other lens.

This is incorrect...light is polarized...has nothing to do with Polaroid(TM).

Re:Not Polaroid...polarized!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's both. Polaroid developed the method.

More information on this whole subject, including the adult films, can be found here.

Hitchcock

[colfer]

Dial M for Murder, dir. by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954, is the best one I've seen. It was at a film festival, and they had the cardboard glasses. All 3-D movies at IMDB are here (215 matches).

If you are really interested, read...

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

"Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema" by Lenny Lipton, ISBN 0-442-24724-9

A masterful piece of work full of history and technical details.

Bwana Devil Was Not First

[RainMan496]

Nat Deverich's "Power of Love" predates by thirty years. It premiered on September 27, 1922. Using an anaglyphic process developed by Harry Fairall, it starred Terry O'Neil and Barbara Bedford.

Re:Wait a second... 3D Porn?

[Black Copter Control]

Umm... maybe my upbringing was a little sheltered, but there's such a thing as 3D porn? Care to provide some links in imdb [imdb.com]?

Simply put: There must be. I mean, what would be better than having those breasts and, uhm, other body parts in glorious 3D? It's not a question of does it exist. It's a question of where is it, and how would we play it?

3D still photography is actually pretty easy. Nikon even made a stereo adapter for their SLR cameras back in the '80s. For the Apollo missions, they taught the astronauts how to do 3D moonscape shots. It turned out to be pretty easy:
"Shift your weight to the left leg, take a picture. Shift to the right leg, take another picture. Back on earth, the two images are put into a 3D viewer, and VOILA!. (why waste weight on stereo photo equipment when you don't have to?)

Many years ago, I owned a 3D camera.. Got lots of wonderful pictures (sorry -- no porn shots). My camera disappeared more than a decade ago, but I still sometimes do the apollo trick for things that I think would look good in 3D (and that don't move very fast). I then use a cross-eyed trick that I learned to view the results.