27th September 1922 is a day film-fans may feel a tremendous amount of ill-feeling towards; it was the day 3D was unleashed onto the big-screen via THE POWER OF LOVE. Almost 90 years on and 3D has become a standard for blockbuster movies and has taken cinema ‘immersion to a whole new level’ – according to George Lucas. Never one to miss a trick James Cameron has seen an opportunity to enhance his ‘king of the world’ tag by re-releasing TITANIC (1997) in 3D.
Taking $1.8 billion dollars at the worldwide box-office on its initial release TITANIC set a new benchmark for blockbusters; it has a paper-thin plot yes but the ship-sinking is still a magnificent sight 15 years on even in boring old 2D, imagine how 3D would enhance this marvellous spectacle!
The ‘newly converted to 3D’ label is appearing with worrying regularity right now; George Lucas kicked off the rampage of childhood-dream-killing that is the re-release of the Star Wars saga in January and Disney has seen fit to release THE LION KING (1995) and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) in the last 6 months, with more to follow. So what makes 3D so desirable to the consumer – the re-releases are making money after all.
Speaking ahead of TITANIC 3D Producer Jon Landau insisted that the 3D conversion added to the drama and brings the audience ‘into the intimate environment of the drama’, but thats not what it’s about is it? Surely 3D as a medium is meant for action not drama; JURASSIC PARK (1993) is a clear example of this, according to Kathleen Kennedy – the films producer – Steven Spielberg insisted on signing off on everything because of the difficulties in capturing all the action of a film not shot with 3D in mind. It’s certainly not the drama part Universal want enhanced it’s the monstrous T-Rex!
So what can 3D do for us? Can it make a film more enjoyable – it certainly worked on 
AVATAR (2009) the highest-grossing film of all-time – can it enhance pitfalls to an acceptable level? But most of all can it persuade us to part with our hard earned cash? The answer to each of those is probably yes. I’m not an exponent of 3D and will not visit my local multiplex to see a film in 3D but there is a draw – witness THE LION KING 3D with takings close to $100 million in the US alone – and as long as it’s a medium that makes money it will continue.
TITANIC 3D is released in theatres 6th April 2012
