3D Films - The Years Between the Early 1950s and Today

As the new century's first decade ends we are seeing a revival of 3D cinema unlike any since the original heyday in the early 1950s. When Hollywood dropped 3D after just a few years of active production, 3D sank into the arena of gimmick and exploitation movies, further tarnishing its brand with the public.

Here’s a list I’ve started on all those horrible 3D movies that came after the first Golden Age of 3D Cinema and before the present resurgence. Anyone who can add titles, information or comments on these is both welcome and appreciated.

"The Stewardesses" (1969) — See the Lusty Stewardesses Leap from the Screen to Your Lap

"Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein" (1974)

“Swing Tail” (1971) — Hard-core

"Love in 3D" (1972) — Soft-core Euro porn with slapstick humor

“The Playmates” (1973) — with Rene Bond

“Blonde Emmanuelle” aka “Disco Dolls in Hot Skin” (1977) with Leslie Bovee & John C. Holmes “Penthouse Centerfold Serena is Blond Emmanuelle. She’s Back! She’s Blonde! She’s Bad! She’s in 3D!”

“A Man and a Maid” aka “What the Swedish Butler Saw” aka “The Groove Room” aka “Tickled Pink” (1975)

“Three Dimensions of Greta” aka “Four Dimensions of Greta” (1972)

"Black Lolita" aka "Wildcat Women" (1975) with San Francisco-based porn star, Serena.

"The Lollipop Girls in Hard Candy" aka “Scoring” aka “M-3D The Movie” (1976) —features porn star John C. Holmes

"The Capitol Hill Girls" (1977)

"Comin' At Ya!" (1981)— A campy spaghetti western

"Friday the 13th, Part 3 in 3D" (1982) —Actors in their late 20s playing teenagers, slaughtered by the iconic Jason Vorhees character, mostly as they attempt to hook up.

"Jaws 3D" (1983)

"Amityville 3D” (1983)

“Emmanuelle IV 3D" (1984) — sample dialogue: "Boys are like dough. There is a certain way of touching them that will make them rise."

“Nightmare on Elm Street Part 6: Freddy's Dead” (1991)

 

Great idea for a topic!

I didn't think Friday the 13th Part III was too bad, some of the effects worked quite well and got some mainsteam audiences watching (much better than Jaws 3D ).

Some of the new computer animated films look like they are going to be excellent, such as the 3D Toy Story remakes and "Up".

 

Where are all these films now and where were they produced (US)?

 

Most of these films were produced in the United States. "Love in 3D" and "Three Dimensions of Greta" and "Comin' At Ya!" were European productions. Several of the films listed are available through online retailers like Amazon. There's even a 40th Anniversary edition of "The Stewardesses."

 

Your list seems to justify the lack of serious attention given to 3D cinema over the past 40 years - it's all sex, horror, shock effect or gimmick (like the childrens' movies such as Toy Story or Cars).
Why doesn't anyone make 3D films that are as inventive, reflective, beautiful and troubling as the best 2D cinema? Surely the added dimension could enhance the message of the director. Instead, it seems that that stereoscopic cinema has been relegated to the province of cheap or sexy thrills. What a shame.

 

I Agree Completely

Yes, that is the point: as I said, these mostly "horrible" films "tarnished the brand" of 3D cinema. We all hope that the current generation — with no exposure to these hard to come by films — can see the new digital 3D movies without the ingrained belief that 3D is a just a "gimmick."

Attitudes do change. There was a time, not so long ago, when the New York Times did not review "comic books." Now they regularly run reviews of notable graphic novels and other comic book collections.

Studios still release 3D schlock like "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and "Final Destination 4," but this year also saw Disney-Pixar's "UP" and before it ends, James Cameron's sci-fi epic, "Avatar."

As Harvey Pekar used to say, comics are just words and pictures with no limit on how good either can be. Although the format is mostly used for super hero fantasies, it can also be used effectively for many other genres, including documentary (like Joe Sacco's "Palestine" and "A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge" by Josh Neufeld).

The key point will be won when a movie is reviewed and only incidentally referred to as being shot in 3D. Then 3D it will be just another artistic option, like shooting in B&W or casting Steve Guttenberg.

 

Classic 3D Movies Reference

The most comprehensive reference on classic 3D movies is R M Hayes "[ame="http://www.amazon.com/3-D-Movies-Filmography-Stereoscopic-McFarland/dp/0786405783/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257198712&sr=8-11"]3-D Movies: A History and Filmography of Stereoscopic Cinema.[/ame]" Filmography and reviews of at least 1,000 3D films!

 

I saw "Up" at the cinema in 3D and it worked very well. The 3D effect wasn't overstated or used ineffectually and the viewing was very comfortable.

It looks like there are lots of 3D films coming to normal cinemas this year and next (by "normal", I mean not IMAX).

 

Hay time is going to change and everything is going to change now. Yes those fabulous films has vanished where and why? Its a secret of time.

 

We've come a long way since1894 when William Friese-Greene, the British film pioneer, filed a patent for a 3-D movie process using two films projected side by side on screen while the viewer looks through a stereoscope to converge the two images!

 

everything changes with time. Even the quality

 

Dream 3D movie scenario

I remember seeing one of the first 3D films "Bwana Devil" and I also remember being very entertained by the original version of "House of Wax". But the best early 3D movie was surely "Kiss Me Kate" which I saw in a recent revival at the London National Theatre, and with Stereophonic Sound actually made the audience stand up and applause at the end. Does anyone know if it technically feasible to reintroduce the early 3D films into the new digital stereoscopic formats. This is my current dream movie scenario.

 

Amazing 3d film for viewers 18+:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJaztk3Qnco[/ame]