Beowulf - Is 3D Cinema a Sign of Things to Come?

[admin]

Beowulf, the splashy production starring Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich opens today in theaters across America. But this isn’t an ordinary movie. It’s the biggest 3D presentation yet with over 700 theaters across North America ready to show it in the full 3D animation format. Movie goers can decide between IMAX 3D, Real D or Dolby 3D Digital Cinema...

Discuss "Beowulf - Is 3D Cinema a Sign of Things to Come?" here. Read the article.

 

[b_panther_g]

Will 3D be the next big thing in motion picture technology, comparable to sound and color?

I say… Yes!

If done well, 3D can draw you into the movie better than 2D. I would pay to see the Lord of the Rings or Snatch redone in 3D.

My only worry is that Hollywood will use 3D as a stupid gimmick. No technology can take the place of a good plot and competent actors. For example…

I would like LOTR or Snatch if they were shot in black and white w/ a mono soundtrack.

Color, surround sound, and 3D can only enhance a movie. They can’t magically turn a cow patty into a diamond.

Later,
B

 

[Wayde Robson]

I find it hard to believe that 3D will truly go mainstream.

There have been other theater efforts that failed, smell-o-vision, other interactive efforts back in the old days like - shaking the seats and having noises during horror movies. It seems they never really caught on.

IMHO 3D could be a persistent niche that while popular never really cracks the mainstream.

I wonder... how would the home theater technology eventually employ 3D?

Damn...that means in five or six years that's ANOTHER display upgrade... god I love this hobby!

 

[Adam]

First, I'd like to say that I never even knew that this movie was in 3D. Sure, I don't read up on every movie coming out, but I had seen previews for it. I would have thought that aspect would have been mentioned in the commercials that I saw...at least once.

Will this require special glasses? That's where I begin to lose interest. I wear glasses, and I've never liked having to put other glasses over the top of them. If they're doing it with special screens and not glasses, well, that might be cool.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Beowulf, the splashy production starring Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich opens today in theaters across America. But this isn’t an ordinary movie. It’s the biggest 3D presentation yet with over 700 theaters across North America ready to show it in the full 3D animation format. Movie goers can decide between IMAX 3D, Real D or Dolby 3D Digital Cinema...

Discuss "Beowulf - Is 3D Cinema a Sign of Things to Come?" here. Read the article.

I saw Beowulf yesterday. Story wasn't all that bad.
My impression: Dumbest thing I ever saw. Crappy director. Hated it.
Real live action is gold standard. No substitute for the real thing.
Would have been a great movie if the idiot director had just made a real live action movie.
Would Transformers be just as good as live-action if it were in 3D animation?
Heck, no.
Beowulf 3D sucks.

Same reason why I have never and will never watch Polar Express.

Please leave animation to Pixar.

 

[GlocksRock]

I think the newest Mitsubishi Diamond series tvs are 3D capable, but to my knowledge, there isn't anything out there that supports it yet, but I could be worng... I haven't really looked into it.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Sweet! The nearest 3D cinema is only six hours away!

 

[mtrycrafts]

First, I'd like to say that I never even knew that this movie was in 3D. Sure, I don't read up on every movie coming out, but I had seen previews for it. I would have thought that aspect would have been mentioned in the commercials that I saw...at least once.

Will this require special glasses? That's where I begin to lose interest. I wear glasses, and I've never liked having to put other glasses over the top of them. If they're doing it with special screens and not glasses, well, that might be cool.

I saw it mentioned on several of the previews I have seen and am hoping that the new Imax they are building in town, not finished, will accommodate 3D.
I think you do need some sort of glasses, as best I know.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

We went last night, and we have to go back today and get a refund or some passes. 2 fire alarms went off and we never even got to see the end of the movie. The movie itself was lame, but the 3D was amazing. Crystal clear and perfect. I want to see some really good movies with this process.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... but the 3D was amazing. Crystal clear and perfect. .

Does this use glasses? It has to.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

We went last night, and we have to go back today and get a refund or some passes. 2 fire alarms went off and we never even got to see the end of the movie. The movie itself was lame, but the 3D was amazing. Crystal clear and perfect. I want to see some really good movies with this process.

So would you rather see Live-Action or 3D animation if you had to pick one?

If I were to compare Beowulf 3D to another 3D animation (Shrek, etc.), then yes, Beowulf is great.
But the fact that they could have filmed Beowulf in Live-Action and they chose to film it in 3D animation instead really makes me mad.

 

[Audioholics]

I encourage this sort of thing, actually. I have often wondered how long it would take Hollywood to really move into the surreal now that they can do so well at 3D and motion capture. Human movement (because we are so familiar with it) is tough to pull off, even with motion capture but we seem to be getting closer.

Surreal will be the next trend in blockbusters once they are ready. Beowulf is the first real test.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I think the newest Mitsubishi Diamond series tvs are 3D capable, but to my knowledge, there isn't anything out there that supports it yet, but I could be worng... I haven't really looked into it.

Yep, my Mits has a 3D option for FX gaming but I have no idea what that means. I dont see anything for 3D movies.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

I like both live action and animation. I just wish the movie would have been better. We did end up getting some rain checks to come back to any IMAX showing of our choosing. I am hoping they show Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If they can make 3D movies look as REAL as live-action, I'm all for it.
But it still looks like animation. It's hard for me to get attached to any character that looks so fake. They look dead. Their eyes look dead. Robots.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

If they can make 3D movies look as REAL as live-action, I'm all for it.
But it still looks like animation. It's hard for me to get attached to any character that looks so fake. They look dead. Their eyes look dead. Robots.

Yes, I agree. I like animation like "The Incredibles" that would have been a good choice for 3D.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Surreal will be the next trend in blockbusters once they are ready. Beowulf is the first real test.

Did you see it? How did it come off for you? Well executed?

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

But the fact that they could have filmed Beowulf in Live-Action and they chose to film it in 3D animation instead really makes me mad.

They just released a live action movie last year (Beowulf & Grendel). Really, how many filmings of an 1100 year old drinking song do you need?!?

 

[djoxygen]

I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought it was completely underwhelming. My girlfriend liked it, and we don't often disagree on movies.

My gripes

1 - When the best performance is delivered by Angelina Jolie, you may have a problem

2 - Performance capture is great for giving more life to a non-human CGI character like Gollum or King Kong. But the CGI isn't good enough to make people look real, so my brain still won't accept it. To me it's just vaguely creepy and distracting.

3 - Too much "doesn't this sword look cool in 3-D when we shove it in your face"

4 - If this particular movie had been done live-action, it would have been rated R. I can handle a whole lot of violence (I think Sin City is a fantastic work of art) but I was not prepared for people being torn limb from limb and having their heads smashed based on my expectations of a PG-13 movie. I don't understand why this kind of violence is PG-13 because it's just slightly not real, and R if it's real. The content is the same. The MPAA is stupid.

5 - I fell asleep after about 1.5 hours and woke up just in time for the end. I believe this is because the poor performances and vaguely creepy, not quite realistic CGI/perf-capture kept me from forgetting that I was in a movie theater. I was never drawn into the film, and therefore I got bored.

I believe there are movies where 3-D could work beautifully. Superman and Beowulf were not those movies. The Incredibles I would see again in a heartbeat if it were re-rendered with this new process and released to theaters. Having seen the teaser for Coraline before Beowulf, I think that will work wonderfully as well. So far, though, I have seen no finished work that excited me.

 

[mike c]

They just released a live action movie last year (Beowulf & Grendel). Really, how many filmings of an 1100 year old drinking song do you need?!?

1100?

i don't like this movie. as the trends for CGI to look more and more "real" this 3d thing took things the other way ... let's make real people look unreal!

the people's movements were not realistic, but fine ... but the horse movements were very very stupid. somehow I doubt they did motion capture on horses.

good points:

you can use Winstone for the lead part which has the body of a superhero.

bad points:

even the actor who played Leonidas in Beowulf and Grendel was not shouting: "I am Spartaaaaaaa" oh ... I mean Beowulf

if swords and axes could not affect grendel, suddenly beowulf's punches were disorienting him?

discussion:

am i the only one who thinks the sea monsters in Beowulf's story were made up? or was that really the intention ... to tell us he knew how to weave fantasy to hype himself up?