Gravity
The year is 1922. The Ottoman Empire collapses. Sylvia Beach publishes Ulysses on author James Joyce’s 40th birthday. And in Los Angeles, theater audiences see, for the very first time, a 3-D film: The Power of Love.
3-D films have recently proliferated with the rise of digital filmmaking, which makes it easy to convert single-lens shots to 3-D. But Cinematheque’s four-day retrospective on 3-D film, which kicks off Jan. 26, focuses on true 3-D films — those shot simultaneously with two lenses — which were a commercial success in the 1950s.
While some cinephiles tend to consider 3-D a clever gimmick or unwanted nuisance, Jim Healy, Cinematheque’s director of film programming, wants to dispel the myth that 3-D is not for serious filmmakers; the format is inseparable from film’s history and its lofty ambitions. “3-D film is something we take seriously,” says Healy.
Cinematheque in 3 D! is a condensed version of the 3-D Auteurs showcase Healy presented previously at the Film Forum in New York City, and features 3-D works from paragons of cinema, including Alfred Hitchcock, Werner Herzog and Alfonso Cuarón.
The 3-D series is a first for Cinematheque, UW-Madison’s international and art film showcase. The films in the series range from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the modern day, and run the gamut from feature films to experimental shorts.
Healy says the immediacy of 3-D film is one of its greatest appeals.
“It’s the thrill of having something thrown in your lap,” Healy says. “It’s a way to make more vivid the illusion of depth and, at its best, to create a fully immersive experience.”
Cinematheque has temporarily installed additional projection equipment to show the films, and Healy hopes turnout will demonstrate an appetite for 3-D showings in future showcases. Though its commercial popularity has waxed and waned, Healy predicts the 3-D format will endure.
All Cinematheque in 3-D! showings will be held at UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706. Showings are free, and 3-D glasses are provided.
Dial M for Murder
Dial M for Murder
Jan. 26, 7 pm
The classic Alfred Hitchcock film follows a former tennis pro’s (Ray Milland) chilling plot to murder his wife (the peerless Grace Kelly).
Inferno
Jan. 27, 6 pm
In Roy Baker’s gem from the 3-D wave of the 1950s, a privileged petty tycoon plots revenge after he is left injured and stranded in the Mojave Desert.
Gravity
Jan. 27, 8 pm
Sandra Bullock is stunning as Ryan Stone, an astronaut fighting for survival in the void of space. A masterwork from the ever-excellent Alfonso Cuarón, and one of the most visceral, thrilling and spectacular experiences released in recent years.
September Storm
Jan. 28, 1 pm
This 1960 tale of a model duped into a Mediterranean treasure hunt is a piece of buried treasure itself: The original negatives were only recently rediscovered and converted to digital 3-D.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Jan. 28, 3:30 pm
One of the tallest towers in a soaring skyline of a career, Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams explores the preserved paintings of the Chauvet Cave in France, home to some of the oldest known art in the world.
House of Wax
Jan. 28, 5:30 pm
Things begin to feel strange when visitors explore Dr. Henry Jarrod’s (a delightfully creepy Vincent Price) wax museum and learn its gruesome secret. Showing preceded by the Three Stooges short Spooks (1953, 16 min.).
3-D Rarities! (compilation)
Jan. 28, 8 pm
Collected digital restorations of early 3-D tests and obscurities, including atomic bomb footage, Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons, burlesque footage and assorted trailers.
Kiss Me Kate
Jan. 29, 11 am
Art mirrors reality mirroring art in this musical adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, in which actors Fred (Howard Keel) and Lili (Kathryn Grayson) reunite during a musical adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. George Sidney directs.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Jan. 29, 2 pm
JJ Abrams returns audiences to a galaxy far, far away, where Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) fight to save the galaxy from the evil First Order and the menacing Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Big, fun and entertaining.