By Joseph Anthony

Not many people realize that 3D (or the technique which makes 3D possible) was created as far back as 1838.  Stereoscopy has been thrilling moviegoers dating back to 1903’s L’arrivée du Train, during which unaware cinema viewers were so surprised by the effect that they actually ran from the theater screaming, assuming they were about to be flattened by the oncoming train projected on the screen before them. Although in retrospect the image of that mass panic is kind of funny, it’s also a testament to the fact that the creators of 3D were definitely on the right track ~ no pun intended. Now, nearly 100 years later, viewers have thrilled to roughly 250 films and television programs which have developed significantly over the decades from their crude beginnings.

From the turn of the century until midway through, the foundation for 3D films of the future was being established.  A handful of stereoscopic films were produced in this era to “test the waters” in an effort to gauge how convincing the “gimmick” could be and, more importantly, how successful [read: profitable] it would be (some things in the film industry never change!).  It wasn’t until after 1950, though, that 3D really made a connection with moviegoers in over 60 films; the 1952 film Bwana Devil is credited with ushering in the “Golden Age of 3D.”

This period in 3D’s history is what brought us the famous cardboard glasses with the red and blue lenses that allowed for “polarization,” a technique in which two images from two separate projectors are superimposed through two filters ~ you guessed it, a red one and a blue one. Wearing the glasses bring the images together in order to create the illusion of depth (in the movie, that is ~ sadly, it can’t help create the illusion of depth in your date ~ you’re on your own there!).

Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the equipment needed for theaters to screen these state-of-the-art films ~ special lenses, polarized glasses, synchronized projectors, and more ~ many theater owners began refusing to run such films (or ran them on technically inferior equipment).  The result of 3D not being treated with the respect it deserved was that it fell out of favor with the general public and “3D” became synonymous with films of a substandard, exploitative nature; it quickly fell into relative obscurity.

Then came the 1970s, a decade during which people did and developed a taste for many things we’re still not able to explain (have you seen the haircuts and men’s fashions??) ~ including 3D. Suddenly, around the middle of the decade, the forgotten and much-maligned technology was back in favor, resurfacing (again, no pun intended ~ well, ok, maybe just a small one) with the embarrassing Jaws 3D and films of similar…badness. The films themselves were terrible and while there had been great advances in 3D (most notably, two projectors were no longer needed thanks to a new technology called “Space Vision,” which printed two images overlapping each other onto one film strip), audiences were still doomed to wear cardboard glasses…and they soon turned their backs on 3D once again, writing it off as a incurably flawed gimmick.

Then came a film called Transitions, shown at industry conventions in 1986, that utilized a revolutionary new screening technology that would eventually come to be known as IMAX. IMAX was able to digitally correct the rendition of 3D to a precise degree…and yet another new dawn of 3D films was ushered in.

Now in 2010, 3D is technically sophisticated, has regained that “Aw, cool” status, and seems destined to stick around for the long haul ~ not to mention remain quite a cash cow, as it proved to be when coupled with digital filmmaking and computer animation in James Cameron’s global smash Avatar ~ and yes, even the guilty pleasures Piranha 3D (oh don’t EVEN, you KNOW you loved it!) and Resident Evil: Afterlife.