While 3D has been an aspect of the cinema experience since the 1950s, in the 21st century technology has become an essential aspect for many moviegoers. While classic 3D movies had the screen broken to let the images fly out, modern 3D movies prefer a more subtle approach, one that gives a greater sense of depth and invites viewers to a different aspect of movie immersion.
For some, 3D is just all the rage, but for others it’s just as important to the viewing experience as sound or whether someone chooses to pay extra for the IMAX experience. 3D certainly got a bad rap after a series of quick conversions with rushed post-production, like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender making the films look darker and almost unwatchable. But now even movies not filmed in 3D are given plenty of prep time to plan their 3D conversions where it can look impressive, so much so that the 1975 classic jaws was re-released in 3D for the first time and many viewers were impressed.
3D is back in the spotlight with the upcoming release of Avatar: The way of the water and with that in mind, these are the best modern 3D movies that use the technology in the best possible form.
8 Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 was released 11 years later Toy Story 2. Pixar’s animation had improved so drastically in those 11 years that watching Toy Story 3 the viewer immediately notices an improvement in the image quality of the other person Toy Story movies. The addition of 3D also brought a new level of realism to the audience, not only putting the viewer in the characters’ point of view, but also using the technology to emphasize how realistic the animated characters looked. The toy felt really real. Unlike other 3D movies where the gimmick is to reach the audience, Toy Story 3 made the audience want to reach in and play with the toys.
7 Doctor Strange
While many of the MCU movies have been released in 3D, this is arguably Doctor Strange who made the best use of the technology. While the first half of the movie uses the 3D to give the movie a sense of depth, the thrill goes into overdrive during the second act of the movie, when the heroes are transported into the mirror dimension and the moving city, collapsing skyscrapers. and flying spells make the most of the 3D sorcery.
The kaleidoscopic imagery is a feast for the eyes in 3D, and by the time the film reaches its climax with a sequence in the psychedelic dark dimension, it shows how effectively 3D can be used to transport audiences to new worlds and a unique cinematic experience.
6 The stroll
Robert Zemeckis had experimented extensively with 3D technology in his motion captures of animated films such as The North Pole on purpose, Beowulfand A Christmas song. However, it was in live-action where the tech wizard’s filmmaker really showed his talent for 3D in the 2015 film. The stroll.
The stroll tells the true story of 24-year-old French wire artist Philippe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Using 3D for the climatic walk between the Twin Towers (itself a technological marvel, almost entirely digitally recreated more than a dozen years after they fell in 9/11) is a breathtaking display of 3D technology, which puts the audience in the midst of suspense. It’s almost impossible not to inhale as the camera stares at the sheer heights for this incredible stunt. The stroll is a movie that really takes advantage of 3D technology, and might not have worked without it.
5 How to train your dragon
While Alice in Wonderland was the first movie to make real money from the new 3D craze of Avatarit was How to train your dragon which was released just a few weeks later, that was really the first great preview to show that Avatar was no fluke, but that it could be an essential cinematic tool.
While Jeffrey Katzenberg had pushed DreamWorks Animation towards 3D with the release of Monsters vs Aliensthat 3D was much more a tribute to the style of the fifties. How to train your dragon technology used to immerse the viewer in the wonder of flying, with the scene of Hiccup and Toothless flying through the sky, a feast for the eyes on the screen and an immediately iconic moment in cinema history, all the more special with 3D. 1978, Superman: the movie promised the public that they would believe a man could fly, but those of 2010 How to train your dragon offers the public the chance to fly like never before.
4 The life of Pi
The life of Pi was considered an unfilmable novel. But in 2012, acclaimed director Ang Lee brought the book to life with 3D to make the impossible happen. What is on display is a dazzling visual marvel, one that makes the ordinary world look magically new. It adds the depth needed for the vast ocean and makes the tiger feel more real despite being clearly a CGI creation as it puts the viewer so close to it that although they register it as a special effect , still feels believable. The life of Pi is a breathtaking movie, a movie where the 3D aspect is part of its wonder.
3 Gravity
Gravity is a film that uses 3D as an essential aspect of telling its story. While it’s still a story that works without technology, to get the full experience of Gravity is to see it in 3D because it is a roller coaster experience. Director Alfonso Cuaron mixes the 3D effect with his own trademark long shots to really transport the viewer into the world and the mind of an astronaut. The end result is a captivating, breathtaking and energetic experience. Gravity in 3D, many viewers are the closest to actually being in space, with all the wonder and fear that this entails.
2 Hugo
Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest living filmmakers of all time, so it’s perfectly reasonable for the director to understand not only how to work with 3D, but also how to use it as a resource in the best possible way. In HugoScorsese uses 3D technology to create a real depth of the frame, making the train station and interoperating clock system feel huge. It helps give the viewer a real sense of space to understand the world this movie is in and get the sense that this is a real space.
But the filmmaker also connects the technical marvel of 3D with the film’s inherent theme, movie magic. 3D is just another in a long history of cinematic tools to amaze audiences. In a film that is a love letter to a film that celebrates the cinema’s past, it feels appropriate to show how the medium has evolved and highlight the wonders of its future.
1 Avatar
Could it be a different movie then Avatar? When most moviegoers think of modern 3D movies, it is Avatar that immediately comes to mind. Director James Cameron pushed the boundaries of what viewers expect from 3D; instead of jumping the film to the audience, he used the technology to bring the audience into the world of the film. Wearing 3D glasses, the viewers looked very much like Jack Sully who joined his Avatar body and was transported to a whole new point of view. 3D allowed the public to really enter Pandora and experience all its wonders.
It was so successful that the public went back to see Avatar multiple times in the format, and Cameron’s film became the highest-grossing film of all time. It inspired other studios to embrace 3D, and to this day it remains the gold standard. For a whole generation they have only experienced Avatar in 2D, but you could argue if that’s the only way you’ve looked AvatarThen they haven’t actually seen the movie. Fortunately, audiences can experience the film in 3D with the re-release and it will soon return to Pandora with Avatar: The way of the water.