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 February 26, 2004

3 Days of 3-D at the Lafayette Theatre
By Marnie Richman

As the kickoff to its 80th anniversary celebration, Suffern's Lafayette Theatre will be presenting ten vintage 3-Dimensional films from February 27-29. If the idea of watching these films sounds as antiquated as that 1952 Life magazine photo of a movie audience wearing funny looking glasses, think again. These films will be presented using state of the art equipment and glasses. So long, eye strain!

Peter Apruzzese, Director of Film Programming at the Lafayette, says that the idea for the festival came from film collectors and fans with expertise in this type of film. With a brand new 2 projector system recently acquired by the theatre, the timing seemed perfect, since 3-D requires the projection of two strips of film running together in synchronization; one strip for the right eye, and one strip for the left. Combined with a special filter inside the projector, viewing glasses and a silver colored screen, the brain perceives these images as three dimensional, rather like a child's Viewmaster toy. According to Apruzzese, the "projection will be as perfect as it can be." Anyone remembering the uncomfortable, headache inducing glasses of yore should take note. The glasses for these screenings are polarized, which will make movie watching most enjoyable and comfortable. They will be available for 25 cents each.

Actually, the golden era of 3-D was quite short-lived. Introduced in 1952 with "Bwana Devil," the new process was considered technologically advanced, and the studio system hoped it would be a good way to lure theatergoers back into the seats, away from television. Although quite a few films made excellent use of the medium, which was constantly improving technologically, many relied solely on gimmicks, while the stories themselves played second fiddle to special effects. That, combined with improper projection, quickly tiring audiences and uncomfortable glasses, brought the 3-D craze to its conclusion by the end of 1954. By that time, theatres had already begun to show the films only in the standard "flat" version. Approximately 50 films were produced during this era. Coming up on the horizon was yet another competitor-widescreen Cinemascope.

This weekend, however, brings these films back to life. The festival includes such titles as "Kiss Me Kate," "Dial M for Murder," "House of Wax," "It Came from Outer Space, "Miss Sadie Thompson," and "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." They will be shown with their original intermissions, as well as short subjects. For more information, go to www.bigscreenclassics.com. . See you at the movies!