Encounter in the Third Dimension (1999)

The 3-D in this film is phenomenal as is the history of stereoscopic imaging. Samples of turn-of-the-century stereocards, 1950's B movies, and recent attractions at Universal Studios and elsewhere give a tantalizingly brief overview of the art, the technical hurdles and how they have been overcome. The finale with Elvira is superb. A roller coaster ride through the center of the earth is also memorable. My only regret is that the film was not twice as long.

I saw this at Alton Towers in the 3D cinema.There were a few good moments in the film, but mostly i thought it was quite bad. In the whole film i think there was 5 moments of proper 3D image.The only good thing about this film was the apperance of Elvira, she was in all her 3D glory.If your a fan of Elvira you will like the film, if your a fan of 3D films you will not like it.For 3D images i give it 2/10 For Elvira i give it 9/10

This is an exciting and informative through the history of 3D from its early beginings to the present day (including its use in Universal Studio's T2 ride in LA). Its set in a 3D lab of some proffesor of 3D, who orders his robot pal to inform (and most importnatly entertain) the audience with 3D pieces from over the years. You see early - but incredibley effective - stereoscopic pictures, corny 50s 3D movies with horrendous giant spiders and creaky wooden actors continuoisly throwing objects at the camera (to fully milk that 3D effect). It then comes up to date with some computer animations and so-real-it's-unreal filmed footage of various beaches and street scenes. The linking pieces of the proffessor in the lab are humourous and not in the slightest bit annoying (as is the case with the linking segmnets in many other imax movies - see e.g. my review of cyberworld).As a 3D imax experince Encounters is also the best i've ever seen (and i've seen many - i've even been to an imax theme park in France "Futureworld"). As every image in the film is designed to make the most of the format, you really get that in your face sensation and will continuously try and grab at the air to feel for 3D objects that of course are not really there. In essence the audience really feels like they are watching a live show with actors on a stage rather than merely a series projected images. Imax movies in general are a mixed bag, some are really aweful. Here though is a true gem that makes the most of the format. You should definetley check it out if its playing anywhere near you.

Encounter in the third dimension is my first IMAX-3D film I've seen and it was great I loved Elvira's Song Haunted House and the 3-D was amazing. The story was interesting and the little robots were very cool everyone in the theatre even stayed for the credits. Go and see this movie soon!