Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

3-D Rarities Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 10, 2015

"3-D Rarities" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Flicker Alley and 3-D Film Archive. The supplemental features on the disc include audio commentaries by producer Jack Theakston and Thad Komoroswki; 3-D footage directed by Francis Ford Coppola; and 3-D photo galleries. In English, not subtitled. Region-Free.

The latest addition to Flicker Alley’s Blu-ray catalog is a very impressive collection of 22 3-D rarities (short films, promotional programs, and trailers) which have been gathered and carefully restored over a period of 30 years. All of the content has been restored from archival materials and transferred to Blu-ray in a way that makes it possible to view it even if one does not have a 3D player. (To view the content in 3D, one needs to have a 3D Blu-ray player, 3D-capable HDTV set, and a pair of standard 3D glasses. The same content can also be played on standard 2D Blu-ray players and viewed on standard HDTV sets).

The collection is broken into two parts, each organizing the rarities in chronological order. Three of them can also be seen with optional audio commentaries -- two from associate producer Jack Theakston for Kelley’s Plasticon Pictures and William T. Crespinel/Jacob Leventhal tests, and one by Thad Komoroswki for Boo Moon.

Part 1: The Dawn of Stereoscopic Cinematography

Presented here are ten rarities. The majority of them are essentially demonstration/promotional pieces that attempt to highlight as best as possible the advantages of early 3-D content and the different type of experience it offers. Rather predictably, the earliest footage, such as the one included in Kelley’s Plasticon Pictures, is in black-and-white and fairly basic, but Evelyn Lambart’s O Canada, for instance, is a very effective (and shot in color) short piece. Jack Norling’s New Dimensions, whose credits boldly describe it as “A Three-Dimensional Polaroid Film in Technicolor”, is another real gem which was filmed to promote Chrysler’s new Plymouth Sedan. Arguably the most informative short, however, is J. F. Leventhal’s Thrills for You, a wonderful documentary about the Pennsylvania Railroad.

CONTENT:

1. Kelley’s Plasticon Pictures (1922-1923) (8 min)
2. William T. Crespinel/Jacob Leventhal tests (1924-1927) (6 min)
3. John Norling/Jacob Leventhal tests (1935) (4 min)
4. Thrills for You (1940) (9 min)
5. New Dimensions (1940) (10 min)
6. Now is the Time (1951) (4 min)
7. Around is Around (1951) (8 min)
8. O Canada (1952) (2 min)
9. Twirligig (1952) (4 min)
10. Bolex Stereo (1952) (11 min)

Part 2: Hollywood Enters the Third-Dimension

Once again, A good portion of the footage highlights the advantages of 3-D content. M.L. Gunzburg Presents Natural Vision 3-Dimension even openly promotes the idea that 3-D content is "healthy and "beneficial" for one's eyes. The demonstrations, however, are far more diverse and original. The equipment used to produce the content is also introduced. There is a fantastic piece on the great Rocky Marciano and his challenger Jersey Joe Walcott, which was released through United Artists. Both are seen training and eventually clashing at the famous Chicago Stadium. The original elements for the puppet cartoon The Adventures of Sam Space apparently no longer exist, but this short film looks absolutely terrific now. This reviewer's favorite piece here is the apparently extremely rare 3-D burlesque film I'll Sell My Shirt, which was photographed by cinematographer William C. Thompson (Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space, Night of the Ghouls). Also included are four restored trailers for Jack Arnold's It Came from Outer Space, Lee Garmes and John Ireland's western Hannah Lee with the beautiful Joanne Dru, Macdonald Carey and John Ireland, William Cameron Menzies' sci-fi film The Maze, and Curtis Bernhardt's film Miss Sadie Thompson with Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, and Aldo Ray.

CONTENT:

1. M.L. Gunzburg Presents Natural Vision 3-Dimension (1952) (6 min)
2. It Came from Outer Space trailer (1953) (4 min)
3. Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott (1963) (17 min)
4. Hanna Lee trailer (1953) (3 min)
5. Stardust in Your Eyes (1953) (7 min)
6. The Maze trailer (1953) (3 min)
7. Doom Town (1953) (16 min)
8. The Adventures of Sam Space (1960) (10 min)
9. I'll Sell My Shirt (1953) (10 min)
10. Miss Sadie Thompson trailer (1953) (3 min)
11. Boo Moon (1953) (8 min)

3-D Rarities Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

3-D Rarities arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Flicker Alley and 3-D Film Archive. The bulk of the footage is in 1.37:1 with other segments in their respective original aspect ratios and encoded with MPEG-4 MVC.

The folks at the 3-D Film Archive had a limited budget to work with, but the overall quality of the footage in 3-D Rarities is very good. Obviously, there are various traces of fading and some wear, some light scratches and dirt specks, but all of the short films have very pleasing organic appearance. Excluding a few shaky transitions, overall image stability is also very good.

All of the content has been restored from archival materials and transferred to Blu-ray in a way that makes it possible to view it even if one does not have a 3D player. To view the content in 3D, one needs to have a 3D Blu-ray player, 3D-capable HDTV set, and a pair of standard 3D glasses. The same content can also be played on standard 2D Blu-ray players and viewed on standard HDTV sets. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your Blu-ray player regardless of your geographical location).

3-D Rarities Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are not provided.

The overall quality of the audio is very good. Occasionally there are minor are depth and clarity fluctuations, but they are clearly inherited. Dynamic intensity is rather limited, but this should not be surprising considering the nature of the content that is gathered in this release.

3-D Rarities Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 3-D Photo Galleries - you can see stills from the 3-D comic books after the screencaptures from the main feature.
  
  1. Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) (2 min).
  2. New Work's World Fair (1939) (3 min)
  3. Sam Sawyer View Master reels (1950) (3 min)
  4. 3-D Comic Books (1953) (4 min)

• Commentaries - two commentary tracks from associate producer Jack Theakston for Kelley's Plasticon Pictures and William T. Crespinel/Jacob Leventhal tests, and one by Thad Komoroswki for Boo Moon.

• 3-D Footage Directed by Francis Ford Coppola from The Bellboy and The Playgirls - In English, not subtitle. (2 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - 24-illustrated booklet with essay by Julian Antos, Hillary Hess, Thad Komorowski, Donald McWilliams, Ted Okuda, Marry Ann Sell and Jack Theakston, and an introduction by Leonard Maltin and Trustin Howard.

3-D Rarities Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is very easy to tell that 3- Rarities is a labor of love. The folks at Flicker Alley and 3-D Film Archive have produced a very special Blu-ray release that is guaranteed to impress anyone with a genuine interest in 3-D and the history of 3-D cinema. If you do not yet have a 3D Blu-ray player, keep in mind that this release can also be played on a 2D Blu-ray player and the content can be viewed on a standard HDTV. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.