Cinema Canada (Apr 1976)

proaching nearer and nearer to full ‘physical reality. It will be found that the film does, nevertheless, differ enormously from physical reality, and that it is largely in these differences that its artistic power lies. The truth of this may be illustrated by a ‘reductio ad absurdum’. Advocates of ‘cinéma total’ consider the cinema imperfect to the extent that it falls short of complete reality; the perfect cinema they say would attain total reality. But if this dream were realized, then the cinema would be reality — and would cease to be art.” Ralph Stephenson and J.R. Debrix, The Cinema as Art (Penguin, Baltimore, 1969), p. 57. Agreed. It was on these grounds that I questioned the validity of moving holograms as cinema. But then why have 3-D at all? For one thing it seems inevitable. We began with black and white “‘silent’’, went to black and white sound, then to colour, then to wider screens, then to stereophonic sound, and all the while getting technically more and more precise. This ironic trend toward realism in film is difficult to explain. Perhaps it is because so many film goers view the movies merely as an escape hatch from the day-to-day world, and thus the more realistic the fantasy the stronger is their feeling of participation and involvement in it. In this context 3-D movies would seem the logical next step. But more importantly let us remember that whatever the reason for these technological advances may be, almost all have added to the artistic potential of the medium. Citizen Kane could not have been made in the silent period, just as Kubrick’s 2001 could not have been made in black and white. This is not to say that recent films are better because they are more realistic, but simply that every filmmaker must first consider the technology available to him and then work within that technology. Film after all is the technological medium, and as such its potential for artistic expression grows with every technological advance. 3-D cinema, properly used, would allow the filmmaker (if he so wished) to work with depth in the same way that he works with time, form, tone, and colour. But if and when 3-D films begin to be widely produced, they will at first again be very sensational and commercial (“See the gorilla jump into your lap!’’). This will probably be inevitable, due to the higher production costs. Many people will say that 2-D is dead, forgetting that colour did not kill black and white. Others will shun 3-D because of its commercial nature and refuse to see its artistic potential. Hopefully though, cool heads will prevail in the long run. The choice of 3-D or 2-D will become much the same as the filmmaker’s present choice of black and white or colour — mediated both by esthetic and financial/commercial considerations. In short, 3-D films will not revolutionize the cinema. They will give the film artist an additional tool with which to work, create, and express. gO Subscription rates normal $ 8.00 student 7.00 foreign 10.00 institution 15.00 Box 398 Outremont Station Montreal, P.Q. H2V 4N3 > 48 / Cinema Canada (Nore than just an audio/visual house More than just an animation house (Ts art services Itd. toronto msv es: 410 adelaide st. w. 363 2621 PREIEESSIONALS in all phases of special photographic effects ch film opticals of canada ltd. 410 adelaide st. w.toronto (416) 363-4987 vancouver (604), 687-4491 montreal (514) 937-2336