An old friend who doesn’t get into New York City much wrote me earlier the other day, “Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t know about this Lustig film series ahead of time since I probably would have had to rent a room in town for the entire week.” I almost don’t have the heart, then, to bring up Film Forum’s nearly concurrent “Classic 3‑D” series, which unearths quite a few rarities and replays some choice delights. Francis Ford Coppola’s 3‑D Stake From The Heart, from which the above screen cap is derived, is, alas, not on the program, but there really is some choice stuff here. I cover the stereoscopic today at The Daily Notebook.
Nice article, Glenn. I’ve seen “Inferno” in 3D several times and ran an original Technicolor 3D print of it back in 2004 and it remains probably my favorite 3D film of that era. I only hope that the FF’s projectionists are up to the task this time – at their last 3D festival a few years ago they couldn’t quite grasp the idea that the vertical framing needs to be checked and adjusted for every reel of every film at every show as they are often printed slightly off between the left and right ‘eyes’. Without that adjustment, your eyes start going in different vertical directions and you get eyestrain. Hope I can make it in for a show or two – Redheads is pretty deadly, even in 3‑D, but some of the others are little gems.
Thanks, Pete. The press screenings I attended indicated that things would run smoothly for the real thing. DO let me know what you’re coming in for, as I and My Lovely Wife would love to join you. And maybe you can try to talk our common friend into tagging along!…
What about DR. TONGUE’S 3‑D HOUSE OF STEWARDESSES?
bill: I’m sure they’ll get to it, after they finish their… BRANDY.
OEEE-OOOO-OOO!
OEEE-OOOO-OOO!
Yes – there’s really nothing like Woody Tobias Jr.‘s hoofing with Teri Garr to the music of Tom Waits. And now, I will be unable to produce any pop cultural references for the next 18 hours…
I love INFERNO, which I’ve seen like 3 times, but never in 3D. Ending’s a bit of a disappointment, but yeah, kudos for flashback avoidance.
It was remade for TV as ORDEAL, which isn’t as good, though director Lee H. Katzin sticks close enough to Francis Cockrell’s original story that boredom is kept at bay. It seems to be a bit more focused on the scheming lovers (Diana Muldaur and James Stacy) than their desert-stranded victim (Arthur Hill) – or maybe it’s just that Robert Ryan was just so much more compelling than Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan. Two improvements: dumping the main character’s voice over, and losing the deus ex machina ending. Two missteps: not replacing the deus ex machina with something better, and muddying the moral of the story per Hill’s final action (or, more accurately, non-action). Biggest problem: Hill, a good actor, is no Robert Ryan.
@James – Hey man, you’ve done plenty for now. You deserve the rest.
I counted three movies with Lee Marvin, in itself a recommendation. He’s pretty funny in “Gorilla at Large”.