Re: The BEST 3D IMAX ever.

[Tom Deering <tmd@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 11/11/99, Tom Deering wrote:
>For my birthday, Pat took me to see "The Magic Box", Sigfried and Roy's
>new IMAX 3D movie.  I'm still choked up.  It was sublime.
>
>The photography, stereo effect, showmanship and magic made me weep. I will
>post a longer review later.  For now I am speechless.


Let me start by saying that I must see this movie at least a couple 
more times.  There was so much going on, and I was so flabbergasted, 
I could never take enough notes.  Besides being a software 
consultant, you should know that I am a card-carrying magician, a 
member of the same New York group Harry Houdini belonged to.  So as 
someone who has seen lots of magic, I can safely say the effects were 
in a class by themselves.

The "magic box" is a recurring theme.  It is the creative mechanism 
that blends the different parts of the movie: the flashbacks, the 
home movies, the old photos, shots in and around their home, and the 
staged recreations of their famous Las Vegas shows.  The box is also 
a metaphorical container for the creative and mystical themes upon 
which the movie (and their lives) revolve.

The machinery of the box is a thematic device that runs throughout 
the movie, which is narrated by Anthony Hopkins.  When you fly 
through a cornfield from Roy's childhood, you can see the gears of 
the machine in the distance, as though the action is literally taking 
place within the box.  It's a neat, original effect. The movie is 
somewhat autobiographical; we learn about both men's early lives, and 
how they met, and how they currently live.  It's a fascinating 
metamorphosis.

The other computer animations and live effects were inventive and 
stunning.  Many of the effects I've never seen in a 3D movie before. 
Example: the screen is filled rows and rows of tiger's heads, with 
nice depth.  In a second it tilts into a "floor", then squashes flat, 
and becomes the 2D carpet that a real tiger walks on.  They make 
nothing of it, it's almost done offhand.  It happens in a moment, one 
of hundreds of effects, and the cumulative effect of so many perfect 
marvels took my breath away.  Another time, the camera follows Roy as 
we walks through the Bremen Zoo of his childhood.  The camera floats 
100 feet up, looking straight down through the girders and beams. 
Stunning.

Remember, there is another kind of technology called 3D that has 
nothing to do with stereoscopy.  This is 3D computer modelling, like 
"Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life". Like George Lucas's most recent film, 
"The Magic Box" features live and computer-generated elements 
seamlessly interacting with each other.  Usually this is done for 
photo-realistic purposes only, and presented to the audience in flat 
2D.  But in this film, it is taken to it's logical stereoscopic 
conclusion, and it's really something to see.

There is 20 minutes of computer-generated effects. The computer work 
is extremely well done, with excellent use of the stereo effect.  I 
don't think I've seen a 3D movie with as much depth.  I'll admit I 
was in the perfect seat, but the computer layering seemed to allow 
more depth.  By composing the scene in independent layers, the 
director could keep very near and very far objects in perfect focus, 
way beyond the limits of hyperfocal.  Somebody was studying geometry 
and math in art school, that's for sure.

The Vegas shots were all staged for the movie, and that's great.  By 
this, I mean the camera comes right up on stage, flies over the 
audience, and moves all about.  They shot it last Christmas, while 
the Mirage theatre was dark.  We are able to stand on the stage with 
the performers, and circle the cages and cases while the magic is 
being performed.  The magic happens in one long take, so you feel you 
are standing on stage as it happens.

As a magician, knowing "how they did it" is not the point.  It's the 
style and showmanship.  I saw (what I believe was) the same "trick" 
three times, but each time presented so differently as to appear to 
be an independent miracle.  I've never seen their live show, and I 
had big expectations.  But this was ten times more that I imagined.

In the end, the story is compelling, the three-dimensional effect is 
excellent, the computer graphics are integrated and inventive, and 
the magic lends itself perfectly as a subject for the immersive 
qualities of stereo photography.

Go see it.

Tom Deering

PS:

There is a website that is as well done as the movie.  It makes very 
effective use of the new Flash technology: 
http://www.siegfriedandroy.com.  I recommend the press kit.  There 
are some excellent stills, including the IMAX 3-D camera at 
http://www.siegfriedandroy.com/presskit/3dcamera.htm

And at http://www.imax.com/films/distribution/siegroy.html there a 
nice film clip.  The 1.7 meg file took 11 minutes to download on a 
modem, but man it's cool.  Imagine that one inch picture 100 feet 
tall!

Thank you for a memorable birthday, Pat.