Review: 3D Movies Book

[P3D <jgore@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A Short Review of: 
"3-D Movies  A History and Filmography of Stereoscopic Cinema",
A book by R. M. Hayes. 

The first 121 pages of this book deal with the histroy of 3D movies. 
It is a very in-depth look. Pages 123-371 are a listing of all 3D 
Movies ever made (248 pages of them). Pages 373-375 is a short 
Afterword. And pages 377-403 deals with current 3-D processes and
services. And of course there is a nice index in the back. It is 
printed on heavy stock with a hard cover and should last
fore-ever. The print looks good and is easy to read.

 It has many pictures which are all in black and white. Some pictures
are full page. It was fun looking at the movie posters for many of the
3-D movies. The pictures also include scenes of the movies, as well 
as pictures of the filming itself. It really had just enough pictures to
break up the text well. It made it a fun book to read. There are some
really good pictures of some of the camera equipment used. 
Don't expect any side by side stereo pictures to look at. I think 
there are one or two. But this isn't a stereo picture book. It might 
have been fun if Mr. Hayes had added a bunch of stereo pictures, but 
this book really doesn''t need that. It stands well by itself without 
that kind of novelty.
Also, the text is well written, easy to understand, and there is 
allot of it. you won't finnish this book in one sitting, or two, or
three. You'll get lots of good reading from this one!

I can tell Mr. Hayes really did his research. The information 
provided is pretty in-depth. He obviously spent years collecting 
information to be used in this book. I wish there had been more 
information about How-To, but then thats not what the book was about; 
It is a History of 3-D Cinema. The Last portion of the book does list 
and show pictures of many Stereoscopic systems still in use.

I found the information provided a Must-Have for any true 3-D Movie
fan. It tells how it all got started, the ups and downs of the 3-D 
fad, and has many insights and stories from someone who at least 
seems like an insider. Not to mention the great listing of all the 
3-D movies.

The list of 3-D movies could have been made allot smaller by 
eliminating things like Hairstyling (why do I care who styled the 
actors hair?), Makeup, Costume Supervisor, ect...... I really don't
care who did these things in each movie. Don't be suprised if you 
find Best Boy or Key Grip in the movie listings.  Mr.Hayes really 
went overboard here. 
What I really don't like is that you have to search through all the 
bogus information to get to the cast, which sometimes seems well 
hidden amongst the chaff. But, at least it's all there with some 
comentary as well.  I also wished he would have given more 
information on the subject matter or plot of each movie.
Even with the faults listed, it's a great 3-D movie listing.

All in all, I was pleased with the book. The text wasn't skimpy. It 
had allot of good information in it. The pictures made it fun to 
read. And it makes a great reference for 3D movies.
Well, is the book worth the $44.95 that Reel-3-D,Inc. (310-837-2368)
wants for it? I would have to say it depends on how much of a 3D 
movie fan you are. For me the answer is yes. For you? I give the book 
two big thumbs up, even if the price is a little overwhelming.
-=*< If your not shooting in 3D your not getting the whole picture! >*=-
     jgore@xxxxxxxxxxx               


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