(No) small thing.
by beanalreasa
I’ve been overthinking things a lot lately.
And sometimes, I forget.
Weeks go by and I realize that I’ve lost sight of the overall picture.
Today, I wanted to do something different.
I went with my family to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Even though I don’t consider myself as much of a Star Wars fan, I know that my husband and kid were anxious to see the movie. (Meanwhile, I was somewhat skeptical of the hype, so I didn’t want to go in with too many expectations.) But so much was their excitement, that my husband pre-ordered the tickets online on Tuesday, at $17 a ticket. At first, I’d assumed that these tickets had been more expensive than usual because it is the opening weekend, but then my husband apologized to me this morning because he’d realized too late that he’d purchased tickets for the 3-D version of the film.
Due to some specific visual issues that affect my binocular vision and depth perception, I’ve never been able to experience a 3-D movie.
(Of course, I’ve attempted to see several 3-D movies, over the years. Though it seems more of a waste of money as my personal visual experience of 3-D movies has ranged from mildly frustrating to headache-inducing. …hence his desire to apologize.)
But I really wanted to be a good sport, so I figured that I could find a way to adapt. I brought my prescription glasses, hoping that the best case scenario would be that the film would appear only somewhat blurry if I used them in tandem with 3-D glasses, as that had been my experience in the past.
But you know what?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an entertaining film. The action was fast-paced and the plot was engaging.
But that wasn’t the best part:
Star Wars:The Force Awakens was visually stunning.
Perhaps it was the curved screen, or the surround sound stereo system, which likely adds to the feeling of being immersed in the action and sound of a film. (After all, the theatre was billed as an RPX experience*)
But I really couldn’t get over how vivid and bright things appeared onscreen.
Perhaps this is how a 3-D movie should look.
Perhaps I was actually experiencing a 3-D movie for the very first time.
And for me, this is no small thing.
Amazing.
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*RPX stands for Regal Premium Experience, which is supposed to have better picture and sound quality than IMAX, complete with a giant, IMAX-size screen.
When I was a teen, I tried watching 3-D movies and all I ever got out of them were headaches. A few years ago, on a lark, I decided to try again and was shocked that not only could I see what I was supposed to see, there were no residual headaches. That being said, I still prefer – when I actually watch a film in the cinema – to see the normal, 2-D format. Regarding Star Wars, I am trying to insulate myself from online reviews as much as possible. I have a general rule with films, that for the first time I watch them, I watch them in their original language. Since the movie is not coming out in English close to where I live, this means I’ll be waiting for it to come out on video. It might be unrealistic, thinking I can avoid any spoilers until I have the chance to watch the movie … even countering my own curiosity will be difficult, as I am nearly as dedicated a Star Wars fan as I am with Star Trek. But try I will 🙂
I am really happy to read that you were able to have a good time with the movie, and with your family … those kinds of shared moments are more important than they may seem at times 🙂
I know there are a couple of different ways to make a 3D film. One is to actually shoot it to support 3D. The other is to shoot standard and layer it/pieces of it after shooting. The latter isn’t great for the viewer, for reasons explained in one movie critics’ teardown of the beast, but is used heavily all the same. The former is supposed to take away some of those issues, which makes me wonder if Star Wars was a rare movie actually filmed the former way!
Looks like the film took the standard add-later approach:
https://www.quora.com/Was-Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens-filmed-in-3D-or-was-it-filmed-with-one-camera-2D-and-the-3D-effect-comes-in-post-production
I am so glad that it turned out to be a good experience for you.