A Review of Inferno (1953), Film Noir in the Third Dimension




When frequenting websites that cover pop culture, I've noticed that the majority of commentary about 3D entertainment focuses on either the latest summer blockbusters or cutting edge virtual reality technology. Unfortunately, what these sites ignore is one very crucial thing that digital high-definition video technology brings to 3D: the restoration, preservation and distribution of vintage 3D movies from the 20th century.

This post will look at one of the best films from Hollywood's brief "golden age" of 3D during the '50s: Inferno, a film noir thriller that was directed by Roy Ward Baker*. So far, Inferno has been released twice on 3D Blu-ray: Once in the U.K. by Panamint and once in the U.S. by Twilight Time, and both releases come with different special features. (For a detailed comparison of these releases, go to DVD Beaver here.) I watched the Twilight Time release, so this review will discuss one of the special features on that version.

Inferno begins with Geraldine Carson (Rhonda Fleming) and her lover Joe Duncan (William Lundigan) coming back from the desert after a survey of a possible silver mine. They claim to authorities that Geraldine's husband Donald (Robert Ryan), a crotchety Howard Hughes-like millionaire, has gone missing; what actually happened was that Donald broke his leg during the survey and Geraldine and Joe left him in the desert to die. The film follows Donald as he struggles to survive in the desert heat, overcoming obstacle after obstacle to stay alive and return home.




Inferno was the only 3D film that 20th Century Fox released during the '50s, but it's also one of the best 3D films from that decade. The plot is engrossing, the cast is top-notch, and the director knew how to get the most out of 3D film technology. Since this movie was also shot in Technicolor, the 3D effects pop to life within the colorful, sun-drenched environments where the story takes place. Baker chose to shoot most of Inferno on location in the Mojave Desert, and the depth of field such a location presents was utilized to its fullest effect.

The Twilight Time release includes a short retrospective documentary called “A New Dimension of Noir: Filming Inferno in 3D”, which details the production of Inferno and its particular place within American 3D film history. While Baker was shooting Inferno out in the desert, 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck** was hedging his bets on another film project, The Robe, a biblical epic that was being produced on the widescreen format of CinemaScope. Both 3D and widescreen formats were being explored by Hollywood as ways to bring audiences back to the box office and away from TV, which was still new at the time. The Robe would go on to be a smash hit in 1953 and the widescreen format flourished because of it; in contrast, Inferno was only shown in 3D in a handful of cities while all of the other theaters screened the 2D version.

To me, this outcome proves that 3D film wasn't a fad but a technology that was ahead of its time. Even though Hollywood had the tools to make impressive 3D films, it hadn't perfected an affordable technology that would guarantee quality exhibitions of these films at every theater where they played, which ultimately made them unprofitable. In contrast, it was much cheaper to convert movie theaters to the wide screen format, a format that is still widely used today and has been adopted as the screen ratio for many flat-screen HD TVs.




Inferno is a crackling thriller and even though it's entertaining enough in 2D, you really need to see it in 3D to experience the full visual delight that it has to offer. The Twilight Time Blu-ray is a limited edition release--only 3,000 copies are being released--so be sure to pick up your copy today.


* Baker would go on to direct a number noteworthy horror and sci-fi films for both Hammer Film and Amicus Productions, including Quatermass and the Pit (1967), Scars of Dracula (1970), and Asylum (1972).

** The name “Zanuck” should sound familiar to Jaws franchise fans: Zanuck's son Richard would go on to co-produce Jaws (1975) and Jaws 2 (1978) with David Brown. After Richard Zanuck left the franchise after Jaws 2, the next sequel would be in the third dimension: Jaws 3D (1983).





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Tron: Uprising (Part 1 of 4): Characters

Image
This month marks the one year anniversary of the cancellation of Tron: Uprising , which aired on Disney XD for 19 episodes. Set between the events of Tron and Tron: Legacy , Uprising chronicled the events shortly after Clu’s rise to power within the stand-alone Grid created by Kevin Flynn. Personally, I think that Tron: Uprising got a raw deal from Disney. It’s a fantastic addition to the Tron saga that went on to win both Emmy and Annie Awards , yet Disney clearly had other priorities and was willing to toss Uprising aside without so much as an official cancellation notice. Even to this day, Uprising has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray and I’m wondering if it ever will. In honor of this amazing animated series that was cut down in its prime, I have decided to do something that Disney won’t. Since there will never be an official Tron: Uprising art book, I have searched across the Internet to find a selection of art from Uprising that I can share here on my blog with
Read more

FOUND: Mechanical Shark from Universal Jaws Theme Park Ride

Image
When the Universal Studios Theme Park in Florida shut down its Jaws ride back in January 2012, Jaws fans everywhere were devastated. Yet even though this part of the Jaws franchise is no longer operational, some of its sharks are swimming around out there … including places such as Frederick, Maryland. A few days ago, I was contacted by a fellow Jaws fan named John Ryan, asking me if I knew anything specific regarding the sharks from the Universal Jaws ride. He was asking because he thought he found one and is trying to verify its authenticity. We spoke on the phone and exchanged a few emails, and here’s what he told me about his find: “I've been collecting Jaws memorabilia for decades and when I found this incredibly rare gem sitting in a backyard in Frederick, Maryland, I wondered about its connection to the state. The current homeowners said the shark was already there when they purchased the property. They also told me it had been the subject of neighborhood rumor for y
Read more

Machine Robo's Magnificent Robot Combiners

Image
I don't collect Transformers merchandise, but I see articles and advertisements about it when I browse through Japanese robot toy sites. From what I can gather, one of the latest product lines for Transformers is called "Combiner Wars" , a line that consists of five or six transforming robot toys that combine into one bigger robot. Combiner robot toys have been around for a long time, and Transformers had quite a few of them even back in the '80s. Yet of the many combiner robot toys I've seen over the years, the ones that have consistently impressed me were the ones released by Bandai under the Machine Robo line. Whereas other robot toy lines are stuck in the novelty of combining smaller toys into a bigger toy, Machine Robo has used the concept of combination to promote creative play. Read on for a review of how Machine Robo has built upon its combiner toys throughout the years.
Read more