On Gravity and 3D movies
This post may contain minor spoilers for Gravity. I don't intend to discuss specific plot points but I know how easy it can be to piece things together from vague comments about a movie. So maybe don't read this if you want to watch Gravity in the near future and go into it with a fresh perspective.
Several months ago, I saw this trailer. And I thought, "Wow, that looks like a great movie. I really want to see that."
There was lots of talk about it on Twitter, which was split between "That looks great and I really want to see it" and "That looks great and I couldn't handle watching it because it would freak me out too much."
Now, I can't speak for everyone else who wanted to see this movie, but when I got excited about it, I wasn't thinking "Wow that looks visually stunning!" I was thinking "Wow that sounds like a great story." I mean, seriously, two people adrift in space, knowing that they're probably going to die, fighting not to give up hope, trying to provide emotional support to each other while every piece of every support network is cut off from them... that sounds amazing. It sounds introspective and emotionally harrowing and just exactly the kind of thing I would want to see. And that's what I thought Gravity was going to be.
So I wanted to see it, but (as often happens) I didn't get around to it for a long while, and then it seemed that I would likely have to wait until I could see it at home. And that was sad, because I would like to have seen it earlier, but I figured it would be okay.
But then, people who'd seen Gravity started telling me that I "needed to see it in 3D."
And I thought, "Wait, WHAT?!"
That movie that I thought I'd seen a trailer for was a movie that told a moving story about hopelessness and loss and fear and self-reliance.
The movie people seemed to be talking about when they said "you have to see it in 3D" was one that consisted of visual spectacle with no story substance.
So I was confused. And sad and disappointed and a little angry. I suspected that these people were wrong, but I hadn't seen Gravity so I couldn't be sure of my own position. So I didn't argue. But, basically, I saw two possibilities:
1. Everyone was wrong, and seeing Gravity would have been a fine experience without the 3D.
2. Everyone was right, and Gravity wasn't actually a good film.
There was actually a third option, but that possibility was so remote that I didn't actually believe it could happen. However, based on the possibility that it might happen, I wanted to be sure that I saw Gravity in 3D if I could:
3. Gravity is a groundbreaking film that makes such good use of the 3D format that a significant aspect of the storytelling is lost when the conversion to 2D is made.
So, when people's predictions that after Oscar nominations came out there would be a re-release of Gravity in 3D, I went to see it.
Option 1 was correct.
Gravity is a great movie. I loved it and it's beautiful and moving and everything I would have wanted from it. The story doesn't go exactly the way I thought it would, but the movie is fundamentally about the things I expected it to be about. It's about dealing with a hopeless situation, the loneliness of space, the importance of contact with other humans, all that stuff. As I suspected all along, this is a movie that would have made just as much impact on me if I had watched it on my laptop with headphones in as it did watching it in 3D in a theater. It's extremely well-made.
The 3D is good, and it was cool to see, but it didn't make the movie different or better. The movie is good enough to stand on its own.
So, no. This is not a movie where you "have to see it in 3D." It is still a good movie no matter what, and I have very different attitudes towards 3D movies than a lot of other people do.
Several months ago, I saw this trailer. And I thought, "Wow, that looks like a great movie. I really want to see that."
Click to viewThere was lots of talk about it on Twitter, which was split between "That looks great and I really want to see it" and "That looks great and I couldn't handle watching it because it would freak me out too much."
Now, I can't speak for everyone else who wanted to see this movie, but when I got excited about it, I wasn't thinking "Wow that looks visually stunning!" I was thinking "Wow that sounds like a great story." I mean, seriously, two people adrift in space, knowing that they're probably going to die, fighting not to give up hope, trying to provide emotional support to each other while every piece of every support network is cut off from them... that sounds amazing. It sounds introspective and emotionally harrowing and just exactly the kind of thing I would want to see. And that's what I thought Gravity was going to be.
So I wanted to see it, but (as often happens) I didn't get around to it for a long while, and then it seemed that I would likely have to wait until I could see it at home. And that was sad, because I would like to have seen it earlier, but I figured it would be okay.
But then, people who'd seen Gravity started telling me that I "needed to see it in 3D."
And I thought, "Wait, WHAT?!"
That movie that I thought I'd seen a trailer for was a movie that told a moving story about hopelessness and loss and fear and self-reliance.
The movie people seemed to be talking about when they said "you have to see it in 3D" was one that consisted of visual spectacle with no story substance.
So I was confused. And sad and disappointed and a little angry. I suspected that these people were wrong, but I hadn't seen Gravity so I couldn't be sure of my own position. So I didn't argue. But, basically, I saw two possibilities:
1. Everyone was wrong, and seeing Gravity would have been a fine experience without the 3D.
2. Everyone was right, and Gravity wasn't actually a good film.
There was actually a third option, but that possibility was so remote that I didn't actually believe it could happen. However, based on the possibility that it might happen, I wanted to be sure that I saw Gravity in 3D if I could:
3. Gravity is a groundbreaking film that makes such good use of the 3D format that a significant aspect of the storytelling is lost when the conversion to 2D is made.
So, when people's predictions that after Oscar nominations came out there would be a re-release of Gravity in 3D, I went to see it.
Option 1 was correct.
Gravity is a great movie. I loved it and it's beautiful and moving and everything I would have wanted from it. The story doesn't go exactly the way I thought it would, but the movie is fundamentally about the things I expected it to be about. It's about dealing with a hopeless situation, the loneliness of space, the importance of contact with other humans, all that stuff. As I suspected all along, this is a movie that would have made just as much impact on me if I had watched it on my laptop with headphones in as it did watching it in 3D in a theater. It's extremely well-made.
The 3D is good, and it was cool to see, but it didn't make the movie different or better. The movie is good enough to stand on its own.
So, no. This is not a movie where you "have to see it in 3D." It is still a good movie no matter what, and I have very different attitudes towards 3D movies than a lot of other people do.