Product Details

• Actors: Stuart Pankin, Cassandra Peterson, Harry Shearer, Andrea Thompson
• Directors: Ben Stassen, Sean MacLeod Phillips
• Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sling Shot
• DVD Release Date: October 16, 2001
• Run Time: 57 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005QCWW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,276 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #84 in

  Movies & TV > Documentary > IMAX

• For more information about "Encounter in the Third Dimension (3-D) (Large Format)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Without question, 3-D technology has come a long way since the days of red and green cardboard glasses, and Encounter in the Third Dimension is ample proof. This half-hour feature--also available in The Ultimate 3-D Collection, which includes two other films and the H3D "i-glasses" hardware needed to generate the 3-D imaging--tells the story of three-dimensional cinema, in the process showing off a lot of what the technology can do. Elvira's presence is largely incidental; the best section by far is a dramatic tour through an otherworldly chasm. The film's sense of depth is astoundingly convincing, especially during the many point-of-view sequences; crags and dinosaur limbs seem to jut halfway between the screen and your viewing position. The disc's image and color resolution are not as good as we've come to expect from DVD, however.

Originally produced to showcase "large-format" 3-D (i.e., a towering IMAX screen), Encounter features fun snippets of old films and even a few stereographic still photos. Sadly, none of these fills the screen or lasts very long, and the process reverts to standard 2-D imaging in pause mode. The sound is well above average, enhancing the sense of depth with a seamless DTS surround mix that works well even in headphones. --Michael Mikesell

Product Description
Free Standard Shipping on orders over $75 - Originally in IMAX theatres -- Join Stuart Pankin as the professor, Elvira -Mistress of the Dark, and Max, the flying robot, on a groundbreaking venture into the realm of 3D filmmaking, where captivating computer-generated imagery mixes with live action thrills. -- You'll love all the great visual effects in this movie, especially the train scene, the metal spider, and Max, who roams around the screen in very cool 3D. Witness the earliest forays into the genre, from a recreation of one of the earliest 3D movies ever made to classic clips from Hollywood's 3D heyday during the 1950s, as well as modern creations like James Cameron's theme park attraction, Terminator 2: 3D. Rated PG for intense images. 57 minutes. -- This film plays in 2D or 3D (requires a 3D viewing system) and is formatted for standard DVD players only.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a masterpiece, October 25, 2001

By	Randy H. Farb (Flint, MI) - See all my reviews

This video uses the style of Mystery Science Theater, in that your host interacts with a smart-aleck computer/robot. Elvira makes a guest appearance, but the flaws come in where examples of films shot in 3D are shown; there are wonderful examples of 3D films, i.e., the Creature Of The Black Lagoon, the 3 Stooges,
House of Wax.

Instead, we get Top Banana for goodness' sake.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best 3D IMAX Film, December 8, 2005

By	Elak Swindell "Movie Addict" (Georgia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Haunted Castle" and "Alien Adventure" are great, but the concept and dimensional enjoyment of "Encounter in the Third Dimension" makes it better than the other two. The film is an excellent way of showing how 3D started and how it works with lots of prime examples thrown in, other than the entire movie itself. I do wish the mine ride was longer though (the one which ends with the big, round, stone ball slamming into the tunnel) and there was more shown of the T3 Experience. Sure, the Jules Verne "Journey to the Center of the Earth" ride certainly makes up for it, but the effects in the shorter example were awesome, like the bats. Best of all, the film doesn't look all that dated CGI wise for a 1998 production. Now I've definitely got to get the sequel "Misadventures in 3D" DVD. Noticed something stupid in the credits for "Encounter". Instead of saying "Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark", it redundantly reads, "Elvira as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark". Unlike the other 3D IMAX films, this one is good either in stereo depth form or 2D wise. Of course, the best is 3D since that is the whole point of the story anyway. I highly recommend this movie to all 3D collectors.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic encounter!, July 13, 2005

By	Boggman! (Laguna Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

"Encounter in the third dimension" contains a pretty neat concept......

Let's film a 3-D documentary IN 3D about the history of 3D and 3D movies, throw in some clips of classic 3D movies and mix them with the latest and greatest in computer animated 3D virtual reality! AWESOME!

The movie has some great old footage, and is very informative while being consistently entertaining. A nice job all the way through- even though Elvira is grossly underused!! I can not wait to see what else NWAVE pictures has up their sleeve. They are definitely on the cutting edge of 3D home entertainment. I have yet to see anything that rivals "Encounter", "Alien Adventure" or "Haunted Castle" on the 3D market!

Very well done!

Do not watch this in 2D, howver; highly recommended for 3D lovers!!!