We recently reported that master filmmaker Martin Scorsese is taking a major left turn from his usual fare – GoodFellas, Taxi Driver and The Departed).
Instead, Scorsese is about to release Hugo, a children’s film in 3D.
Hugo reportedly got a very strong reaction at the New York Film Festival, and some feel that Scorsese may have in fact reinvented 3D, bringing his own style to the technology, and like James Cameron did with Avatar, giving the story much more depth and texture instead of hurling as much as he can out into the audience.
The New York Times has called Hugo “magical,” and Scorsese, a passionate lover of cinema who loves films of all genres and stripes, is indeed a big fan of 3D, telling writer John Bowe, “I’ve been a 3D fan since I was 12, in 1953, and I saw every 3D film at that time: It Came From Outer Space, Creature From the Black Lagoon, Kiss Me, Kate, which is quite beautiful in 3D. There’s a shot where Ann Miller moves towards the camera with a fan as she dances. You feel as if you’re onstage right next to her. It’s just a different experience, completely.”
When asked by the NYT if he felt the void in the forty years we didn’t have 3D movies, Scorsese replied, “I did. I’m not kidding.”
To help bridge the gap, Marty said that fellow genius director David Cronenberg sent him a 3D comic book to enjoy.
Although Scorsese is a master of his craft, working in 3D took some getting used to. He had to wear 3D glassing during the filming, and once wondered on a shot, “What is the problem with the focus?” “Someone would have to remind me, ‘Marty, put your glasses on!,” he continued.
With a lot of directors working in 3D, we pretty much know what to expect. With Scorsese, here’s hoping he’ll deliver something truly unexpected, and something that proves there’s still a lot you can do with the medium instead of the usual flying out of the screen clichés we’ve seen many times before.
