Since it was initially announced, I have been skeptical of THE GREAT GATSBY being in 3D. I understood the decision from both a business standpoint as well as the fact that Baz Luhrmann is first and foremost a showman, but what could a drama film really benefit from in the realm of 3D? Now just days before it hits theaters, we have an explanation as to why you should don the polarized lenses when you check out the movie.
According to Luhrmann, he is using 3D in a way it has never been utilized before. Taking cues from the theater, his take on 3D is it will lend more to the spacing and distance between characters and the audience as well as within the setting of the film. Luhrmann’s hyper-visual style he has used to great effect in ROMEO + JULIET as well as MOULIN ROUGE is clearly on display in the trailers and 3D seems a natural toy for him to play with.
Aside from the 3D testimonials, this featurette provides some interesting looks at the amount of green screen that was used in the movie. I know we are in a day and age where pretty much every movie has a large amount of CGI that we know nothing about, but seeing these tiny sets with massive computer generated backdrops is still astounding to me.
I would imagine if he were to make MOULIN ROUGE today, it would have been in 3D. Luhrmann may just convince some directors to use the format for their films even if there are no action scenes present. Overall, I am lukewarm on 3D as it only seems to work in select project and leaves others feeling like a greedy upcharge from the studio. I will definitely check out THE GREAT GATSBY in 3D when it opens May 10th just to see if Luhrmann follows through on his promise to give us something truly unique.
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