No matter how you feel about James Cameron’s AVATAR, there’s no denying the widespread 3D trend ravaging Hollywood in the wake of its record breaking financial success. Not only have some filmmakers scurried frantically to convert their picture to 3D before its release (i.e. CLASH OF THE TITANS), Warner Brothers has actually proposed the idea of revisiting classics with the intention of converting them to 3D spectacles. Lucas’ STAR WARS films as well as Spielberg’s JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS are among some of the titles Warner is entertaining giving such treatment. Well folks, there seems to be one filmmaker who’s sticking his foot in the ground and bucking the whole 3D trend altogether. His name is William Friedkin, and he’s promising his 1973 masterpiece THE EXORCIST will NEVER be converted to 3D. Whew. Relief!
When plugging the new Blu-ray version of TO LIVE IN DIE IN L.A., Friedkin caught up with the peeps at Movieweb and detested in great length the usage of 3D technology, especially when it comes to revisionist film history. A lot was covered in the interview, so let’s just jump into some large blocks of what Friedkin had to say (about Warner approaching with intentions of 3D conversion):
No. Never. Providing I’m still alive. Warner Brothers is obligated to come to me. And they do. The point is, it’s a totally different medium. I currently have control over every single frame of film when converting it to Blu-ray. If I want a scene bluer, I get that scene bluer. Originally, there was some fluctuation with the prints. If you made a thousand, or a few thousand prints, there is no control over any of that. But now I can make a master using the digital process. That gives me total control over how I want the film to look in this new process. The films now look like they did when I was first looking through the viewfinder. Every time you run a 35mm print, it picks up scratches. It picks up dirt. Sometimes it breaks, and you have to re-splice it. You lose frames. This doesn’t happen with digital, or God knows, Blu-ray. Yes, there has been talk about expanding The Exorcist into various other mediums. The Exorcist Blu-ray is coming out this fall. But we talked about going to IMAX with it. Nothing is certain yet. They’ve tried to exploit The Exorcist in all sorts of media. I think that’s great. Because I love the new media.
So it sounds like he’s backing the digitization process, but what about 3D specifically?
I don’t like 3D. I don’t believe there is any film that I have seen and loved that would have been improved by a scintilla in 3D. To me, it’s just a gimmick. To me, the art of cinema is the same as the art of painting. The artist takes a 2D medium and gives you the illusion of depth. If you look at any of the great paintings, you have the illusion of depth. Which is part of the art. The same with the great movies. I don’t believe that Citizen Kane or Gone With the Wind, or any damn picture that you can name, would be better off in 3D. I think it’s a gimmick. And it reminds me of what happened when Cinemascope came in . When everybody predicted that every picture ever made was going to be in Cinemascope. Because it’s not that way. It was meant to get people out of the house. I find 3D distracting. I’m in the minority, I know.
And when discussing the prospect of 3D home entertainment, Friedkin takes off the gloves:
Fuck 3D! The Blu-ray is the real cinematech of world cinema. That’s how it’s being preserved. All of these guys that are trying to preserve 35mm negatives? They are wasting their time. There are better ways to see and project this stuff now. It’s called digital. Everything that is made today is made that way. In a few years, I don’t know how many, I’m not a prognosticator like Oliver Stone, who I happen to like, by the way…But an announcement like, “It’s only going to last ten years!” He doesn’t know his ass from left field. Nobody does. We don’t know how long this stuff will last. But we know that before it goes out of style, there will be some new thing to replace it. There will be some little disc the size of a quarter that will give you the best looking image imaginable.
Man, I love this guy. First off, I could not agree with the dude more. 3D is just a gimmick, and while it can certainly be beneficial for certain types of spectacular, tent-pole event films, to make it the norm is a flat out mistake. Damn, whatever happened to story and acting as primary determinants of a good film?
Seriously, do yourself a favor and read the rest of what Friedkin has to say on the matter, including his aversion to an EXORCIST remake. He’s still one of our preeminent film directors, and with such films as THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE EXORCIST, CRUISING, THE BRINK’S JOB, TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. under his belt…we all should listen to the man!
Ashley Judd, star of Friedkin’s 2006 film BUG!
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