November 5 , 2004

Holy Santa!

I wrote about Polar Express just 10 days ago… it seems like a lifetime. But now I have seen The Polar Express… really seen it… and though it looks very much like the same movie, it is a different movie indeed.

I saw The Polar Express in IMAX 3-D last night. And though the film was made for 2-D and found converting to 3-D shockingly easy because of the computer technology of the film, it is now clear that The Polar Express was born to this format and to no other. Much like the experience of watching a big movie on video on a 20" TV, you will be able to see The Polar Express in regular theaters and eventually in the various home entertainment mediums and enjoy yourself. But let me make this plain…

There is no way to see The Polar Express other than on an IMAX screen in 3-D that will give you 1/10th the pleasure of this format.

In a regular theater, this is a good movie, beautiful to look at and a bit limited… really for kids. On the IMAX screen with the incredible depth of this 3-D process, you relate to the images, the characters and the emotional message in a totally different way. The trouble that so many people express when seeing the trailer or commercials for the film, of dead eyes and odd shaped human faces, is much better when you see the film on screen for 90 minutes instead of 2. But on IMAX 3-D, the world you are immersed in truly springs to life and instead of having a passive, distant viewing experience, you connect completely.

It starts in the earliest frames of the movie, as snow falls outside of Hero Boy's house. You can watch the snow or you can be in the snow.

And certainly, it is the combination of a screen the size of an IMAX screen, the fabulous sound system and the 3-D, any one of them an improvement over 90% of the theatrical experiences available in a regular multiplex. But together, this film finds a voice that was almost incomprehensible watching it on a regular screen. The cost of it suddenly makes sense. On a flat screen, the pioneering nature of the work, which is why it cost sooooo much, is a "but when you see it, it's still a cartoon" kind of thing. But seeing it this way… it is a new canvas, a new kind of palette, a pointillist breakthrough, it's Pollack splashing paint, it's a masterwork by one of Hollywood's greatest craftsmen ever.

One of my party, on the way out, said that it was the best 3-D film he's ever seen. And it is. But that is damning with faint praise. It is the best 3-D film ever made because it was not made to be 3-D, so when you have a rollercoaster moment, which is in every 3-D film, there is a reason in function, not just in form. But mostly, it is a movie first… a vision of style. And because of the size of the screen and the depth of vision, you can really see and fully appreciate the intense detail of each image. And you are so much in the picture, that you eventually see those details without even looking.

For me, it recalls Roger Ebert's arguments about the reverie state of film versus the disconnected state of watching video. There was something distancing about seeing The Polar Express on a regular screen in a regular theater. It was easy to keep one's perspective and to judge the film instead of feeling it. But the IMAX 3-D brought me in and I suddenly felt like I was truly seeing the movie though the director's eyes, with all the love and care he felt for the material. I remember feeling unsurprised by some specific passages and in this format reaching those same moments, ready to go for the ride.

It's the Road Warrior, with the screen expanding after a few minutes and making the vista seem so wide, when all we were watching was the same old theatrical frame we see all the time. It 's the face of the kids is Jurassic Park, CGed on the face of the stunt midgets, so for 3 seconds we suspended our disbelief a little longer than every before. It's the Titanic sinking.

I could easily see taking my family to the IMAX as a holiday tradition every single year to see The Polar Express in this format. Because it's so much more than a DVD for the kids to watch. It is a fabulous holiday gift and a work of art that found its true form. Maybe the Mona Lisa would make a great sculpture, but she sure feels right as a painting. And if Rodan was forced to work in charcoal, I'm sure he's find a way to express his voice. But stone was where be belonged.

I know… it sounds like hyperbole. But I've never, ever seen a film transformed so much by a format shift. And it is so profound an experience, I find it a little shocking that Warner Bros. has not formalized an initiative to make IMAX 3-D filmmaking a part of the company's long range planning. I don't know that Superman will be anything other than bigger on this kind of screen. But I sure hope that Tim Burton is filming Charlie & The Chocolate Factory in Super 35, which converts well to IMAX, and I would be thrilled if he were shooting in a way that converted easily to 3-D. The intensity of his imagery is what seems to be the trick turned in this format. Lemony Snicket, it seems, would be a great IMAX 3-D opportunity.

If you have to drive a long way to see Polar Express in IMAX 3-D… do it. You've never had a film experience like it. If you are interested in seeing the film and it's easier to go to the nearby multiplex, drag your lazy ass to an IMAX instead.

Really… this has gone from being one of the nice also-ran films of 2004 for me to being a Top Ten list movie experience. Sideways is a better movie… always will be, for an adult who loves subtlety. But as someone who loves movies and the freedom to float inside of them, in this format, Polar Express is pure magic.

I saw something singular tonight. And despite all of these words, I still haven't quite found the words.

I only wish Polar Express was doing an IMAX only run for a month or so before widening out to regular theaters. One is an original oil painting, the other a lithograph. If you see The Polar Express in any way other than in IMAX 3-D, trust me, you haven't really seen The Polar Express.

In the meanwhile, go see The Incredibles... what a great month for animation!

E-ME: How did your viewing go this weekend?