NASCAR Imax in 3D

[Troy]

Gearhead by nature, I am a fan of this form of racing (since the 60s), but have struggled over the last 5 or 10 years with the escalation of commercialism in this, the only form of American autoracing left. It's just so plastic now . . .

But I still love the power, speed and spectacle of a major league auto race.

And this 60 minute commercial for NASCAR gives you plenty of that. The racing sequnces, most live recorded at several events last year interspersed with staged on track footage, are a massive shock to the system. Only an Imax theater sound system can simulate the overwhelming roar of what it's like at one of these races.

The cineamtography was quite good, utilizing lots of mobile cranes and in-car cameras and even cameras placed in the middle of the track.

And the 3D! Wholy cow! I have never really been a fan of 3D processes before because they've never really been 100% effective for me, but this . . . it actually worked! You wear this headbanded mask thing, almost like a welding mask so it can't interfere with your glasses and it fills your entire field of vision. The sensation of speed as you ride in a pack at 200mph around Daytona's highbanks with the other cars twitching and weaving 3 feet away on all sides needs to be seen to be believed. The 3D effect in these scenes was nerve wracking. The 3D was amazing in the aerial shots too. Especially when the camera helicopter flies past the Goodyear blimp in the foreground. Talk about vertigo.

The middle 30 minutes of the film are rather dull and pedestrian NARCAR PR type stuff, but the 3D made it tolerable. Fans of the sport will enjoy it, but it may be pretty lame to the layman. This film will be a fun time capsule in about 40 years in the same way the 60s footage of racing is today.

The real draw of this is the race footage though. You really get a sense of being there. Of actually being part of the event. Classic thrill ride movie-making.

[uncooked]

i really enjoyed the visual side of it, but i listen to movies very loud and it wasnt loud enough for me. at the beginning they do that intro thing and there like listen to the rumble of the car and it goes by, but its so quiet. and they show the subwoofer test thing and it doesnt even shake anything its like that fake bass sound. there probably not aloud to play movies loud incase someone complains, thats the pleasure of a HT.

[Troy]

Well, when I saw it it was REALLY loud. And that's good.

Yeah, even that mondo-drummy speaker demo was roaring.

Different theater, different volume.

[uncooked]

yea thats true. the one i was in was loud at some parts only but stupid parts, maybe something was wrong. the subwoofer was barely on, probably set up wrong, it is a really new theatre.