TITANIC SAILS AGAIN — IN 3D

Although the public’s declining interest in 3D has been blamed in great measure for the box office disasters of some recent releases — the epic failure of the $250-million John Carter a particular case in point — it now appears that the 3D-enhanced Titanic may resurface over the Easter weekend as the holiday’s top film. The 3D conversion, which reportedly cost $18-20 million and 60 weeks to realize and perhaps twice that amount to promote, is expected to effectively challenge The Hunger Games, which has held the No. 1 spot for the past two weeks. In an interview with CBS News director James Cameron said that a team of 300 3D artists had worked for more than a year to “outline every object, every character, every feature on every face and do it for every frame.” Several writers have also noted that Cameron has taken into consideration many moviegoers’ complaints that 3D darkens the screen, and he has therefore compensated by making all of the scenes brighter. The major film critics, who have widely joined the anti-3D crowd, have mostly hailed the 3D rendering. Claudia Puig in USA Today says that adding the third dimension makes Titanic “worth revisiting,” as she notes: “Three dimensions enhance the drama of a rupturing hull and the horror of people sliding helplessly across the massive deck, falling into the ocean or desperately trying to clamber aboard too-few lifeboats.” Justin Chang in Daily Variety agrees that the images of the wreck “are all the more harrowing and violent to witness in 3D.” He concludes that “the overall effect is to render Titanic not just more technically imposing but more emotionally enveloping than before.” Joe Morgenstern piles on the praise in the Wall Street Journal: “As a technological tour de force, [Cameron’s] 3D Titanic is constantly astonishing and sometimes magical. More than that, though, this version has deepened and enriched a film that was already rich in emotions and remarkable for its depth of detail.”