Run For Cover (3-D film in 2-D on DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C- Extras: C Film: C-
Richard W
Haines is a filmmaker who loves schlock films and went out of his way to
produce a particular kind in 1995 with Run
For Cover, made in the 3-D StereoVision scope system through his production
company New Wave films. The plot
involves former KGB agents turning to terrorism to hold New York ransom, complete with early shots
of the World Trade Center towers. The unknowns and people playing themselves
(Ed Koch, Al Sharpton) are all shown up by Adam West as a high government
official.
The film
purposely covers every disaster and action film cliché it can, but it sadly
does not go beyond that. Especially with
the 3-D format employed, it could have gone much further. Of course, no one used 3-D like Alfred
Hitchcock did in his underrated Dial ‘M’
For Murder, but this is more admittedly from the William Castle school of
bad-on-purpose filmmaking. If that’s
what Haines intended, he succeeded wildly.
Even on that level, it did not offer much new on the subject, as ironic
distant is foreign to the film. After
the events of 9/11/01, it makes for a strange screening beyond the 3-D effects
you can tell here, even from the normal 2-D presentation.
The
letterboxed, color, scope image has dull colors and soft details, though some
of this is from the 3-D. The same
StereoVision process was used on Paul Morrissey’s Flesh For Frankenstein (1973, aka Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein) and the same type of color
complications can be seen here as they are on the Criterion DVD of the
Morrissey film. Both are not anamorphic
enhancements, but 22 years did not change the process any, though Morrissey’s
film received an X-rating for sex and violence.
It also remains the biggest-grossing 3-D film ever. This is not the same system used in the early
1980s on 3-D films like Comin’ At Ya!,
Friday The 13th – Part III,
Metalstorm, Spacehunter, Treasure Of The
Four Crowns (which is the StereoScope system), Amityville 3-D and Jaws 3-D
(from Arrivision’s 3-D system).
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 is oddly monophonic and very, very low in volume as they stand on
the DVD. This is odd and sad, as better
sound would have made this more amusing.
There are extras, including a trailer and director’s commentary. On the commentary, it is amazing how much
Haines knows about films, yet really does not apply it, even if he only wants
to make shallow entertainment. Overall,
this makes the DVD an interesting curio on a technical level. This is the same guy who went out of his way
to get his Space Avenger printed in
three-strip Technicolor all the way to China!
That was before the company revived the process that bared their
name. You can’t say this guy is not
ambitious.
- Nicholas Sheffo
