CHEERS

Just a quick note to say I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season so far. Obviously, it hasn't been the same without Bill. I was listening to some Christmas music today and I remember that Bill wasn't very fond of the genre. But then "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses came on. I honestly believe that song was the only carol Bill ever really liked.

My family sends its best to all of you this Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. Season and we hope you have a happy and healthy New Year.

As Bill would say - CHEERS!

BILL BUKOWSKI: Son, Brother, Uncle, Friend

I am pleased to announced that the book that I had been working on, BILL BUKOWSKI: Son, Brother, Uncle, Friend, is now available from MyPublisher.



The book is loaded with photos of Bill and also contains some text content. You can view the book by following this link:

Bill Book

When prompted, enter the following password:

721966

(Please note: the password contains 6 characters. My testing has discovered that a copy and paste may yield a 7 character password and therefore an invalid password message.)

If you have any questions concerning the book, or if you would like to purchase a copy, please direct inquiries to MyPublisher. My only involvement in this project is the book layout and compiling the content. I have no affiliation to MyPublisher.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

COUSIN CHERYL REMEMBERS BILL

(I found this memory of Bill in the inbox this afternoon. Thanks, Cheryl.)

I can remember the very first time I met Phil's big brother Bill - they are my cousings (2nd cousins, or once-removed or something like that) and I was probably in 8th or 9th grade, maybe 10th (I remember I had recently got the Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers" album, so maybe it was the early 80s). Anyway, we had gone to New York to visit for Thanksgiving with the family and Bill (Billy then) lived in Manhattan. Maybe he was in school then, I'm not sure but I remember going with Phil to visit Bill at a Film Center in NY and then to his apartment. I remember thinking, "WOW! HOW COOL!"

Since we lived relatively far away, we didn't often get to see Bill and the family but from time to time, occasion to occasion, I did get to see Bill a few times. On one occasion, when I was living in Brooklyn many years later, I remember that Bill ALWAYS made a point to come over and talk to me; even if it was only a short conversation. I believe that family was important to him. It didn't seem to matter how often you called, or if you kept in touch because even though I didn't get to know him well, and our families didn't get together often, when he did see you, he made it a point to say "hi and how's it going." You were "family" and it seemed to him, anyone who was family was no stranger. What's more he seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say. And he always sent a Christmas card (and a funny one at that!) And, I think that was "WAY COOL" too and it says something about the kind of person Bill was.

Here's to you Bill!
Cheers!
Cousin Cheryl (Zsigalov)

THE DUCK LIGHTING

As many of you know, Bill loved Ducks. One of the things we both recalled from our youth was the Duck building that we passed on trips to Montauk. I found this news item that I know I would have shared with him, so I share it with you.

Long Island Celebrates Holiday Season With 'Duck-Lighting' Ceremony

FLANDERS, N.Y. (AP) -- Who needs Rockefeller Center when you have the Big Duck?

It was 1931 when construction workers at Rockefeller Center put up a modest Christmas tree to begin what would become one of New York City's greatest traditions. That same year, a Long Island farmer decided to build a giant duck-shaped shop where he could sell fresh ducks and eggs by the side of the road.

Seventy-five years later, as millions watch Christina Aguilera, Sting and Bette Midler perform at the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting, a much smaller group will gather 75 miles to the east to light the Big Duck.

A volunteer fire department, a middle-school choir and local baseball team mascot named "Quacker Jack'' will light up the 20-foot-tall duck. Santa Claus will arrive atop a fire truck and youngsters will sing carols.

The duck will be decorated with a huge wreath around its neck and holiday garland and lights around its base.

The Big Duck is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the 1950s and '60s, Long Island boasted about 70 duck farms, raising $6.5 million birds annually and contributing two-thirds of the nation's duck output.

Today, Long Island is down to three farms that raise about two million ducks annually - about ten percent of the nation's output.

THANKSGIVING VISIT

My wife and I drove up to Delaware to surprise the family this Thanksgiving. On Friday, my dad, Cindy and I drove to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa to visit Bill's grave. Here are some pictures from our visit.





The interior and exterior of the Shrine Chapel where Bill's funeral mass was said.








Bill's final resting place and the mausoleum where his remains are interred. Anyone that ever received a Holiday card from Bill knows that he enjoyed the festiveness of the season. That's why my mom and sister thought that hanging the ornament would be appropriate.



My dad, Cindy and I during our visit.

THANKSGIVING

It seems strange to be thinking about Thanksgiving this year. In the year that Bill died, it almost hard to think of things to be thankful for but here goes my Top 10 list :

1. I'm thankful that I got to spend New Year's Eve with Bill.
2. I'm thankful that I got to spend Bill's last birthday with him.
3. I'm thankful that my new family got to meet Bill.
4. I'm thankful that, when the end came, Bill did not suffer long.
5. I'm thankful for Bill's friends who selflessly helped my family in Los Angeles.
6. I'm thankful for everyone who attended Bill's funeral and made it a day of special remembrances.
7. While I missed my brother at my wedding, I am thankful for my new family and the joy they have brought me during some difficult times this year.
8. I'm thankful for all of you who have sent an email and have stayed in touch.
9. I'm thankful for all of the photos that Bill left which have helped me get through some tough days.
10. Finally, I think that I can safely speak for my entire family when I say that we are thankful for Mike Groob who has helped in many ways, with his actions, his memories and his kind words.

BILL IN YAHOO TIME CAPSULE

I have made an entry remembering Bill the the Yahoo Time Capsule project. The project will be closed in the near future and reopened again in 2020.





Click here to view the entry.

BRILL REMEMBERS BILL

I recently received an email from Bill's friend Bob Brill. Bob has been in China since January and did not find out about Bill's death until a few weeks later. Here is an excerpt from his email:

Bill is someone I truly respected and asked advice from regularly.

He was truly an amazing person - granted I was not around for the "good years" but I was always amazed at his talent and his wit. I have never laughed so hard as when I was laughing with Bill. Working and being frineds with Bill really added to my life. He is someone that I will never forget and would regret if I never befriended. A true friend. I actually broke down and cried when I found out.

Bob also paid tribute to Bill's memory on his blog:

Guilao Bob In China

Thanks Bob!

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

You may have noticed that the email address for this blog has changed. While you will still be able to use the previous address for some time:

bukowskibigbukowski@yahoo.com

the new and simpler address is now in service....

big.bukowski@yahoo.com

CORONER'S REPORT

The coroner's report came in this past week and I opened it with mixed emotions: relief that we would finally know how Bill died, but also apprehension, since I might not really want to know the details.

To my family, the most important part of the report is where the coroner indicates that "the trauma present DID NOT contribute to his demise." He continues that it "was sustained as he collapsed." Based on this finding it seems that Bill died before he collapsed and thankfully did not suffer for an extended period of time.

Ultimately, Bill died of something called "Left Ventricular Hypertrophy." I will not even begin to try to explain what that is since I am still trying to fully grasp the meaning of the condition. Click here for a Google search result for more information.

I would like to thank everyone one of you who has stayed in touch during the last several months while we waited for these findings and I hope that you will continue to do so. It has been wonderful to get to know Bill from different perspectives.

Finally, I found this picture of Bill on the same day I received the report and it seems fitting to me that it be included in this post.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I don't recall too much about Bill and Halloween. The only time I remember spending at least part of the holiday with him was when I was living in L.A. in 1984; I remember being with him at the Halloween Parade in Hollywood. If you have any memories, I'd love to hear them. Also, I'm finishing work on my photo book of Bill and would love to include any words you might like to add. For now, here's Bill on an unknown Halloween.

OCTOBER UPDATE

Last week I discovered that the L.A. Coroner closed Bill's case on July 3rd. I was a little stunned when they told me since I had spoken to them in late June and they had stated that they did not expect to close the case for at least another six months.

In any case, a determination of death has been made. I have requested the autopsy report and a death certificate and expect to have these within the next month. I will post information when I receive the documents.

As stated in a previous post, I am working on a photo book of pictures of Bill. If you are interested in a copy, drop me an email and I will provide the information.

I will begin posting photos again in the next few weeks.

SIX MONTHS

Today marks six months since Bill's passing. I hope you are all well. I wanted to put up a post today to mark this date, but I wasn't exactly sure what I would say. Fortunately, when I was speaking to my dad today he said something that struck me. In the words he spoke you could hear a fond memory and a hope for the future. He said, "it was six months ago today since I last spoke to him." Although he didn't continue, in his voice you could hear his hope that it wasn't last time ever and I'm pretty sure it won't be.

Rest peacefully Bill.



Here's a photo of Bill and our mom, Louise.

IN REMEMBRANCE

Bill lived in the shadows of the Twin Towers during their construction. I seem to remember that he had a love-hate relationship with the buildings. However, after the events of 9-11 he was drawn to visit ground zero. Therefore, I thought it was appropriate to make this post since I'm sure that if he were with us today, Bill would have been thinking of the events of September 11, 2001.

SEPTEMBER RECESS

Now that my anniversary celebration of "Comin' At Ya!" is complete, I'm going to take a month off from the blog. I've had a lot of craziness in my life since March and now I need a little time for myself. If anything happens that I think needs to be shared, I will post an entry - otherwise I will return in October. By the time I begin to post again I hope to be able to report that I have found a home for the Optimax III lens system in a museum.

As always, if you have anything you want to post, simply drop me an email.



Bill and I on December 30, 2005, in my home in Delray Beach, Florida.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON AUGUST 1981

August 1981 - It must have been an unbelievably exciting time for Bill. And although I can't be certain, I'm sure Bill supplemented it with some crazy activities. At the time, it probably seemed like the end of one era and the beginning of a brand new adventure. And, to a certain extent, it was.



It seems that it wasn't too long after the release of "Comin' At Ya!" that Bill was headed west to California. The fact that he went west was probably inevitable; That he stayed there as long as he did was a surprise, since he was true New Yorker at heart.

Unfortunately, the 1980s 3-D craze was short-lived. I'm not sure of when the plug was pulled, but I do know that when I moved to L.A. in 1984, Optimax III was no longer a viable operation. But, before its demise, there were two more significant 3-D projects for Bill - "The Man Who Wasn't There" and an Aerosmith concert film.



Once the 3-D projects had ended I never heard Bill say why it thought the 3-D craze fizzled out. But, I think the article that was posted yesterday pretty much summed it all up. It seems that everyone in the 3-D community was more interested in bad mouthing the competition. Had they worked harder a developing a niche, 3-D would probably be a standard today. As we know, hindsight is 20-20, and 3-D awaits its next period of reemergence.

I've had this month to contemplate whether or not Bill was better off for having been involved in "Comin' At Ya!," and I can't say one way or another. Certainly, it was a highlight of his career, but it was also the event that pointed his life west. In retrospect, while he liked Los Angeles, I'm not sure it was the best place for him to be. The one thing that I do know for sure is if he stayed in New York, I would have had the opportunity to get to know him - and his world - a little better. And, I would have loved that!!!

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 11

In this final article in the series, Gene Quintano (one of the producers of "Comin' At Ya!," discusses what he believes will be the bright future of 3-D film making. Unfortunately, Quintano continues the trend of bad-mouthing all other 3-D systems (other than his). If you read articles relative to 3-D which were released during that period you will see this was common practice. In our conversations, Bill engaged in the same practice. The article appeared in the Hollywood Reporter on February 2, 1983. The author is Tina Daniell.






1983 crucial year for acceptance of 3-D films: Quintano


This will be the year that makes or breaks 3-D, predicted Gene Quintano, who with Tony Anthony produced 1983's first 3-D release, "Treasure of the Four Crowns." Quintano said he and his partners, Anthony and Marshall Lupo, are determined to take 3-D out of the "R-rated chop-em-up realm" with "Treasure."

"We consciously set out to make a PG movie, so everyone could go to the theatre and see it," he recalled, "and we wanted to integrate the special effects with the structure so that you don't have to be throwing things at the audience all of the time. Instead, you create an aesthetic 'window effect' so that the viewer thinks he could step up on stage, through a window into the action."

Budgeted at $3.5 million, "Treasure," which Quintano described as an action-adventure story, was shot in Spain. In order to accomodate the effects and the depth of field potential offered by 3-D, the production team constructed a 160-foot-long and 60-foot-high temple where the climactic action scenes that place, Quintano said.

Ironically, Lupo-Anthony-Quintano's initial 3-D effort, 1981's "Comin' At Ya!" was "guilty" of the very things the trio tried to get away from in "Treasure." Quintano said, however, the first film was essentially an experiment to show that the public would go out to see a 3-D movie.

"In 'Comin'' we had gratuitous things like the yo-yo and corn shucking, to show the effect. We had gone to all the majors and nobody thought 3-D had value anymore," he said. "Forgetting artistic consideration for the moment, we showed that it is a viable commercial product."

The film had a "domino" efect, Quintano added, pointing to the current wave of 3-D projects.

One side effect of breaking the ice with "Comin' At Ya!" was that the technology for exhibiting a 3-D film was not easily available.

"The distributors (Filmways) did a terrific job, but their hands were tied in that there were not enough projection devices, theatres didn't have the silver screens and the requests for glasses far exceeded the supply. The 3-D industry was not prepared," Quintano said.

"Comin'" never played in more than 205 theatres, he added. The film, which cost about $1 million to make still grossed over $11 million. By contrast, "Treasure" will be in about 700 theatres by February 11. In just 113 in its first week and a half, it's taken in $2,002,825, and its distributor, Cannon Releasing, has estimated it will hit $30 million hased on these early results.

Halfway through "Treasure's" shoot, the film became a co-production with Cannon Films due to a financing snafu, Quintano said. The money package that Lupo-Anthony-Quintano put together for the film was from Mexico, and the peso was devalued during filming, reducing their production fund to a third of its original size. Cannon was approached long distance and then shown the footage already shot. The company made a decision within 24 hours to come in on the production, Quintano said.

Since "Comin'," 3-D technology has progressed rapidly, with Quintano and his associates in part responsible, he said. The system used to shoot "Comin'" was literally held together with scotch tape by the end of the shoot (in Italy), he said. Through their experience, they had a list of 50 improvements they wanted to make to the system. The filmmakers returned to the United States and put their heads together with Marks Polarized Corp., which had the prototype Marks 3-Depix camera, and Aeroflex, to develop a new system, Lupo-Anthony-Quintano financed the work, Quintano said.

One of the chief advantages offered by the new system that resulted was the mobility, Quintano said. Though still needing more light to shoot in 3-D, the cameraman had more options because he could do hand-held shots.

THe work is continuing, Quintano added. "It's still a small family, and people are spending money to develop its potential. We're going to see more growth in 3-D technology in the next year than we say in the last 25," he predicted.

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 10

This piece first appeared in American Cinematographer in February 1983.








The Future of 3-D

This is an open letter to the film community.

Exactly 30 years after the BWANA DEVIL-inspired 3-D boom, history is repeating itself. A number of 3-D productions are planned, and some have already been exhibited in the nation's theaters. Without making any comment on content or production values of these films, I can only say that the three-dimensional images presented in theaters usually have been of very low quality.

It's very difficult to tell what's gone wrong in the production chain, from photography to exhibition. However, it is clear to me that most of these films have been shot with inferior optical systems by technicians who know very little about stereoscopic cinematography. The K.O. punch has been poor production.

If we face the fact that there are grave technical problems, we can at least take the steps to solve them. This will take an industry-wide commitment. The problems can be solved through proper quality-control. Quality-control must begin with photography and end with projection. Standards and tolerances must be established and adhered to, or the 3-D bubble will burst again, as it did in the early '50s.

The stereoscopic cinema is a beautiful medium which customer will gladly pay to see if properly executed. If there is no improvement in the present technique, they'd better start handing out aspirin with the polarizing glasses.

Good quality three-dimensional images can be produced on a routine basis. It remains to be seen if the industry can get it together and put 3-D on the map once and for all.

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 9

This is the first of the final three articles that will appear in this month long celebration. I have chosen them since they speak of the promise of 3-D at the beginning of the revival started by "Comin' At Ya!", as well as the improvements that would need to be made to make 3-D a standard in film making, and finally, what was needed to keep the revival afloat. This first article appeared in Daily Variety on June 17, 1981.







INDUSTRY EYES 3-D REVIVAL

New orders reported by equipment manufacturers and a bevy of production announcements signal what appears to be a serious industry attempt to revive 3-D. The depth process' fortunes have mainly ebbed since it hit the public consciosness in a big way in 1953, but many in the trade figure the time is ripe to relaunch the gimmick via new and improved camera systems.

Working in favor of the potential trend is the youth-dominated profile of today's audience, more so than in the early '50s when 3-D briefly flourished. Also, with theatrical attendance dipping and homevideo expanding tv screen options, packaging film-going as a "special event" or "experience" is gaining currency among exhibs and makes the "depthie" hoopla a natural.

Most imminently, Filmways has scheduled a late summer release of Tony Anthony's indie 3-D western, "Comin' At Ya," lensed last year in Spain by Italo western director Ferdinando Baldi. The modestly budgeted pic was shot using the one-camera system (shown with one projector and polarizing optics) and has aroused exhibitor interest via recent screenings at a convention in Kansas City and at nationwide screenings.

Its bow marks the first test of mass-audience interest in dpethies since the craze inaugurated in 1952 by United Artists' "Bwana Devil" (from director Arch Oboler) fizzled out two years later.

United Artists Theatre Ciruit is in preproduction on the first of its projected series of two-camera/two-projector 3-D films, to be shot in 70mm using a newly developed camera system. UATC techinal expert Richard Vetter reoirts a fall start on the first feature, budgeted in the $10,000,000 range, with details of technical and talent credits to be disclosed in August.

Theatres, not limited to UATC houses, will be equiped for the new process by UATC technical staff, with hefty conversion costs to be shared by distributor and exhibs. Specifications have been set for new 3-D glasses, requiring improved polarized lenses and comfortable frames, with contract to bid out in time for summer of 1982 launch.

Elsewhere, Eastman Kodak is in preproduction (storyboards are being prepared) on a 3-D short scheduled to unspool at Disneyworld in Orlando, Fla., in October, 1982, at the Kodak Pavillion of Disney's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Expected to direct the film is Oscar-winner (for "From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern In China" documentary) Murray Lerner, who earlier reined the the Marineland of Florida 3-D short. "Sae Dream."

While "Sea Drean" utilized the one-camera process, Kodak plans to go with two-camera, 70mm format akin to that used by UATC. Walt Disney, which made several animated shorts in 3-D in the '50s, is mulling the prospect of in-house projects in the depth format.

Other 3-D projects in various stages of preparation include Universal's planned remake of "The Creature From The Black Lagoon," itself a successful 1954 release in 3-D (shot in black-and-white). The new version may team the original's director Jack Arnold, with the instigator of the remaked project, fellow director John Landis.

Andre de Toth, who directed the biggest hit of the '50s depth cycle "House Of Wax," is preparing an indie Western in the process, "Fool's Gold." The project is unusual as it would use the original twpo-camera 35mm format rather than the new one-camera or 70mm two-camera system.

PROMO #3

This is third (and final) piece of promotional that will appear during this 25th Anniversary celebration.

PROMO #2

Here is another promotional piece used to support the release of 'Comin' At Ya!'.

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 8

Here's article number eight in this series. It appeared on October 31, 1981 in the New York Post. The article credits "Comin'At Ya!" for the 3-D revival. The author is only identified as E.N.






Is the film world ready for a 3-D revival? Yes, judging form what happened to Comin' At Ya!, the first 3-D movie in more than 25 years.

Despite rotten reviews, the western earned a fistful of money at the box office. That success has given birth to a small army of 3-D thrillers that will soon hit the theaters.

Warner Brothers is re-releasing the classic 3-D horror film, House Of Wax, nationally in November with new publicity and advertising campaign.

Producers George Braunstein and Ron Hamady are planning Surf!, a self-proclaimed "comedy with music" that will star Linda Kerridge and Bo Derek's beauteous sister Kelly Collins.

From the producers of The Wolfen is promised Louisiana Swamp Murders, and an independent company is considering author Roger Zelazny's science-fiction anthology Roadmarks for possible three-dimensional filming.

From Iwin Yablans, one the folks responsible for Halloween and Hell Night, comes an eye-popping "futuristic science-fiction scarer" called Parasite.

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 7

The seventh article in this series was published in the New York Post on August 17, 1981. The author of the article is Stephen M. Silverman.






New 3-D Wave 'Comin' At Ya!'

By Friday, the need will arise for 6 million Polalite 3-D viewers. To the neophyte, these viewers, composed of two grey celluloid lenses and flimsy cardboard frames, look like the cheapest sunglasses imaginable. But to the cinema buff, they recall the 3-D movie boom that took over Hollywood 30 years ago with one minor change - back then, one lens was tinted red, the other green.

Similarly, back then the 3-D process called for cumbersome camera equipment, thus were the 3-D cinematic endeavors deadly stagey and loaded with some tiresome gimmicks. One last garsp at 3-D featured an actor spitting into the audience.

Enter Tony Anthony and Gene Quintano, business partners and, in their own way, movie pioneers. They have a new $3.5 million movie opening Friday entitled, Comin' At Ya!, which does just that - it comes at you. The men consider their movie the most sophisticated 3-D display yet, as far as the effects are concerned, they might be right.

It is being released by Filmways, and a spokesman for the studio, inviting journalists to view two sample Comin' At Ya! reels, flatly stated, "As a work of art, forget it. It's like a spoof of spaghetti westerns. But in terms of 3-D effects, it's wild. We may have hit upon a gem here."

The figures back up the representatives statement. In Phoenix, he said, Comin' At Ya! grossed $59,000 its first week, only $1,000 less than Star Wars' earnings. In Kansas City, the picture drew $28,000 in a week, on a two-a-night showing basis. "We outdrew $110 million worth of pictures other studios opened in town the same week." said Anthony.

Antony plays the hero; Quintano, the villain, and there are a scant 51 lines of dialogue. The two sample reels placed on view earlier this week (the entire film was not made available to critics) displayed countless real-life protrustions into the audience. These included a writhing rattlesnake, the contents of a coffee pot, shucked corn, flying bats, probing fingers, rats, bullets, hot pokers, spears, falling bales of hay, a baby's bottom and a rolling watermelon. The plot seemed to have something to do with kidnapping women.

"We didn't set out to do Shane or High Noon," said Quintano, though he and Anthony believe that 3-D is not only here to stay, but are prepared to ride out a new 3-D boom with a simplified shooting process they are soon to represent and market. (Adapting a theater to 3-D, they said, reasonably costs between $500 to $800.) Moreover, both men are convinced that, just as 3-D in the '50s pried audiences away from TV sets at home, so will their new improved 3-D technology pull people away from current video disk players and cable TV.

"I'm not suggesting a movie like Kramer vs. Kramer be made in 3-D," said Anthony, "But can you imagine the first 10 minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 3-D or Superman?

In case you can't, Anthony and Quintano have a new script they'll begin shooting soon. They dubbed it, "an action adventure romantic comedy thriller." Its title: Seeing Is Believing.

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 6

Unfortunately, I have no idea where this article appeared and I can only guess that it ran sometime between August and October 1981. The piece is mostly critical of the plot of "Comin' At Ya!" yet it seems to praise the 3-D effects. The author of the article is Jerry McCulley.

'COMIN' AT YA': DYNAMIC BUT DUMB
Innovative 3-D effects wasted on poor story

"Comin' At Ya!"; directed by Ferdinando Baldi; with Tony Anthony, Victoria Abril; presented in Dimensionscope 3-D at the Americana Theater. Of all of the glitzy technological innovations in film presentation that came out of the 1950s, only one never really found its place in the modern movie theater: 3-D. Widescreen is taken for granted and stereo sound is no longer a theater luxury. Even Cinerama, ostensibly abandoned a decade ago, has left its mark, its last vestiges surviving in the form of 70mm showcase presentations.

But 3-D has been all but forgotten, buried beneath a heap of discarded paper glasses and such forgettable depth-illusioned schlock as "Bwana Devil," "House Of Wax" and "It Came From Outer Space." The thrills of having spears and bodies seemingly catapulted into one's lap never quite overcame the eyestrain and headaches of 3-D's insidiously shifting focus. And so in the last decade, cinemas third dimension has been regulated to the netherworld of late night revivals.

But in the movie business there is perhaps only one axiom that stands firm: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And however unlikely, 3-D is back, revived for thrill-hungry audiences by an even more unlikely source; an obscure one-time spaghetti Western hero named Tony Anthony (the "Stranger" series and "Blindman").

"Comin' At Ya!" is the first major studio release in 3-D in over 20 years, but that's only half the story. It's also the first Italian Western to receive major American distribution since the early '70s, and therein lies the rub. One can't help but suspect that Anthony, as cleverly manic and shrewd a producer/writer/director/actor/entrepeneur as is likely to be found on either side of the Atlantic, has pulled off one of the grandest acts of self-promotion in motion picture history with "Comin' At Ya!" And given his sheer, bald-faced audacity, one can almost forgive his spotty results. Almost.

Quite expectedly, "Comin' At Ya!" really isn't a good film, perhaps even God-awful. But then there seems to be some sore of tradition to maintain in this regard; perhaps someday we will be graced with a totally respectable 3-D film. But then someday perhaps Slim Pickens will win the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Conversely, the 3-D effects in "Comin' At Ya" do work, often gloriously so ... and with nary a headache. Giddy fantasies abound when considering its potential in the hands of a true wizard of cinematic movement, a Sam Fuller or Steven Spielberg.

Guided by Anthony and director Ferdinando Baldi, the system turns "Comin' At Ya!" into little more than a special effects test reel. As in nearly every other 3-D film, whatever plot exists serves merely as a vehicle to move from one jolting thrust at your nose to the next. Ultimately, the emaciated storyline of "Comin' At Ya!" becomes almost a mockery; each of its most startling tricks is replayed - a la Monday Night Football - as the final credits roll. And the jolts are myriad; bats and flaming arrows zoom most convincingly past the viewer's ear; guns and searing pokers hover menacingly over their collective noses.

Never mind that the story - Anthony pursuing his kidnapped bride and the sibling psychotic white-slavers who nabbed her - is a grab-bag of poorly executed spaghetti Western cliches. It's the ooh-and aah inspiring illusions that are "Comin' At Ya!"s sole reason for being ... even if at times the film tends to hit you over the head with them, no pun intended.

"Comin' At Ya!" with its arrows-past-the-head and sheer gut-level provacations, is simultaneously as thrilling, vacuous and socially redeeming as a carnival thrill ride. Like any good roller coaster, "Comin' At Ya!" is pornography for the senses.

BROADCAST EXCERPT #3

Here is the third in the series of broadcast excerpts appearing in this month long celebration.

WNBC-TV - NEWS 4 NEW YORK
August 18, 1981
6:00 PM

CHUCK SCARBOROUGH: I am going to make a rather large leap now from the present time in this particular medium to back to a different entertainment than theater, movies, to a time when 3-dimensional movies came out. Do you remember 3-D movies? Are you sure? I even remember the very first one, "Bwana Devil", or whatever it's called. Followed by -- the best one that was ever done in 3-D -- "House Of Wax."

There's a reason for this, you know. I suspect anybody over the age of thirty probably will recall the special eyeglasses you had to pick up on the way to the movies on Saturday afternoon, if you were going to one of those 3-D jobs. Tonight, Bob Teague has a report on how a new movie is causing a run on those very same spectacles.

BOB TEAGUE: If you try to watch a 3-D movie without a pair of glasses like these, what you see on the screen will be two images of each scene from two projectors, and both will be slightly out of focus, something like the ghost you'd she on television. But with these glasses, the two images are polarized, brought together, that is, into one image. As the effect is 3-dimensional.

The Hudson Printing Company here in lower Manhattan is turning out about five million pairs of these cardboard and cellophane spectacles, getting ready for the grand opening of a new 3-D western, "Comin' At Ya."

MAN: THe use of that 3-D effect, of course, in a film can be quite effective, paricularly, in those scenes whete things perhaps are being thrown about or ...

TEAGUE: Thrown directly at the audience?

MAN: At the audience, perhaps.

TEAGUE: It was overdone, I think about 25 to 30 years ago. when I first saw 3-D. Everything was being thrown at you except the kitchen sink.

MAN: Yeah, well, perhaps, it was a form of overkill. After all, the use of the medium has 3-dimensional people getting carried away by showing, perhaps, too much of it. In the end, I suppose, a good story that is well written and well acted will probably help tp carry the film -- will have to carry the film.

TEAGUE: Does that describe "Comin' At Ya"?

MAN: I hope so. I frankly have not seen the film. I'm looking forward to it.

TEAGUE: If you normally wear glasses to the movies, don't worry. These are designed to slip right on top. No problems. Furthermore, they're free of charge.

NEGATIVE PRESS

I thought that it would be only be fair to include a piece of the negative press related to "Comin' At Ya!" in this month long celebration. I can't say for sure why Bill kept the negative clippings. I can only guess that he enjoyed reading them while experiencing the success of "Comin' At Ya!". From all of the negative press, I chose the following piece (a letter to the editor concerning a negative review) for the irony associated with it; I think Bill laugh if he saw that the piece was from the Bucks County Courier (appearing in the September 13, 1981 edition). The irony: Bill's ashes were laid to rest in Buck's County.






'Comin' At Ya' review by Gaul really hit the mark

Editor, Courier Times:

The Sept. 3, 1981, review by Lou Gaul of "Comin' At Ya" really hit the mark. He criticized it for its "malicious script, disgusting violence against women and blatant sexist gore."

Buried near the end of the review was an even worse point of information. Gaul mentions "the excited audience of teen-agers and kids." The real harm from such trashy pictures can be found in their molding of young minds. R-rated films such as this have no business being shown to kids and bending their minds to accept such sexist violence."

Joe Ellis, Levittown


Although the picture below is from years later, I am almost positive that this is the gesture that Bill used to salute Joe Ellis after reading this clipping.

IT WAS 25 YEARS AGO TODAY...

In order to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of "Comin' At Ya!" in New York City, my wife, my stepdaughters and I watched the movie on DVD. Two notes if you ever do this:

1. The 3-D is not even close to what you may have seen in the theater.
2. The 3-D glasses were folded the wrong way - reverse the fold.

I wanted to watch the movie in hopes that it would rekindle memories of the time that I saw it - and, to a certain extent, it did. Even though objects were not coming off the screen or hovering above you, seeing the movie reminded me how good the effects were. I would definitely see it again if it were appearing in a 3-D film festival.

My biggest disappointed with the DVD is that it lacked the end credits. I was really looking forward to seeing the full screen credit that read:



When I saw "Comin' At Ya!" at the 8th Street Playhouse twenty-five years ago, as the closing credits rolled and reach Bill we heard a big cheer from the back of the theater. When the lights went on, we saw that it was Bill and two other people (if my recollection is correct one of then was Jim McCalmont).

We were all proud of Bill's accomplishment. The shame of it all was that in about two and a half years the latest 3-D craze had ended.

As I watched, I wondered if Bill would have celebrated this month. And I still don't have an answer to that question.

But, whether he would or wouldn't, I salute him now with a term he used in many cards I received through the years:

CHEERS!

COMIN' AT YA! TOMORROW

Tomorrow officially marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of "Comin' At Ya!" in New York. Among the clippings related to the film that my brother chose to keep was only one copy of the ad for the film. The ad ran in the New York Post, on August 19, 2006, twenty-five years ago today. Here it is:

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 5

This piece appeared on the front page of Variety on Wednesday, August 5, 1981. The author of the article is David Barton.









'Comin' At Ya' Bow In K.C. Plus Phoenix Has Exhibitors, Filmways Afloat In 3-D Dollars

Three-D is back and it's big and it could be here to stay. In its first week of showcasing at major theaters in Kansas City and Phoenix, "Comin' At Ya," and Italo-western with a sliver of a plot, has done "Star Wars"-type biz.

In Phoenix, where the pic premiered in the 800-seat Plitt Cine Capri Theatre, it notched $59,912 in 37 showings, against "Star Wars" $57,500 which was made with 100 more seats (they had to be closed for the 3-D flick).

PROMO #1

If you have read all of the items posted during this month, you know that "Comin' At Ya!" was screened at the American Film Market in March of 1981. Here's a promotion piece for those screenings.

A FEW WORDS FROM "BOB"

Most of what has been posted during this month has been written by critics and those who had an interest in promoting "Comin' At Ya!". The following is an excerpt from a DVD review on Amazon.com from an author who identified himself only as "Bob". I have included only the part of the review that speaks to the theater release of "Comin' At Ya!".

The year was 1981 when "Comin' at Ya" was released to the theatre. I was in high school at the time and like others my age who saw the commercials for "Comin' at Ya" was wondering what this was. It was a Friday afternoon when I had finished work at the mall. I happened to check out the theatre and that movie "Comin' at Ya' was playing. Since the commercials (a good ad campaign) had me curious, I decided to see it. That day I had one of the most fun experiences if not the most fun I had ever had in a theatre. The audience was filled with both types of 3-D viewers, the screamers and the cheerers. The guy behind me was shouting "don't do it", I on the other hand was shouting "do it" (this was in the opening scene when Tony Anthony was pointing a shotgun at the audience). "Comin' at Ya" made no pretense as to what it was; it was a 3-D movie that was simply going to throw everything at you and use a simple plot so you would not miss anything while you were busy ducking. This was an entertaining, interactive thrill ride that lasted 90 minutes and left you wanting more. Dan Symmes in Cinefantastique magazine referred to "Comin' at Ya" as bad 3-D (due to vertical and horizontal convergence) and since viewers like myself had not seen good 3-D we were apparently too ignorant to know the difference. Well smack me in the face with a brick, I along with the rest of the audience were too stupid to know that we really weren't enjoying ourselves. My thoughts toward his remarks involve the words egotistical and jealous. Tony Anthony wanted to make a 3-D movie. Not only in 3-D but entertaining as well. "Comin' at Ya' was an experimental film that took a basic western plot of the bad guy steals good guys bride, so good guy tracks down bad guy and applies several forms of justice (western justice...he..he). They made a fun movie that was soley responsible for revamping the interest in 3-D movies only to have it put down by those who tried to copy what they did and most of them failed miserably and destroyed any interest in 3-D movies. "Comin' at Ya' succeeded in the task of simply being a movie that was a lot of fun for an audience and did not pretend to be anything else.

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 4

Part Four in this series of articles concerning "Comin' At Ya!" appeared in the New York Times, on August 22, 1981. The author of the article is Janet Maslin.






"Comin' At Ya!"

When 3-D movies went out of style 25 years ago, they went out of style for a reason. 3-D is fun in small doses, but it wears out its welcome in a hurry. The glasses need to be fiddled with constantly, and they tend to induce double vision. Also, the thrill of imagining that a rifle, hot poker or angry bat is flying right into your face is a thrill that wears thin.

But ''Comin' at Ya!'', a 3-D movie that wouldn't be worth the time of day in 2-D, has novelty on its side, even though it's a terrible western. At least it's full of attention-getting effects, as its director, Ferdinando Baldi, works hard to position his camera under anything that's falling. Beans appear to fly at the audience. So do gold coins, a spinning yo-yo, a snake, a bowling ball and a baby's bottom.

Mr. Baldi runs out of ingenuity when no one is throwing anything, and sometimes he makes the awful mistake of letting the actors talk. ''Comin' at Ya!'', which opened yesterday at the Rivoli and other theaters, stars Tony Anthony and Gene Quintano, who are the producer and executive producer of the movie. They play two rival tough guys in the Old West.

Mr. Anthony is Hart, the good one, and Mr. Quintano is Pike, who is bad. Pike has stolen Hart's wife and a lot of other wives. He plans to sell them into white slavery, but meanwhile keeps them imprisoned in a room full of cardboard bats, who are cooperative enough to charge into the camera on cue. Cardboard actors are nothing if not cooperative.

''Comin' at Ya!'' ends with a series of explosions, which look particularly handsome in three dimensions. The same explosion appears to repeat itself about a dozen times. Whenever Mr. Baldi comes up with a special effect he likes, he uses it about that often.

The Cast

COMIN' AT YA!, directed by Ferdinando Baldi; written by Lloyd Battista, Wolf Lowenthal and Gene Quintano, from an original story by Tony Petitto; director of photography, Fernando Arribas; 3-D technical adviser, Bill Bukowski; edited by Franco Fraticelli; music by Carlo Savina; produced by Tony Anthony; the Lupo/ Anthony/Quintano Production in association with the Cale Brothers; released by Filmways Pictures. At the Gemini 1, 64th Street and Second Avenue; RKO 86th Street 2, at Lexington Avenue and other theaters. Running time: 91 minutes. This film is rated R.

H.H. Hart . . . . . Tony Anthony
Pike . . . . . Gene Quintano
Abilene . . . . . Victoria Abril
Polk . . . . . Ricardo Palacios
Old Man . . . . . Lewis Gordon

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 3

This article appeared in the Calendar section of the Fresno Bee, on September 6, 1981. The author of the article is Deborah Caulfield.





'COMIN' AT YA' A SURPRISE HIT

Last March, Calendar followed the progress of three fledging producers and their unique film at the American Film Market in Los Angeles. Their Spaghetti Western, "Comin' At Ya!," was made for $3.25 million in 3-D, a gimmick not used for 25 years. But producers Tony Anthony, Gene Quintano and Marshall Lupo believed that with a new process that dramatically improved the 3-D effect they could sell it once again.

"Comin' At Ya!" was screened more than any film at the Film Market, and yet at the end, despite buyer interest, it had not sold. The three told Calendar before returning East that if nothing else came up, Filmways president Robert Meyers said he would take it. Meyers had once been a business partner with Arthur Herskovitz,"Comin' At Ya!" sales representative.

Nothing else came up and Meyers made good on his promise.

And, "Comin' At Ya!" has become the surprise "boffo box office" hit of the summer.

The film was universally reviled by critics. KNXT Channel 2 critic Gary Franklin gave it a 1 on his scale of 1-10. David Ehrenstein of the Herald Examiner called it "a pain in the ... eye". Calendar reviewer Linda Gross also checked praise of any kind.

Audiences ignored the bad reviews and flocked to see the film as it opened slowly, city-by-city, across the country.

It opened at 25 theaters here kast weekend and reportedly took in $289,000, considered to be indicative of good attendance.

Among those surprised by the film's acceptance are the producers: "We thought if we were lucky we might show it in someone's basement every few years," said Quintano. "Now it's amazing. We went by a theater in New York just to look at the lines; sometimes they were a block and a half long."

With the picture virtually assured of being profitable (to date it has grossed almost $4 million after being shown in 200 theaters) Quintano said another picture is on the way.

Another one starring Anthony and himself?

"No, I don't think so. Theis time we've got writers and everything. It will be an adventure-caper film. Four guys and a girl plot to rob a temple on the island of Panag. It'll be kind of classic 'Topkapi.'"

And it'll be in 3-D, of course.

BROADCAST EXCERPT #2

Here is the second in the series of broadcast excerpts from August 1981

WNEW-TV 10 O'CLOCK NEWS
August 18, 1981
10:40 PM


ANTHONY PRISENDORF: Remember back in the fifties when tailfins, D.A. haircuts, and the dollar and a half double feature was the rage? Well, something else was big then, too, for a time - 3-D movies. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones that shivered and shrieked through the "Creature From The Black Lagoon" while trying to balance those flimsy cardboard glasses on your nose.

Well, if you're at all eager or curious to see 3-D movies make a comeback, you're in luck. There's a new movie opening in town entitled "Comin' At Ya!". It promises to give you a new dimension in 3-D software.

AIDA ALVAREZ: Publicists told us it was all carefully choreographed for peak excitement and laughs. Flying lances, flaming arrows, slithering serpents. You'll find yourself ducking as it all comes at you. In fact, "Comin' At Ya!" is the name of the movie that's touted as the best 3-Dimensional flick to come along since audiences thrilled to the innovation of 3-D, twenty-five years ago.

[Film Clip]

These are the 3-dimensional glasses you'll be using; and the way they work is, they're microscopic lines in the polarized lenses. Now, those lines are matched up with the microscopic lines in the film you'll see on the screen. And it's the coordination of these optics that gives you that 3-dimensional image. It's a manufacturers dream, these 3-D specs. The Hudson Printing Company has an order to put together five million of these glasses for movie goers throughout the country. You'll see the world with new eyes when you buy a ticket to this spaghetti western.

Is this going to be a new craze?

ARTHUR SILVERSTINE: I'm hoping it will be. It's different. It does bring the audience into the film. It does show that action around you.

ALVAREZ: "Comin' At Ya!" opens at twenty-nine theaters in the metropolitan area this Friday. One of those movie theaters is the Eight Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village. Just last July, they finished their second annual 3-D film festival playing the old favorites to packed houses.

STEVEN HIRSCH: I think a good story and action and adventure and things actually coming out of the screen at you excites anyone. And I think 3-D has found its time now in 1981.

ALVAREZ: This is one movie that's definitely for lookers, not listeners. "Comin' At Ya!" features ninety-one minutes of solid action. The picture's only got fifty-one lines of dialogue.

Aida Alvarez, Channel Five News

HEADLINES #2

As in other cities, "Comin' At Ya" achieved box office success in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco in August 1981. Here are the headlines:

HEAD SHOT

I believe the picture below was taken for the purpose of inclusion with the Optimax III marketing information and for articles about "Comin' At Ya!" and 3-D film making. It was part of the biography that was printed in the Polish American Journal (see Heritage And Biography).

My mom always loved this picture - so much so that she had here print re-framed and put on display, next to Bill's ashes, at his wake.

HEADLINES

The box office success of "Comin' At Ya!" is perfectly illustrated by the following headlines which appeared in August 1981:

BROADCAST EXCERPT #1

During August 1981, many televsion news programs feature reports on "Comin' At Ya!". The text of some of the reports will appear here during this month long celebration. Here is the first of these:

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
August 15, 1981
6:55 PM

BOB KUR: The first major three-dimensional movie in thirty years opens tonight in Washington and several other cities. It's titled "Comin' At Ya!", and it's already attracted big crowds at previews in Kansas City and Phoenix, as we see in this report from David Burrington.

DAVID BURRINGTON: For the current generation of movie fans hungry for sensation, 3-D is something new. They weren't around in the fifties when classics like the "House Of Wax" thrilled their parents. The novelty of this new 3-D movie attracted the big box office so far this year, in a Phoenix theater.

THEATER EMPLOYEE: The crowds the first weekend were totally, totally a surprise to us. We were a little bit unprepared.

BURRINGTON: The trailer promoting the film exaggerates the effect of 3-D, but their have been improvements since the fifties. Then, two cameras and two projectors were needed - now one, with a special lens provides a better picture. Promoters say there's less eyestrain.

"Comin' At Ya!" is a typical Western with good guys versus bad guys, with emphasis on effects. You still need special glasses; without them the picture is blurry, but with them, this flaming arrow sequence is the highpoint of the picture.

Afterwards, reactions were mixed.

MAN 1: ...sit up front, I wouldn't have been able to dodge the arrow.

MAN 2: (Laughs)

WOMAN: It did feel like it was coming at you, it did, not doubt about that.

MAN 3: Gave me a headache...

CHILD: It was sort of weird, but I liked it.

MAN 4: I don't know, everything's thrown in your face -- I don't think I want to see a whole movie like that.

BURRINGTON: Already, the revival of 3-D is considered a success, with nearly every major Hollywood studio planning a 3-D production.

David Burrington, NBC News, Phoenix

"COMIN' AT YA!": ARTICLE 2

The following article appeared as a "News Roundup" piece in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, August 6, 1981.





First 3-D Movie in Years May Be Summertime Hit

The first major motion picture shot in three-dimensional process in a decade, "Comin' At Ya!," appears to be a summertime hit.

The film, a "Spaghetti Western" shot in Spain and Italy for $2.5 million, is being released in the U.S. by Filmways, Inc., whose other major release this summer is "Blow Out," starring John Travolta. In part, because it wasn't sure how to market the 3-D movie, Filmways opened "Comin' At Ya!" at only two locations - Phoenix, Ariz., and Kansas City, Mo.

In its first week in Phoenix, the picture grossed nearly $53,000, or $2,000 more than "Star Wars" did at the same location several years back. "Comin' At Ya!" grossed an additional $26,500 in its first week in Kansas City, which is about as much as "Blow Out" grossed at six theaters in the same area.

As a result of those successes, Filmways - which had a net loss of more than $66 million in the year ended Feb. 28 - is moving the 3-D film into theaters in Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh on Aug. 14 and into New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit on Aug. 21.

A major beneficiary of the film's success may be the Marks Polarized Corp., a New York company that manufactures the 3-D polarized glasses that viewers must wear as well as the polarators that have to be fitted over projectors showing the film. Alvin Marks, president of Marks Polarized, said his company is turning out three million pairs of glasses a week for theaters showing the film. And whereas the company grossed $700,000 in fiscal 1981, Mr. Marks said, "in the year ending May 31, 1982, we're projecting $30 million."

HERITAGE AND THE BIOGRAPHY

Bill was extremely proud of his Polish heritage. Frequently, when we would speak on the phone he would throw in a Polish word or two in order to show that he still remembered the language. Because of the strong roots to his heritage, Bill was extremely proud when the Polish-American Journal (a monthly newspaper read by our parents, grandparents, family and friends) published a his biography in December of 1981. The term PNA, which is appears in the article stands for the Polish National Alliance, a fraternal organization.

Here is that article in its entirety.







Bukowski considered top expert on motion picture stereoscopy
December 1981

New York - Bill Bukowski is considered one of the world's leading experts on motion picture stereoscopy. He recently was the principal speaker at Toronto's 6th annual festival of Festival's 3-D Retrospective in October 1981. He was also invited to supervise the presentation and speak at the 50th anniversary of the Mexican Filmmaking celebration in Mexico last fall.

Bill Bukowski is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Bukowski, grandson of Mr. & Mrs. Kazimierz Urbanowicz and the brother of Philip Bukowski and Mrs. Suzanne Bolinski whom you have seen in our January issue, a 100% PNA family.

Bill Bukowski was born in Brooklyn, New York, January 3, 1952. While still a junior at St. Francis Prep, he began his career in the motion picture industry by apprenticing with the film editor Jerry Bloedow. At the age of 16 he became one of the youngest members accepted into the I.A. Editors Union. While working he completed his education at New York University School of the Arts-Film Division.

In 1973, Mr. Bukowski went to work for International Film Industries (N.Y.), a prolific low-budget production company. There he specialized in camera operation and repair. In 1975, he met 3-D pioneer Michael Findlay, inventor of the prototype, which was to evolve into the OPTIMAX III system. The two men conferred regularly on optical matters and Mr. Bukowski was able to observe the progress of the system. When Mr. Findlay as tragically killed in the Pan Am helicopter crash in 1977, Mr. Bukowski was invited by the financiers to join the company and continue the research and perfection of the filming device.

Bill immersed himself in the work, furthering his knowledge through optics classes at NYU and City University, consulting with optical engineers and devouring all literature on the subject of optics. Mr. Bukowski then developed the Optrix 3-D Projection Devise, which is currently servicing 3-D presentation worldwide. His next step was to develop the Telephoto capability and increase the transmission and resolution factors of the filming device.

In the spring of 1980, OPTIMAX III was contracted to shoot "Comin' At Ya!," a 3-D western. After modifying the lenses for high-speed photography, Mr. Bukowski left for location in Spain to oversee principal photography. The film completed shooting in December 1980.

In August 1981, Mr. Bukowski and Producer Brud Talbot formed OPTIMAX III, Inc. and acquired all rights to the OPTIMAX III process.

The PNA congratulates Bill Bukowski on his accomplishments and wishes him success in his future endeavors.

ON LOCATION

The following is a photo of Bill on location. The article excerpt that appears below is from the May 1983 issue of On Location: The Film & Videotape Production Magazine.



Panavision, Inc. (California) and Optimax III, Inc. (New York), have signed a mutual exclusivity agreement for single system 35mm 3-D photography. The system is approximately the size and weight of a standard 20-120 zoom lens, offers opportunity to shoot 3-D film with the same freedom as "normal" cinematography and allows the aligning of convergence to any point in the scene, facilitating total control of the "effects illusion," said Bill Bukowski, an Optimax III partner in the agreement.

COMIN' AT YA!: ARTICLE #1

During this month long celebration, I will be posting several articles which appeared in various publications during the period in which "Comin' At Ya!" was released. Other articles, from various periods, will provide background.

This first article appeared in Excalibur Weekly on the day that "Comin' At Ya!" opened in Toronto, October 2, 1981. The author of the article is Roman "Shades" Pawlyszyn.









Comin' At Ya!
"Real rats in your laps"

It's 1953. Outside the movie theatre, the gaudy poster promises "a lion in your arms, a lover in your lap", or something like that. Inside, it's packed and every member of the audience is wearing a pair of paper-framed glasses for which each paid an extra dime. All lenses are glued to the action on screen: a rattlesnake is coiling his towards our sleeping cowboy-hero. Suddenly, the rattler lunges our directly at the audience and the bespectacled faces duck in unison under a chorus of gasps.

Scenes like this will again be common if Bill Bukowski had his way. And it looks like he might. The 29-year-old graduate of the NYU film school had spent the last seven years developing a modern process for the production of 3-D films; he's now watching his invention translate into box office success. The film is Comin' At Ya! and it opens in Toronto today.

In his pursuit of the third dimension, Bukowski found himself in quite an uphill struggle. "When I first started, there was nobody to learn from," he recounts. "I had to track people down in nursing homes."

Unlike the cumbersome, unreliable methods used in 3-D's golden age, Bukowski's new system can be attached to any camera with a minimum of fuss. However, Bukowski has not managed to dispense with necessity of special glasses for the audience.

"The Russians have developed a system that requires no glasses," he explains, "but only three people can watch it at once and get the 3-D effect, and it does require that you sit with a neck brace keeping your head absolutely still. It's sort of the 'you move, you die' principle."

Plot-wise, Comin' At Ya! is pretty lame - a weak spaghetti western interrupted occasionally by striking 3-D effects, and that's its problem. Comin' At Ya! is a special effect in search of a movie.

Bukowski agrees, but was unable to influence those in charge of the aesthetics, being limited to his role as 3-D Technical Advisor: I had so many arguments with the scriptwriters it got to the point where all I could do is throw my arms in the air."

It seems shortsighted not to utilize more of the possibilities of 3-D than just thrusting rats into the laps of viewers, especially since that was precisely the reason 3-D's novelty wore off so quickly in the 1950's. At that time, 3-D became synonymous with junky, gimmick-ridden 'B'-movies. With the upcoming follow-ups to Comin' At Ya! bearing such titles as Rottweiler ('Starring ten of the deadliest dogs in the world') and Louisiana Swamp Murders, it's not hard to envision the 3-D renaissance joining the electric back-scratcher revival in renaissance heaven.

Which would be too bad for Bukowski. In the future, he'd like to try combining 3-D and IMAX (the 70mm system used at Ontario Place's Cinesphere), and he'd also like to perfect the system used in Comin' At Ya!, which he insists was merely a prototype. If you'd like to hear about the cinematic possibilities of 3-D, talk to Bill Bukowski. If you'd like to see some amazing technology, go see Comin' At Ya!. And maybe, someday, Stanley Kubrick will make a 3-D film.

THE LENS, PART 2: THE PATENT DESCRIPTION

Continuing the story of the Optimax III lens, here is another picture used in promotional materials as well as a little more of the information included in the patent document. Needless to say, everyone in the family was especially proud that Bill was granted a patent for the lens. However, it wasn't until this past Wednesday night when I was talking to my sister that I realized how much pride Bill had in this achievement. Apparently, found among his possessions were several framed copies of the patent.




FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to stereoscopic motion picture photography and, in particular, to an improved stereoscopic lens system capable of photographing a pair of images on cinematographic film which may be projected to give the viewer a three dimensional perception of the original scene.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In stereoscopic, or three-dimensional, photography, it is necessary to record simultaneously, images of the original scene taken from two different points of observation. As is well known, the sensation or perception of depth in a person's field of vision results, in part, from the viewer's interpretation of the size of viewed objects and, in part, from the reception of two separate images, one each by the left eye and by the right eye. Because the eyes are spaced apart, each eye views the original image from a different vantage point. The received images are thus different, and these are processed and combined by the brain to provide depth and distance information.

To faithfully reproduce the stereoscopic nature of the original scene by photography requires that separate left-eye and right-eye images be recorded on the film. In early attempts to recreate three dimensional effects by motion picture photography, these separate left-eye and right-eye images were recorded on separate films transported through separate motion picture cameras that were physically spaced apart. The original scenes were then reproduced by running the two films simultaneously through separate motion picture projectors operating in synchronism and casting upon the screen for each frame of film these two images in optical registration. The images projected onto the screen were polarized, so that a viewer wearing polarized glasses would receive the correct image at each eye.

The early results of three-dimensional motion picture photography, using separate cameras to record the original scene on separate films, and then using separate motion picture projectors to recreate the image in the theater, were only marginally successful from a technical point of view. Although the three-dimensional effects were sometimes astounding, watching early stereoscopic films was often uncomfortable to the viewer and gave rise to eye strain. The images were not sharp and clear, for it was operationally impossible to maintain proper registration and synchronism in recreating the orignal scene by projection.

More specifically, perfect reproduction required not only that the two films be running at precisely the same speed, but also that each frame pair be passing through the projection gate at the same instant of time and that the projected images be in focus and aligned both vertically and horizontally. It is not surprising that all of those conditions were rarely, if ever, met. As already noted, the end result was pronounced discomfort of the viewer due to the changing and erratic nature of the perceived left and right images.

In an effort to overcome the aforementioned difficulty of obtaining synchronized and registered images from separately projected films, more recent stereoscopic motion picture cameras have utilized a different film format. In the newer systems, the left and right images are recorded on a single film in different frames or frame areas. One such format that is generally preferred over others is one in which the corresponding left and right images of each action frame are recorded in adjacent longitudinal halves (i.e., normally the vertical halves) of a bisected 35 mm. film frame. This means that in the customary 35 mm. format in which a frame extends for a longitudinal distance corresponding to four perforations, each half-frame will be two perforations in length or pitch. With the left and right ocular images recorded in this manner, the half-frames have a narrow longitudinal dimension and a wide lateral dimension. This format produces half-frames having an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which is advantageous because that aspect ratio corresponds to the one customarily used for wide-screen Cinemascope.

The optical systems for recording scenes in the above format consist of a pair of receiving lenses that are spaced apart by a distance corresponding to some standard or average spacing between the left and right eyes of the viewer. Thus, the left receiving lens receives images that would normally be seen by the left eye, and the right receiving lens receives images that would normally be seen by the right eye of an observer. Both receiving lenses in the prior art optical apparatus of which we are aware arranged on a common horizontal plane (as are an observer's eyes). At the interior of the optical apparatus, the left and right images are redirected by optical means to the motion picture camera or camera lens to form the photographic images on the film, as described above.

Where, as in the case of the above-described photographic apparatus, the receiving lenses are spaced apart along a common horizontal plane, it is necessary to rearrange these images so that they fall on adjacent longitudinally displaced areas to the film. This requirement is in addition to that of redirecting the left and right images so that they are laterally centered on the film. The longitudinal displacement of the two ocular images is usually done by prisms. The disadvantage in doing this is that the image must pass through several optical interfaces (i.e., the interface between the optical element and air or adjacent optical element). This results in a loss of image intensity and a loss in image sharpness. Image intensity is lost with each passage through an optical interface because a small portion of light is reflected at each interface and therefore not transmitted to the next segment or element of the optical system. Image sharpness is lost in prisms due to unavoidable diffraction in passing through two or more pristatic elements.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, the receiving optical elements are longitudinally displaced by an amount corresponding to the approximate distance between adjacent half frames on the film strip, and both the left ocular image and the right ocular image are redirected by highly efficient reflective surfaces to a lens system for transmitting the superposed images to the photographic film gate. To that end, field lenses intermediate the image-reflecting system and the receiving lenses form the corresponding ocular images that are to be transmitted to the camera. These field lenses preferably are arranged so that their optical centers are substantially (but not necessarily precisely) coaxial. Because the photographic apparatus of the present invention employs highly reflective flat surfaces for transferring the images to the film, image sharpness and brightness are superior to that obtained with stereoscopic lens systems using prismatic elements and horizontally aligned receiving lenses.

Other features of the invention, such as the ability to change the interocular spacing, focusing, image alignment, etc., will be better appreciated from the following detailed description and the drawings.

THE LENS

It is very possible that without the Optimax III lens system, "Comin' At Ya" may not have enjoyed the same critical acclaim. Therefore, this 25th Anniversary celebration continues with a look at the lens. The photograph below was used by Bill in the promotional materials for the Optimax III system. Below the photo you will find an excerpt from the patent document.





United States Patent Number: 4,436,369
Inventor: Bukowski; William A. (New York, NY)
Assignee: Optimax III, Inc. (New York, NY)
Application Number: 06/300,255
Application Filed: September 8, 1981
Patent Issued: March 13, 1984
Invention: Stereoscopic lens system


ABSTRACT

A stereoscopic lens system for simultaneously recording left and right images on longitudinally displaced half-frames of a motion picture film. Left and right images are formed by a pair of adjustable receiving lenses horizontally spaced by the average human interocular distance and vertically spaced by an amount corresponding to the half-frame displacement. Images formed by the receiving lenses are focused onto respective field lenses. These images are in turn directed by front-silvered flat mirrors to the optical elements of a relay lens mounted to the optics body containing the above-described elements. Provision is made for the mounting of accessory receiving lenses and convergence altering optical elements located in front of the receiving lenses.


CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1. A stereoscopic lens system for attachment and use with a motion picture camera device for simultaneously forming left and right images of a viewed scene on an optical plane for recording pairs of such left and right images in successive frame areas of a motion picture record medium carried by the camera device, comprising:

an optics body;

a pair of focusable optical image receiving lens elements carried by said body and being laterally spaced apart by an interocular distance and vertically displaced by an amount corresponding to the pitch between adjacent longitudinally displaced halves of the frame areas on the record medium to be recorded;

a relay lens mounted to said optics body and adapted for removable mounting to the motion picture camera device;

field lens means at the interior of said body and optically spaced from the receiving elements near the image plane thereof so as to form respective left and right focused images;

masking means in the respective optical paths for said right and left images for establishing a division line between said images along adjacent lateral edges thereof within the frame area;

reflecting element means at the interior of said body and located intermediate said field lens means and said optical plane for directing said left and right images from said field lens means simultaneously to said relay lens such that said simultaneous images, as presented to said relay lens for transmission to the plane of the record medium, are generally in lateral registration and longitudinally superposed in an area corresponding to a single frame of the record medium to be recorded.

2. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 1, further comprising:

focus means for synchronously altering the optical distance between each of said receiving elements and said field lens means, to enable the in-focus image plane of the viewed scene to be maintained substantially at the plane of said field lens means.

3. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 1, further comprising:

adjustable mounting means associated with at least one of said receiving elements for selectably changing said interocular distance substantially independently of said vertical displacement.

4. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 1, wherein:

said reflecting element means comprise for at least one of said images a pair of front-coated reflective optical flats angled to direct said image to said relay lens in substantial lateral registration with the other of said images.

5. The steroscopic lens system of claim 4, wherein said reflecting element means comprises:

a mirror mount secured to said optics body for supporting each coated optical flat so as to be substantially free from vibratory movement.

6. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 5, wherein:

each pair of mirror mounts supportively extends from opposed surfaces of said body.

7. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 2, wherein said field lens means comprises:

a pair of field lenses vertically displaced from each other so that each is nominally aligned on optical centers with a respective receiving element,

each field lens comprising a pair of spaced plano-convex lenses; and

field lens mounting means for fixedly locating said field lenses at the body interior intermediate the receiving elements and the mirror means.

8. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 1, wherein:

said masking means associated with said right and left images are located in the respective image planes for said focused images.

9. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 1, wherein:

said relay lens means is adapted for mounting to a motion picture camera to record said pairs of superposed images in single frames of a photographic film.

10. The steroscopic lens system of claim 1, further comprising:

image convergence means adapted for support by said optics body to alter the apparent angular position of images of the viewed scene presented to said receiving elements.

11. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 10, wherein:

said image convergence means comprises at least one optical wedge and means for fixedly supporting said wedge fowardly of a receiving element.

12. A stereoscopic lens system, for attachment to a motion picture camera device, for simultaneously forming superposed, laterally aligned images for recording in successive frames of a motion picture record medium; comprising:

an optics body;

left and right receiving lenses mounted to said optics body;

said left and right receiving lenses being laterally spaced by an interocular distance corresponding to the nominal human eye interocular distance, and being longitudinally displaced by a distance corresponding to the approximate pitch of such superposed images;

optical image-directing means at the interior of the optics body for laterally redirecting focusable left and right images presented by said receiving lenses to an optical plane in lateral registration and in superposed, non overlapping relation within an area corresponding to a single picture frame of the record medium to be recorded,

said optical image-directing means being operative so as to avoid any substantial longitudinal redirection of the respective left and right images;

relay lens means associated with said optics body for transmitting said superposed laterally registered images to a frame area of an image plane on the record medium; and

means for removably attaching said associated relay lens means and optics body to the motion picture camera device.

13. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 12, wherein said optical image-directing means includes:

means for forming a focused image at the interior of the optics body for transmission by said relay lens to said image plane at the record medium.

14. The stereoscopic lens systems of claim 13, wherein:

said reflecting means for each image comprises at least one optical flat having a silvered coating on the front surface thereof.

15. The stereoscopic lens system of claim 12, further comprising:

masking means in the respective optical paths for said images for masking said focused images presented to the relay lens such that a non-overlapping line of division is established between said superposed images in said single frame area.