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