DYNASTY (1977) Blu-Ray Review - (Anaglyph) 3-D Makes a Comeback

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AndyDursin
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DYNASTY (1977) Blu-Ray Review - (Anaglyph) 3-D Makes a Comeback

#1 Post by AndyDursin »

I distinctly remember Channel 38, WSBK-TV in Boston, running a number of 3-D broadcasts over the air when I was growing up: “Creature From the Black Lagoon” and a special number of Three Stooges shorts were among those advertised as requiring those old-school, red-and-blue 3-D glasses you could pick up at your local pharmacy or “participating stores.” Another of those rare but memorable 3-D broadcasts was DYNASTY (98 mins., 1977, R), a ridiculously over-the-top action-fest from Hong Kong that has now made its way to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber in a marvelous restoration from the 3-D Film Archive. Even if you no longer have a 3-D capable TV, this release has you covered thanks to a new anaglyphic transfer – complete with a set of included glasses – that shows how modern technology and brilliant restoration work can breathe new life into the oldest of 3-D exhibition formats.

To be clear, “Dynasty” is not a great movie – this Eastern Media Film production is a thinly-plotted affair involving an exiled prince fending off challengers who have taken over his ancestral throne. Frankly I lost most sense of this story after a few minutes, which isn't much of an issue since it's just an excuse for acrobatics, swordplay, daggers, spears, and flying heads – all of which dance around the anamorphic frame courtesy of the strange “Super Touch 3-D” process, which was created by an American named Mike Findlay and used here by a HK/Taiwanese crew hoping to revitalize 3-D exhibition at a time when the format was inbetween two of its more popular eras.

The results may not be entertaining in 2-D but they're deliriously fun in 3-D, where depth-of-field effects are abundant and occasionally starling – I admit I ducked when a couple of daggers seemingly flew out of the frame at one point. The carnage is R-rated but not particularly gory (there's remarkably little blood on-hand given the amount of beheadings!), and the movie's gimmicky use of Quadrophonic stereo sound is every bit as bombastic – in a good way – as the movie's 3-D effects.

Thanks to the consistently outstanding work of the 3-D Film Archive, “Dynasty” has been restored – admittedly from less than pristine elements – in a dynamic new Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber. The stereoscopic presentation is here joined by a new “anaglyphic” 3-D transfer that marks the 3-D Film Archive's first “Compatible 3-D” release. Yes, the anaglyphic format utilizes the old red/blue tinted 3-D glasses I'd run around town trying to find in time for those Channel 38 broadcasts back in the day, but its inclusion is a necessity for a 3-D release in 2021 since virtually no TVs on the market include the 3-D format as a viewing option.

The good news is this anaglyphic transfer is spectacular – the 3-D Film Archive took the same care in producing this transfer as they did the conventional polarized 3-D version, and as a result, the effectiveness of the transfer is remarkable. Ghosting is at a minimum, and the clarity of the 3-D is stunning – in fact, it's so much more effective than any old anaglyphic transfer that I'd love to see the 3-D Film Archive rework “Jaws 3-D” or “Amityville 3-D” for the 4K era. No, it's not polarized 3-D, but it's so good that it's likely to leave hungry 3-D fans with 4K sets desperate for more. (The 3-D Film Archive's only other analgyphic transfer was for the '80s 3-D horror entry “Silent Scream,” which is just as much fun as “Dynasty” and is currently available on Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-Ray).

Both polarized and anaglyphic 3-D transfers of “Dynasty” are included here on Blu-Ray along with a restoration of the movie's quadrophonic stereo sound (in a 5.1 DTS MA track). A mono track is also on-hand alongside two brief 3-D slide presentations from writer Eric Drysdale, a 3-D music video, and a 10-minute examination of the strange, but effective, “Super Touch 3-D” process that “Dynasty” utilized.

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