A History of Three-Dimensional Cinema

“An invaluable contribution to the field—a concise, comprehensive and insightful account of ‘stereoscopic cinema,’ from its conception in the nineteenth century to its most recent boom in the wake of Avatar. And Cook doesn’t stop there, charting the course of 3D beyond the screen and into the immersive experience of virtual reality, where the next boom awaits.” — Thomas Schatz, Professor, the University of Texas at Austin, US

“This study of three-dimensional cinema offers a fascinating and meticulous account of the development of stereoscopic moving-images. By charting a path from early visual experiments in the fifteenth century to the more recent use of virtual reality technologies, David A. Cook successfully goes further than any historical overview to date.” — Associate Professor Miriam Ross, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

“David A. Cook connects 15th century art to 21st century blockbuster films via peep shows and photographic experiments in a fascinating history of three-dimensional cinema. Exploring artistic, scientific, technological and industrial motivations, Cook takes us on an all-encompassing journey through filmmakers’ fascination with recreating depth.” — Elizabeth Evans, Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham, UK

"Deftly combining technical, industrial and creative material, David Cook's exhaustive account of stereoscopic cinema's past, present and future wears its extensive research lightly. A History of Three-Dimensional Cinema is a necessary read for anyone who thinks of 3D as marginal or ancillary to film history." — Nick Jones, Lecturer in Film, Television and Digital Culture, University of York, UK

“This volume skillfully stitches together the attempts to deliver a three-dimensional view of the world via audio-visual art. David Cook binds 19th century stereoscopy to the 1950s, 1980s, and recent failures of 3D cinema in movie theaters. His observations about the failure of 3D television provide an eclectic view of the pandemic’s destruction of our normative viewing of moving images. Cook delivers a 360 degree view of a cinema that gallantly failed—as the melting of the House of Wax in front of the lumens of the projector bulb—to match his accomplishment.” — Walter Metz, Professor, Department of Cinema and Photography, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, US

“David A. Cook’s A History of Three-Dimensional Cinema offers a fascinating account of the complex evolution of stereoscopic entertainment, from a centuries-old prehistory to the boom of 3D movies in the 1950s and a renewed interest in the post-Avatar digital era.” — Kathleen Loock, Professor of American Studies and Media Studies, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany

“Cook offers a meticulously researched, wonderfully accessible survey of 3D motion pictures from their prehistory to the present. Along the way, he treats his readers to a rich array of granular details and far-reaching conclusions concerning their complex evolution and what they mean to us today.” — Noah Isenberg, author of We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie

“Cook provides a brilliant history of 3D filmmaking and exhibition. The book is neatly divided into key historical eras, and the chapters on 3D’s recent years are truly astonishing, insightful and compelling. Cook also delivers a wonderful account of the aesthetic properties and viewing conditions of 3D films.” — Richard Rushton, Lancaster University, UK