'NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience'Get another opinion:
Narrated By: Kiefer Sutherland
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Have a need for speed? IMAX racing film will satisfy that and more
'NASCAR 3-D' delivers racing thrills in eye-popping, ear-shattering fashion.
By Omar Gallaga
American-Statesman Staff
Posted: March 12, 2004
Let's just lay our Hot Wheels race cars on the table:
I'm not a NASCAR guy. I don't follow NASCAR and have had little to no interest in auto racing in the past, unless it was in the form of a good videogame.
That was, at least, until I saw "NASCAR 3-D," the new large-format IMAX film opening today at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Maybe the film, which makes expert use of both the large screen and its 3-D visuals, activated some latent testosterone. All I know is that by the end of the 40-minute film, I was ready to pack up an RV and make a pilgrimage to the Daytona 500.
"NASCAR 3-D" succeeds where other recent IMAX films have failed. It is an almost perfect blend of action (knuckle-whitening racing) and behind-the-scenes footage (See a vehicle built from aluminum frame to advertiser-emblazoned stock car). Unlike the glacially paced, visually stunning, but narratively anemic nature films IMAX has become famous for, "NASCAR 3-D" takes the young format a giant lap forward. It's a sensory experience unmatched by racing films or television race broadcasts. In convincing 3-D, race cars zoom past in thunderous glory, over our heads, toward our foreheads, whooshing like rockets. The filmmakers had the unenviable task of getting as close to the racing action as possible with IMAX cameras the size of refrigerators. Somehow, they managed to pull off car-mounted shots and breathtaking tracking takes (A van capable of speeds approaching NASCAR vehicles was used for some of the filming) that put the viewer in the driver's seat, alongside bumping stock cars and on the track.
One caveat: These cars are loud. At a screening I attended, the visuals fairly leapt from the screen, but the amped up sound of roaring engines was almost too much to bear.
Narrated in silky-smooth and enthusiastic fashion by Kiefer Sutherland, "NASCAR 3-D" also touches on the lives (and tragic deaths) of its racing stars, as well as the meticulous engineering that goes into creating cars that must meet exacting league standards.
Expansive shots of bustling crowds (many of whom form parking-lot communities before big races) and time-lapse footage of the work that goes into setting up a a track, are amazing.
And the flimmakers' use of windows to show photos or information in the foreground against a full-frame moving image in the background makes effective use of the oversized screen as James Cameron did with his Titanic-themed 3-D documentary, "Ghosts of the Abyss" last year.
Most impressively, "NASCAR 3-D" succeeds in shattering myths about NASCAR. The adrenaline-fueled danger and physical demands of racing shown in the film put to rest doubts about the industry's legitimacy as a sport. And the informative background and history of the sport show that NASCAR became the multibillion dollar industry it is because of its passionate pioneers and fans who have turned it into a family sport.
It's a lot to digest in a mere 40 minutes, but somehow this miraculous little IMAX feature gets it right, giving even those without a need for speed the ability to get closer to 200 mph action than they might have ever imagined.
ogallaga@statesman.com; 445-3672
