The Century Long Rise and Fall of 3D Cinema

Believe it or not, 3D movies were already a sensation in the 1950s. While we often think of them as a modern digital trend, the technology has cycled through multiple waves of popularity over the last seventy years.

The 3D craze first hit American theaters mid-century before resurging again in the eighties thanks to IMAX and Disney. The technology reached its absolute peak in 2009 with the massive success of Avatar, which made every studio race to convert their films into 3D. Since then, mainstream interest has cooled off, though experimental directors still use the format for artistic expression. It remains a fascinating example of how cinema constantly reinvents its own visual language.