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The only IMAX film where a busty goth icon fights a glitchy robot for screen time.
TMDB
68
Rotten Tomatoes
73
Audience Score
64

Encounter in the Third Dimension (1999)

Nostalgic tech chaosCampy educational90s IMAX fever dream

Overview

Documentary

The Professor, helped by his flying robot M.A.X., tries to show us the history of 3-D film, and his newest innovation, Real-O-Vision (ride films). But his hardware keeps breaking down, particularly when he's trying to introduce a music video of Elvira. Written by Jon Reeves

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Content warning
short filmrobotfilm historyimax

Standout Aspects

Practical Effects

Real-O-Vision ride simulation that barely functions—meta commentary?

Costume

Elvira's plunging neckline somehow remains the most stable element.

Best for:Theater: Only matters if you saw it in 1999 IMAX.·Rewatch: For 3-D film historians and Elvira completists only.
Ben Stassen

Director

Ben Stassen

ReleasedMar 31, 1999
Runtime40m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast
Intensitymedium
Tonelight
Feellight
nWave Pictures
Iwerks Entertainment

Top Cast

Cassandra Peterson

Cassandra Peterson

Elvira

Stuart Pankin

Stuart Pankin

The Professor / M.A.X. (voice)

Harry Shearer

Harry Shearer

Narrator (voice)

Andrea Thompson

Andrea Thompson

Ruth in the Booth (voice)

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Ben Stassen became a prolific IMAX director, later helming 'Fly Me to the Moon'—apparently obsessed with making audiences nauseous.

Cultural

This captures peak 1999 anxiety: Y2K looming, tech evangelism crumbling, and Elvira somehow enduring as our goth mother.

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3D Mania(2 films)
Encounter in the Third Dimension poster
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Encounter in the Third Dimension

1999

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