People are voting emotionally.

How sad is this?

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is a beautiful film, enhanced by John Barry's fabulous score (although some parts were written for a previous movie.) I have seen this film 3 times. Sydney Imax, Adelaide Imax and Melbourne Imax. At Melbourne, the right eye image was OUT OF FOCUS!! No, it was not me having had a few too many, and it was not the glasses. Changing them made no difference. I wrote a letter of complaint to Melbourne Imax but guess what? They didn't reply. All too hard I suppose. Considering the technology of the move projection (IE only one projector not two) it is hard to understand how one image was out of focus and not both. Someone else can explain this to me. Apart from all that, the 3D in this movie, the stereo cards, and the music - everything is just wonderful.Yes, the story too! Being a collector of stereo cards (and also having been to NYC) this movie has special significance for me. I took a friend who is also a stereo photography guru and he was totally overcome by the total experience. Now....... I made a very big mistake of buying the VHS video tape last week. One word or advice - DON'T - unless you only have one eye and/or never have and never will see the 3D version!! Such a let-down and so disappointing. If you like the music you can get the CD. Question: When will Sony Picture bring it back? It is timeless - way beyond the bounds of fashion or modernity. At least they should release it on a 3D DVD!! (Polarised glasses too...?) Maybe the technology is already here, but I haven't heard about it. Tomas Minton well done! PS. I had already posted this then I read John Frame's comments: "Blending the best 3D imagery from 1916 and 1995, 4 January 2003" John, just to add to your nice review, the WTC towers DO feature quite prominently in at least two scenes in the movie. A jolt to bring us back to modern times hey!

I was curious how that format - so impressive at th IMAX theaters - would translate to the regular television screen, so I rented the VHS of this. My answer: it doesn't. One needs a big screen, I guess.....a very big screen, especially when the visuals aren't that good to start with as was the case here.This is simply a little documentary about New York City, comparing how some intersections and buildings looked back in he early part of the 20th century as compared to when this movie was made in 1996. Interwoven in the presentation is a little Russian immigrant kids story. It's quite boring for the most part. If you grew up in NYC, especially in spots where this was filmed, this would be a lot more interesting.

I was left on the cutting room floor when they edited this film. In October, 1995, I brought my parents and aunt to visit New York City for a week. Either Wednesday or Thursday of that week, we went to the Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side. Mid-afternoon, we finished up there and walked down to see Lincoln Center. When we got there, they were filming a sequence where the Minton character was to walk along the retaining wall of the fountain. While they were setting up the shot, someone came up to my father and asked if I would like to be an extra. I said yes and was brought over and placed with a group of three other men. Our duty as extras was to walk around behind the fountain while Minton walked on the wall that faced Broadway. It took four or five takes before we were done. During the set up for one of the takes, the group of us were standing next the young actor playing Minton. One of the group asked him where he was born and he answered "St. Petersburg." The person asking responded "Oh, in Florida?" and the little guy barked back "No, Russia!"I eventually rented the movie and that entire sequence had been abandoned.

A grand scale IMAX 3D mini-epic blending state of the art monochrome 3D still photography from 1916, with stunning full-colour 3D motion and surround sound from 1995.The story is obviously contrived to make optimum use of the archival material: a young Russian boy, Tomas Minton, travels "blind" (i.e. in a room with no view) by ship to New York, and jumps ship to search for a relative who emigrated early in the century. That man had found paid work as a specialist 3D photographer and had sent home a viewer and a set of his slides which showed many aspects of 1916 New York life. Tomas routinely refers to this collection of pictures as he wanders the city trying to find recognisable landmarks in the modern skyline.(N.B. The World Trade Centre doesn't get any special attention, if it appears at all.)The 1916 images are extraordinarily detailed, fully justifying the IMAX big screen and we see a lot more than just the facade of skyscrapers, or the tinsel of Broadway. I am never likely to see New York in person, so I was impressed by all of the visuals.Director Stephen Low takes advantage of opportunities to push people's 3D response buttons, but it's not done excessively. The overall impact is of a very big city, with a personal history of endurance in the face of hardship, and with many elements of true beauty in its landscape and architecture.There's a rather natty but very unlikely happy ending, instead of the most likely event of Tomas being grabbed by Immigration and thrown on the first plane back to Russia (proving that this really is a work of fiction).Brisbane's IMAX theatre closes down this month, after consistently losing money since it opened. I feel especially privileged to have been able to experience this film in the world's biggest and best of movie theatre environments.