Robot Monster in 3-D part 2

No, not a sequel to Robot Monster, but a follow up to my earlier post about Robot Monster and the World 3-D Film Expo.

Y'see, in the early '90s, Rhino released a few 3-D movies on VHS in red/blue Anaglyphic 3-D. As luck would have it, I just happened to find a copy of Robot Monster locally and cheap, so how could I pass it up? (Also got some laserdiscs and a Henry Threadgill LP, but that's another story.)

The one redeeming thing I've always heard about my beloved Robot Monster is that the 3-D was pretty damn spiffy*. I'm assuming people were going by the Polarized 3-D prints and not the Anaglyphic like what's on this video. In my experience, Anaglyphic works about half the time and this video of Robot Monster does nothing to change my perception there.

Of course, the other problem being, there must have been some Anaglyphic reels missing as this print of Robot Monster switches between 3-D and flat quite often, and I don't think it's supposed to. I find it really hard to believe all those scenes of Great Guidance sticking his violin bow out at the camera weren't supposed to have depth.

And speaking of things I find hard to believe, someone censored this video! When Ro-Man rips Ai-lice's dress, they put a big black box over her bra! I had to go back to my Image DVD to make sure I didn't miss a booby shot, and you can't even see cleavage in the un-censored version. There's also a scene missing where Ma and Pa find Carla after Ro-Man got her. Nothing gruesome or offensive there, so where'd it go?

For what I paid ($2.50,) I can't complain. Unless you're a real fan of this film, I wouldn't necessarly recommend seeking this tape out though. When the 3-D works, it's pretty cool, but the other 45 minutes are either a blurry mess or flat black and white.

I'd still be curious to see this thing in real Polarized 3-D sometime.




* I've also heard the soundtrack was originally stereo, but I've yet to view this with stereo sound.