AllMovie

This is an IMAX documentary. For those not familiar with IMAX, it is a filmmaking process which uses many, many times the standard film frames-per-second, (on an order of hundreds-to-one) and it is recorded on 70 mm film, which is much larger than standard film format. These techniques result in screen imagery of amazing clarity and richness. When this process is coupled with 3-D electronic imaging techniques, viewers can quickly become persuaded that they are actually "in" the scenes being shown. There are relatively few places where viewers can see IMAX productions, as the projection technique is as involved, costly and complex as the film technique. This documentary surveys film special effects in general, and displays some new effects made especially for the 1997 re-release of the Star Wars trilogy. Effects from other contemporary films such as Kazaam (1996) and Jumanji (1995) are also screened.