NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience (2004)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writer:

Mark Bechtel (narration written by)

Release Date:

12 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Tagline:

Up To 8 Stories High... 12,000 Watts Of Sound... 750 Horsepower

Plot:

A big-screen look into one of America's most successful entertainment industries, NASCAR racing. |

Plot Keywords:

Nascar | IMAX | Automobile Racing | 3 Dimensional

Awards:

1 win

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Kiefer Sutherland	...	Narrator (voice)
Tony Stewart	...	Himself
Matt Kenseth	...	Himself
Jimmie Johnson	...	Himself / Moonshiner
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	...	Himself
Jeff Gordon	...	Himself
Ryan Newman	...	Himself / Moonshiner
Bobby Labonte	...	Himself
Bill France Jr.	...	Bill France Sr. (voice)
Mike Helton	...	Sheriff
Gary Nelson	...	Sheriff
Neil Goldberg	...	TV Control Room
Artie Kempner	...	TV Control Room
Darrell Waltrip	...	On-Screen Announcer
Larry McReynolds	...	On-Screen Announcer

Also Known As:

NASCAR: The IMAX Experience (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some crash scenes.

Runtime:

40 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | Sonics-DDP

Certification:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

North Carolina, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Soundtrack:

The Star Spangled Banner

Strictly for Nascar fans, and even they will be only mildly entertained

First of all I am not a fan of Nascar, I do follow the odd Formula One race, but living in Europe, Nascar is something I may happen to see playing at five in the morning on one of the sport shows, or is a sport I prefer to play on the Playstation. As a cultural phenomenon, a thrill sport, or a symbol of national prestige (as so many American sports tend to be) it goes entirely over my head.

Now Nascar IMAX was something I was looking forward to, yes I actually thought that the promise of seeing these races in 3D would make me appreciate some of the dynamics of the sport. Alas no, or at least this is not the movie that will achieve this end. The movie is slow, with very few action scenes, doesn't look that great in 3D and is heavily dependant on dialogue. These should be basic no,no's for an IMAX movie, and yet some bright spark continues to invest heavily in such banal material.

I do long for the day when IMAX equipment will be put into the hands of a true master of cinema, I remember watching Nascar thinking, "with all this technology, all this money, the best they can do is deliver a weak documentary about racing cars?". I guess IMAX could be the next frontier of cinema, and with the way cinema is heading, this can not come any sooner. Alas, Nascar IMAX is not the one that's gonna take IMAX to the edge. So I guess the IMAX gauntlet remains unraised. Any takers??