Imax Goes on N.Y. Streets and Behind the Scenes

Two new Imax movies arrive just in time for the July 4 holiday--”Across the Sea of Time” today at the Edwards Imax 3-D Theater in the Edwards 21 Megaplex in Irvine and “Special Effects” Thursday at the California Museum of Science and Industry’s Imax Theater in Exposition Park.

“Across the Sea of Time,” in Imax 3-D, imagines a young Russian stowaway (Peter Reznik) landing in New York in hopes of finding family members. All he has is a clutch of Stereopticon photos taken in the early 20th century by a relative who included them in copious, platitudinous letters home to his parents. Although adults will see this tale, written by executive producer Andrew Gellis, as the obvious contrivance it is, the boy and his adventures in Manhattan will offer wide and thrilling identification for youngsters.

Still, adults won’t complain too much considering the awesome visual experience of “Across the Sea of Time.” An Imax veteran, director Stephen Low knows how to make best use of the medium’s immense scale and depth and how to incorporate 3-D into the process to approach a near-virtual-reality experience. In the 51-minute film’s opening sequence, we’re instantly made to feel that we’re right there in the dingy hold of a Russian freighter with Reznik’s intrepid 11-year-old Tomas.

The use of vintage black-and-white Stereopticon slides is inspired and heightens our sense of what it would be like to be thrust into the midst of turn-of-the-century Lower East Side’s bustling Hester Street and, in a remarkable sequence, what it was like to be excavating for the subway system. Throughout, Low matches vintage Stereopticon views with contemporary ones. Most vistas are startlingly different, but a few are remarkably unchanged.

Not surprisingly, views of the subway system are followed by a breathtaking present-day ride on a subway train. Of course, Low takes on a Coney Island roller-coaster ride so dizzying you might have to look away. And wouldn’t you know that Tomas’ attempt to match skylines takes him to the top of a skyscraper so that he might peer down to the street far, far below? Essentially, “Across the Sea of Time” is a glorious travelogue framed by the thinnest and most sentimental of stories, but most everybody is likely to go along with it.

Although assuredly a crowd-pleaser, Ben Burtt’s 40-minute “Special Effects” plays like a promo for George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic, which is preparing the “Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition” to mark the 20th birthday of the original “Star Wars” next year.

There’s a nod to past accomplishments, all the way back to Georges Melies’ “A Trip to the Moon” (1902) and an elaborate re-creation of the downfall of King Kong (in San Francisco instead of Manhattan).

The emphasis, however, is strongly on the present and the upcoming: e.g., the intricate staging of an alien attack on the White House in “Independence Day” and Shaquille O’Neal’s appearing to bicycle through the sky in “Kazaam.” Although the sheer scale and depth of the Imax image naturally intensifies everything on its immense screen, “Special Effects” in itself doesn’t seem to make much special use of the Imax format.

Special effects have become so technical that there’s not much sense of fun-spoiling secrets being given away, although we do learn that “Independence Day’s” spaceships, 3 miles wide and larger, could in reality probably be squeezed into a two-car garage.

Unintentionally, however, “Special Effects” makes us think about the zillions upon zillions of dollars being spent to make images of death and destruction look ever more convincing and spectacular. And when it deals with Animatronics, we discover that a docile zoo elephant was studied meticulously by experts to create a scary elephant stampede for the recent “Jumanji.” It’s enough to make you glad that Imax in 3-D is a full year away in Exposition Park.

* Neither film is rated. Times guidelines: “Across the Sea of Time” is suitable for all ages; “Special Effects” may be too intense for small children.

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‘Across the Sea of Time’

Peter Reznik: Tomas

A Columbia Pictures and Sony New Technologies presentation. Director-producer Stephen Low. Executive producer-writer Andrew Gellis. Cinematographer Andrew Kitzanuk. Camera-stereographer Noel Archambault. Editor-post production supervisor James Lahti. Sound designer Peter Thillaye. Costumes Cynthia Flynt. Music John Barry. Production designer Charley Beal. Running time: 51 minutes.

* Exclusively at the Edwards Imax 3-D Theater at the Edwards 21 Megaplex, Irvine Spectrum, 65 Fortune Drive, Irvine, (714) 450-8288.

‘Special Effects’

An Imax Corp. release of a production of Nova/WGBH Boston. Director Ben Burtt. Producer Susanne Simpson. Executive producer Paula S. Aspell. Writers Simpson, Burtt, Tom Friedman. Cinematographers Reed Smoot, Jack Tankard. Music Christopher Stone. Imaging consultant Christopher Reyna. Special visual effects Industrial Light & Magic. Post production facilities provided by Skywalker Sound. Running time: 40 minutes.

* Exclusively at the California Museum of Science and Industry’s Imax Theater, 700 State Drive (at Figueroa Street), Exposition Park, (213) 744-2016.