"Sony to stop handing out 3-D glasses" (Sept. 29 AP article) may be a prescient move. For my own part, I'm not fond of 3-D movies because the effect isn't all that thrilling. The screen is slightly dimmer, and the ticket price is 50 percent more.
When black and white was replaced by color, ticket prices were not hiked. When CinemaScope and Panavision hit the silver screen, ticket prices were not jacked up. I don't recall having to pay more for original 3-D movies in the 1950s.
Now, to offset fewer tickets sold due to the diminishing number of moviegoers, more expensive 3-D films are in theaters.
In deciding to move against 3-D, Sony Corp. may suspect that it is as much a gimmick today as it was more than a half century ago. The enticement for entering a theater should be gripping stories, not visual acrobatics.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.