The Stewardesses 3D - Kino Cult #45

Damn, has it really been 9 years since I reviewed the original Kino Lorber/3-D Film Archive release of Alan Silliphant’s The Stewardesses? Time flies fast and furious in this game. As KLSC and the team at 3-D Film Archive continue to roll out restored Blu-ray releases of semi-forgotten favorites, it’s always fun to dig back into the vault. Not that I needed a new disc to give me a reason to rewatch this three-dimensional jiggler, but we’ve got a new disc now, and it’s worth every penny. While I’ll cherish my 3DTV until the day its board blinks out and I have to find some kind of replacement, I love that 3-D Film Archive has been issuing anaglyph presentations with their latest releases, so regardless of viewing tech, no one is left out. With that, I see no real reason to update my old review. If you’ve got a group of like-minded friends and plenty of glasses to go around, The Stewardesses is a fun one to run. Here’s what I wrote back in 2017: 

Some movies wear their intentions on their sleeves. Some horror movies are content with showcasing copious amounts of gore and women in peril. Some thrillers are fine with just moving from one gratuitous killing to the next without really setting up an intricate plot. Then you have films that just want to show attractive people (some more than others) in various states of undress. To call 'The Stewardesses 3-D' a "nudie movie" wouldn't be too far off the mark. While this film absolutely fills its bare skin quota, there is an infectious bawdiness to the film that makes it a great amount of fun - especially in 3D!

For the crew of a transpacific airliner, any night off is a great night. Some of them go out to bars to party with their industry peers. Some of them continue a secret liaison with a pilot. Some are out to further their careers by hooking up with famous or important first-class passengers. Others are out to confess a love for one another and do a bit of exploring. During their brief time on the ground, these free-spirited ladies will be living high on life!

To be honest and up front, there really isn't much of a plot going on with 'The Stewardesses 3-D.' It's a pretty fairly rote and routine setup to various scenarios for some bawdy T&A action. When one "plot" is done, it moves onto the next and sets up another young pretty lady to explore the more carnal aspects of having a healthy social life. Rinse, wash, repeat. That said, this isn't exactly the same sort of material you'd find populating Cinemax after the sun goes down. While the plot is as thin as it can be, it's not altogether cheap and tawdry. Sure, the acting is amateurish at best, but it's still fun and enjoyable the same way that you would want to kick back with a group of lively people to watch a Russ Meyer movie. There is a midnight movie quality to 'The Stewardesses 3-D' that is too infectious to be ignored. Those worried about content should breathe easy knowing that while it was initially awarded an X rating upon its initial release, it's since been certified R. If you can handle something like 'Showgirls,' the content found in 'The Stewardesses 3-D' is far less explicit. 

Added to the eye-rolling plot scenarios is the fact that the film was shot and distributed in 3D in 1969. 3-D was long dead as a medium and wasn't yet primed for its late 70's revival. The combination of this being a skin flick and shown in 3D made it something of a unique novelty, and it's easy to see why. The film is just fun. Plain and simple. Even without a plot, it's the sort of feature that is a gas to watch with other people in the room - so long as they're comfortable with the content. Unless your grandma is pretty chill, I wouldn't suggest someone slap a pair of 3D glasses on her and give this one a spin. It's this sort of playful energy that exudes from the film that made it (until the release of 'Avatar') the highest-grossing 3D movie! You read that right. This film was made for a mere $100,000 and grossed nearly $30 million worldwide!

On a technical level, this film should be appreciated for the fact that the producers also developed their own 3D camera for the shoot! Rather than using the traditional two-camera process, this camera was able to shoot both the right eye and left eye image in a single camera, and the results are often spectacular - that is, when the shot setup is of decent quality. While some shots are composed so haphazardly it's hard to tell what you're supposed to look at, other establishing shots feature a sense of depth and dimension to them that makes you feel like you're in the same crowded bar with the rest of the cast. Sure, there are some other, more interesting uses of 3D in the film, but the main appeal is its playful nature and the 3D effects. I won't dare say that 'The Stewardesses 3-D' is an amazing film by any means. But as an example of late 60s exploitation schlock - that happened to be shot in 3D - it's a damn entertaining flick. If you're a vintage 3D fan who doesn't mind some bawdy content, this is a great one to add to the collection. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 3D
Taxiing for a return flight on Physical Media, The Stewardesses returns to physical media with a new two-disc Blu-ray from Kino Cult and 3-D Film Archive. The stereographic and anaglyphic 3D presentations (as well as 2D, but who the hell wants that?) are pressed on a Region Free BD50 disc with another Region Free BD50 disc serving up the new and archival extra features - also presented in stereographic and anaglyphic 3D. A pair of Kino Cult and 3-D Film Archive branded anaglyph 3D glasses is included. The insert artwork is reversible, and the set is completed with a slipcover. Each disc loads to a static image main menu.

Flipping between discs, I didn’t really notice too much discrepancy in standard stereographic 3D. The effectiveness of the experience largely depends on how well it was shot. For a notably low-budget affair shot on nights and weekends, it either looks incredible or can be a bit haphazard. But considering they were using a new single-strip camera rig with little time, money, or a very professional cast, the 3D depth experience is incredibly entertaining. I mean, those feet popping out at you in the opening moments are enough to make Tarantino pass out, but it's also a great indicator of how 3D is being used to add humor to the moment. Some setups are excellent, offering incredible z-axis depth; some aren’t. Making a short story longer, here’s what I wrote 9 years ago that I feel is still applicable today: 

'The Stewardesses 3-D' features a rough-around-the-edges, yet very effective 1.33:1 1080p presentation. I say "rough around the edges" merely as a means to describe the quality of the shot composition and setups. Some shots are far more effective than others. Where one shot can feature a pair of feet effectively protruding from the screen, providing an incredible sense of depth to the image, the next shot could look like the camera tripod wasn't tightened down and the cameraman struggled to keep it balanced. Throughout the run of the film, film grain has a fine to nominal presence, ensuring that detail levels are retained, allowing the audience to soak up all of the late 60s decor, fashions, facial features, and…other aspects of the image. Black levels are solid throughout without any severe spikes in contrast, that weren't already native to the image, where it looks like the actors are sitting directly under the production lights. Colors maintain a bright, primary, saturated look with healthy flesh tones. There is a particularly interesting scene where someone drops acid that features some impressive colors and shot compositions that can have an interesting effect on the 3D presentation. The 3-D Film Archive has done a great job with the restoration of this midnight movie favorite. Only a handful of shots ever look out of sorts, leading to any sort of ghosting or crosstalk, and that's largely due to how the scenes in question were shot in the first place. All around, this is a very impressive vintage 3D restoration and creates a fun and unique viewing opportunity. 

Now unique to this release is the new anaglyph 3D transfer, and again, the system 3-D Film Archive uses to deliver these editions is excellent. I’ve mentioned in past reviews that anaglyph 3D usually causes a lot of eye strain and can trigger severe headaches, but this is another exception to that experience. Aside from the red/blue glasses affecting the color scheme, the effectiveness of the 3D experience mirrors the stereographic effect nicely. Certainly not my preferred 3D experience, but it works, and it’s easy on the eyes, and best of all, for folks without 3D-enabled televisions or projectors, you can now enjoy this zany flick the way it was meant to be seen. 

On the audio spectrum, this DTS-HD MA 2.0 track plays the same to my ears as the previous disc. Doing the disc flips, I didn’t notice any discrepancies or anything out of sorts. I’ll let my old thoughts stand: 

Presented with a DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio track, 'The Stewardesses 3-D' is a sort of "take what you can get affair." Without knowing the post-production process of this film, I would have to wager that there was little, if any, looping done of the dialogue. To that point, the dialogue is rather hit or miss. Sometimes you can clearly hear what is being said; other times, it sounds like the boom mic operator was too shy to get close enough for a clean recording. In crowded scenes where there is actual dialogue with a lot of activity, these are the times that if you're hoping for some sort of "plot" to come through, you'll likely be disappointed. However, there really isn't much to glean from conversations except for a few characters where the dialogue fidelity isn't a problem. Scoring can shift from scene to scene; sometimes it dominates the entire mix, other times it's a bit more subtle and more scene-appropriate. Likewise, sound effects can either have a natural tonal quality to them or sound completely canned. This isn't a knock against the restoration work done for the film, but it's indicative of the quality of the source elements. Some slight hiss seeps in every now and again; otherwise, the audio is free of any drop-offs or age-related issues.  

Not content with delivering an extra 3D viewing experience and calling it a day, Kino Cult and 3D Film Archive have gone the distance to deliver a few new extra features in our baggage. While the Experiments in Love erotic short film returns, we also have a new audio commentary with David Del Valle and Miles Hunter to enjoy, along with a 2006 documentary about the film, another 3D short film from 1953 called Parisienne Life that may or may not have been scripted by Ed Wood, alternate opening titles, with some really cool outtakes and lens test footage! It’s a rather robust, bulging bonus package of content (prurient pun intended). 3D extras are also presented in anaglyph 3D.

• Audio Commentary featuring David Del Valle and Miles Hunter
• How The Stewardesses Took Off Documentary (HD 21:36)
• Alternate Opening Titles (HD/3D Silent 1:17)
• Outtakes and Lens Test Footage (HD/3D Silent 15:57)
• Experiments in Love (1977) (HD/3D 28:24)
• Parisienne Life (1953) (HD/3D 11:09)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spot

We probably could have gone the distance without another disc of The Stewardesses, but we got one, and we get a hell of a treat. Kino Cult and 3-D Film Archive went all out for this cult classic, delivering a new anaglyph 3D presentation complete with a full run of excellent new and archival extras. This is a silly film; it has its own sense of humor even as it tries to evoke a morality play amid the numerous nudity setups. It’s wild that for decades this was the most profitable 3D feature film, but once you watch it, you can see how it would draw adults into theaters three or four decades ago. It’s a bawdy, goofy time, and now, regardless of your home theater setup, everyone can enjoy it in one form of 3D or another - so long as you have enough glasses to go around. Recommended