The Power of Love

United States, 1922

Image On display

Though experiments into stereoscopic movies started back in 1889, filmmaker Edwin S Porter projected the first 3D test film in 1915. He used the red-and-green anaglyph system that most people associate with 3D. Audiences looked through red-and-green glasses at two film strips, recorded and projected in each colour, that gave the illusion of depth when superimposed.

The same system was used for The Power of Love (1922), the first feature 3D motion picture screened for a commercial audience. And 3D wasn’t that film’s only innovation: viewers could choose different endings by peering through only the red or green lens. It was the only film released using the Fairall-Elder stereoscopic camera pictured here.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

On display until

16 February 2031

ACMI: Gallery 1

Credits

director

Harry K. Fairall

Nat G. Deverich

Production places
United States
Production dates
1922

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

Curatorial section

The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Pictures → MI-08. Immersive Innovations → MI-08-C01

Collected

3958 times

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/100619--the-power-of-love/ |title=The Power of Love |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=29 March 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}