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Explore 40 Years of VR In Film In This 360-Degree Video

Explore 40 Years of VR In Film In This 360-Degree Video

Though VR is really only just now taking a firm hold in its various markets, virtual reality has been a concept flirted with for many years in our favorite science fiction books, movies, and television series. Rishi Kaneria, a filmmaker and video essayist, has taken to the 360-degree video format to create a visual essay on VR in the film industry. From classic films such as Total Recall to the Matrix trilogy, Kaneria takes us on a journey through more than 40 years of filmmaking:

  • World on a Wire (1973)
  • Tron (1982)
  • Brainstorm (1983)
  • Total Recall (1990)
  • The Lawnmower Man (1992)
  • Mindwarp (1992)
  • Disclosure (1994)
  • Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
  • Virtuosity (1995)
  • Hackers (1995)
  • Strange Days (1995)
  • Lawnmower Man 2 (1996)
  • Nirvana (1997)
  • Darkdrive (1998)
  • eXistenZ (1999)
  • The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
  • The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
  • Avalon (2001)
  • Surrogates (2009)
  • Inception (2010)
  • Tron Legacy (2010)
  • Source Code (2011)
  • Total Recall (2012)
  • The Congress (2013)

In the 360-degree video, each film pops up in chronological order with a large collection of scenes from each film dispersed around you. Many of the films take a direct approach to virtual reality, placing their protagonists under a headset of some kind. Others, like Inception’s journey into the world of dreams, have a more abstract approach but they all thrive off the essence of virtual spaces.

In the near future, we’ll have a few more films to add to this collection. Ready Player One, a popular 2011 novel by Ernest Cline, has a film adaptation on the way directed by the one and only Steven Spielberg. The science fiction story features a virtual universe called OASIS that players access with goggles and haptic gloves. Also, later this year we will also see a film adaptation of the Assassin’s Creed game franchise. The film’s plot involves a company that has developed a means, called the Animus Project, to virtually dive into the memories of a person’s ancestors. The first film will be diving into the Spanish Inquisition, is directed by Justin Kurzel, and features Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Irons.

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