Yes, I know. This year's Mill Valley Film Festival closes with several screenings of Loving. But I'm not able to attend any of them. So I finished my Mill Valley Film Festival with two special presentations at the Rafael. Both events were family friendly, and had quite a few children present. The 3D Sideshow As … Continue reading Closing the Mill Valley Film Festival with 3D and Disney Animation
Category: Technical
Russian Ark & Buena Vista Social Club: Saturday night at the Pacific Film Archive
I saw Aleksandr Sokurov's Russian Ark and Wim Wender's Buena Vista Social Club Saturday night at the Pacific Film Archive. The first film was part of the ongoing series Guided Tour: Museums in Cinema. The second one closed the long-running series Wim Wenders: Portraits Along the Road. But they had an interesting thing in common. … Continue reading Russian Ark & Buena Vista Social Club: Saturday night at the Pacific Film Archive
The Martian and Dolby 3D
I attended another press screening at Dolby Labs Thursday night, and once again, it was all about a man left for dead in inhospitable territory. Only this time, instead of The Revenant, I saw The Martian. And just like last week, I'll tell you about the movie, then a bit about the technology. As you … Continue reading The Martian and Dolby 3D
The Revenant and Dolby Atmos
I attended a special screening at Dolby Labs Thursday night of The Revenant, where the movie's Oscar-nominated audio mix could be played back in the full glory of Dolby Atmos. I'll tell you about The Revenant, and also about Atmos. In that difficult-to-find point where cinema technology merges into cinema art, The Revenant feels like … Continue reading The Revenant and Dolby Atmos
Catching The Hateful Eight in 70mm
I'm not one of those cinephiles who sees the digital transition as the end of cinema. Far from it. I respect the practical and even the aesthetic advantages of shooting digitally. And as a general rule (there are exceptions), I rather see a movie projected off a DCP than a 35mm print--and that includes classics … Continue reading Catching The Hateful Eight in 70mm
How Many Films are Still Shot on Film: The 2015 Edition
How many theatrical features are still shot on old-fashioned film? More than you might expect. According to my very casual survey, about 29 percent of this year's films that could reasonably have been shot on film were shot on film. That's actually more than the last time I did this survey, back in March. When … Continue reading How Many Films are Still Shot on Film: The 2015 Edition
The Hateful Eight and the Return of Ultra Panavision 70
I really don't know what to do about Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film, The Hateful Eight. On one hand, I'm a total geek over historic film formats, so I can't help but be excited about the first film shot in Ultra Panavision 70 in nearly 50 years. On the other hand, it's a film by Quentin … Continue reading The Hateful Eight and the Return of Ultra Panavision 70
Big, roadshow musical movies coming to the Bay Area
A particular kind of movie musical will soon get a lot of exposure in the Bay Area--the large-format roadshow musicals of the 1950s and '60s. These were almost always close adaptations of popular Broadway stage musicals. They were often shot and projected in large, high-definition, film formats such as Todd-AO or Super Panavision 70. And … Continue reading Big, roadshow musical movies coming to the Bay Area
Technicolor experiences at the Pacific Film Archive
Over the last few days, I've attended two separate three-strip Technicolor screenings at the Pacific Film Archive, each projected in a very different way. The first, Jean Renior's The River, was screened pretty much as the original audiences saw it in 1951. The second, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Tales of Hoffmann, was presented … Continue reading Technicolor experiences at the Pacific Film Archive
Three Ways to See Three-Strip Technicolor at the PFA
They stopped making three-strip Technicolor movies about 60 years ago. The movies are still around, and they're still beautiful. This summer, the Pacific Film Archive will screen three different films shot in the still-loved format, and thanks to the way they're being screened, each one projected using a different technology. You can decide which is … Continue reading Three Ways to See Three-Strip Technicolor at the PFA
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