I've got the new summer schedule for the Pacific Film Archive. And the biggest news is hidden between the lines. As I looked over the printed schedule, I noticed that the PFA will screen several films off DCPs. As far as I knew, the PFA didn't have that capability. Last year, Senior Film Curator Susan … Continue reading A New Schedule and a New Projector at the Pacific Film Archive
Category: Technical
Harrison Ford at the San Francisco International Film Festival
I caught the Harrison Ford event Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, I got a lousy seat. Near the back and over to the side. That's what I get for wasting time. After an introduction by Ted Hope, and clip reels honoring the recently-deceased donor George Gund III and, of course, Harrison Ford, David Darcy came onstage to … Continue reading Harrison Ford at the San Francisco International Film Festival
Best Ways to See a Classic Movie
The best way to see any theatrical feature--classic or otherwise--is in the theater, preferably with a competent projectionist and an enthusiastic audience. But that's a given. I'm here to cover a more controversial topic: From what type of media should an old movie--and let's define that as any one made before 2000--be properly projected for … Continue reading Best Ways to See a Classic Movie
Saturday at the Movies: 50s 3D Horror and Early Talkie Hitchcock
I attended two very different revival screenings yesterday. In the early afternoon, I visited the Castro to catch the newly-restored Creature from the Black Lagoon in all of its 3D spender. Then, in the evening, I dropped in at the Pacific Film Archive to catch a rare, early Alfred Hitchcock talkie, Rich and Strange. Both … Continue reading Saturday at the Movies: 50s 3D Horror and Early Talkie Hitchcock
Lawrence of Arabia Again–This Time in a CineMark XD Theater
Seems kind of crazy. I haven't been able to go to the movies anywhere near as often as I'd like, lately. Yet I've managed to see the same film three times in the last four months. And that film is almost four hours long. But it was worth it. Although I now own it on … Continue reading Lawrence of Arabia Again–This Time in a CineMark XD Theater
Noir City in 3D
Last night I attended Noir City's first ever 3D double bill. Both films, Man in the Dark and Inferno, came out in 1953. That year was both the height of the classic noir period, and the zenith of the first 3D craze. Actually, it was the only year of the first 3D craze. Hollywood turned … Continue reading Noir City in 3D
My Top Ten Movie-Going Experiences of 2012
As the curtain parts on 2013's opening titles, it's time to look at my favorite movie-going experiences of the past year. To make this list, both the film and the presentation had to be exceptional. I consider the quality of the print or digital transfer, the theater, the showmanship involved with the presentation, the audience, … Continue reading My Top Ten Movie-Going Experiences of 2012
The Digital Lawrence of Arabia Experience
I spent yesterday afternoon at the Castro, watching one of my all-time favorite films, Lawrence of Arabia. I've seen it many times, and over the last few years, always at the Castro. But this time was different. Sony digitally restored the epic this year, and this new version was played off a DCP instead of … Continue reading The Digital Lawrence of Arabia Experience
New Movies I’ve Seen Recently…and How I Saw Them
I've managed to see six first-run movies in theaters over the last couple of months. I liked all of them to varying degrees. Here's what I thought about the movies, and about the conditions in which I saw them. Technical note: All of these films were screened digitally, two of them on screens that had … Continue reading New Movies I’ve Seen Recently…and How I Saw Them
From 35mm to DCP: My Thoughts on a Critical Symposium
The current issue of Cineaste Magazine contains a symposium article on the digital transition. Fueled by a conviction that this transition brings with it important and wide-ranging repercussions with regard to film culture, and that it’s critical to investigate and debate these consequences, we have organized this Critical Symposium, inviting a range of people—repertory cinema … Continue reading From 35mm to DCP: My Thoughts on a Critical Symposium
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