inevitable march of time – Page 2

In the latest casuality of physical film, the Air and Space Museum goes digital

The transition from physical to digital projection has been a long time coming, even if Tarantino has tried his best to keep the format around. This Sunday, another stalwart – the IMAX theater at the National Air and Space Museum – retired their 70mm projector. When Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted last month, so … Continue reading “In the latest casuality of physical film, the Air and Space Museum goes digital”

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted last month, so many people insisted on seeing it at the Air and Space Museum because of the quality of the 70mm projection. But as The Washington Post points out, the aging equipment hasn’t changed much from 1976 and requires intensive labor to setup. The projectionists and “hipsters” (not our words, see the article) might enjoy the feel of film stock, but for a theater that regularly shows so many different films, digital is simpler and faster for everyone involved.

Film projection will always have a place, even if just in specialty theaters. The Air and Space Museum’s transition feels like a bigger change, though, because of how many people have gone through that theater.

(Also, look at how chunky that projector is! Holy moly!)

The Hateful Eight makes the case for physical film, so what if it backfires?

The upcoming release of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is a pivotal moment for physical film. Tarantino famously loves film stock (having shelled out money to keep film production plants running); the director wants his upcoming movie to showcase the rich power of film in a way that’s undeniable to studios and audiences. But showing … Continue reading “The Hateful Eight makes the case for physical film, so what if it backfires?”

The upcoming release of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is a pivotal moment for physical film. Tarantino famously loves film stock (having shelled out money to keep film production plants running); the director wants his upcoming movie to showcase the rich power of film in a way that’s undeniable to studios and audiences. But showing that film in all its glory takes specialized equipment. Only select theaters will project it as intended in Ultra Panavision 70 – a beautiful format that, it turns out, nobody really remembers how to use.

No major commercial film has been shot in Ultra Panavision 70 since the 60s, and given their rarity, few working projectionists have experience with the format. This might explain The Hateful Eight‘s apparently disastrous advance screening last night, as reported by HitFix’s Drew McWeeny, in which the film drifted out of focus for two hours before the theater decided to play the digital version instead. The event meant to celebrate physical film stock might have convinced attendees that the format isn’t practical anymore.

McWeeny warns that too many of these failures could reduce film stock to a fetish object for filmmakers with little meaningful use. He notes that the most recent season of Project Greenlight involved a huge push to shoot on film rather than digitally, “[a]nd in the end,” he says, “it made no difference.”

If theaters struggle with the medium’s show-off piece, that’s a bad portent – and clearly not what Tarantino and other film diehards hoped for. We’re sure The Hateful Eight looks gorgeous when projected correctly, but the long-term outlook on watching film like that seems more uncertain.

Farewell (again?) to Betamax

It’s the end of an era that we thought had already ended. After nearly three decades of stubborn persistence, Sony has finally chosen to discontinue the Betamax videotape. For those who missed out on the 80s, Betamax tapes were the main rival for VHSes before it was clear which videocassette format would be most popular. … Continue reading “Farewell (again?) to Betamax”

It’s the end of an era that we thought had already ended. After nearly three decades of stubborn persistence, Sony has finally chosen to discontinue the Betamax videotape.

For those who missed out on the 80s, Betamax tapes were the main rival for VHSes before it was clear which videocassette format would be most popular. Betamax tapes had some clear benefits – compact size and higher image quality – but VHSes cost less to produce and attracted more publishers. (As legend tells, adult entertainment helped drive the sale of VHS machines more than Hollywood movies.) Although Betamax tapes lost the battle, they continued to find use as a recording format for professional film production. But it’s unclear why Sony was still manufacturing them… or who was using them.

With the advent of streaming platforms that now almost universally work in browsers and on nearly an electronic device, it seems that we’ll never have another “format war” as intense as what Betamax wrought. Device manufacturers and publishers will always fight over who gets the most popular content, but there’s no longer a question of whether one of two whole mediums will become the global standard.

As anyone still setting on their pricey Betamax collection can attest, that’s for the best.

DC rings in the official arrival of The Future

At long last, 26 years after the film’s release, today is the day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrive in the future in Back to the Future Part II. Despite occupying only a fraction of the running time of the entire trilogy, the futuristic 2015 is one of the most iconic and memorable depictions … Continue reading “DC rings in the official arrival of The Future”

At long last, 26 years after the film’s release, today is the day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrive in the future in Back to the Future Part II. Despite occupying only a fraction of the running time of the entire trilogy, the futuristic 2015 is one of the most iconic and memorable depictions of the future on film.

Dozens of websites have already covered what BTTFII got right and wrong about the distant future of 2015, so instead, let’s round up all the Back to the Future-related happenings in the city today!

Reston, VA is the center of the biggest celebrations: as part of the Washington West International Film Festival, the city has changed its name to Hill Valley and will host a marathon screening of the trilogy at EXACTLY 7pm tonight. On Sunday, WWIFF will also screen a new documentary about the history of the series and a sold-out red carpet celebration featuring Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd.

If you can’t make it out to Reston, the Regal 14 in Gallery Place downtown will host a screening of BTTFII at 5pm… which we assume is as close as they could get to the 4:29pm, the exact time Marty and Doc arrive in the future. The Esquire Network will also run a marathon of the series throughout the day. (Our copy of Back to the Future II is already checked out, sorry! The original is still available though.)

And for the 21+ crowd, Fantom Comics in Dupont Circle will hold a Back to the Future celebration party this evening, complete with a costume and impression contest. Hill Valley-themed drinks are promised.

We could join the chorus bemoaning that we didn’t get hoverboards or self-drying jackets, but instead, let’s celebrate that our 2015 is exciting in different, totally unexpected ways. for instance, you’re reading this blog post that I wrote from the basement of a library instead of a newspaper! Take that, USA Today!

Video of The Exorcist hubbub lets you experience terror by proxy

Even beyond its familiar DC setting, The Exorcist holds a special place in cinematic memory as one of the most successful and – just going from anecdotes – most terrifying horror films ever made. It’s difficult to envision any pop culture event today holding the nation’s full attention and enthusiasm, let along a horror movie, … Continue reading “Video of The Exorcist hubbub lets you experience terror by proxy”

Even beyond its familiar DC setting, The Exorcist holds a special place in cinematic memory as one of the most successful and – just going from anecdotes – most terrifying horror films ever made. It’s difficult to envision any pop culture event today holding the nation’s full attention and enthusiasm, let along a horror movie, but The Exorcist came very close on its release in 1973.

We didn’t believe the anecdotes about the enormous turnout and reaction until we watched the above video, an undated and apparently orphaned 20-minute news featurette about the movie’s success and impact. Moviegoers lined down the block to see The Exorcist multiple times, with many apparently leaving mid-screening and returning again to see if they could stomach it a second time. This is astounding footage that demonstrates the central role movie theaters played in American culture life decades ago. And this fervor predates Jaws and Star Wars, generally considered the first blockbusters.

Even something as big as Jurassic World won’t bring out the same neighborhood-spanning queues or inspire visceral reactions from the audience, so this video of the hype surrounding The Exorcist is the closest most of us will get to seeing a movie release of such sensational scale. (The freakouts over how intensely scary it is are just icing.)

So long, farewell to our seniors!

Now comes the difficult part of every year when we say farewell to our departing senior staff. This year, we have five staff members graduating: Caitlin, Claire, Jasmine, Travis, and Trevor. We’ve gotten to know this crew over the past several years, and they’ve done a terrific job exceeding patron expectations of great library service. … Continue reading “So long, farewell to our seniors!”

We’re sad to see them go, but we know they’re moving onto exciting careers and future programs. We wish them the best of luck!

In India, national cinema preservation is in the balance

We post about film preservation frequently on this blog, and for the most part, contemporary film preservation effort in our neck of the woods are excellent. Between the National Film Registry and the continued investment in restoring older masterpieces, we’ve come a long way from losing all our silent films. But such an infrastructure doesn’t … Continue reading “In India, national cinema preservation is in the balance”

We post about film preservation frequently on this blog, and for the most part, contemporary film preservation effort in our neck of the woods are excellent. Between the National Film Registry and the continued investment in restoring older masterpieces, we’ve come a long way from losing all our silent films. But such an infrastructure doesn’t exist elsewhere in the world, and many countries continue to struggle to save their works.

For an example of the ongoing fight to save film history, look no further than India. The Jakarta Post reports that, in recognition of the country’s National Film Day, Indian film critics have called more a concerted effort to preserve national cinema. The country’s national film archives are apparently decaying, with even some films from the 90s already degrading in quality. Many solvable problems are cited, especially budgetary constraints and more mindful collection (and copyright) management.

There’s a strong interest and thirst for historical Indian film, and even though individuals and smaller organizations have made strides in saving national cinema, a greater national effort is only a good thing – both for India and film enthusiasts worldwide.

Does The Wire work in HD? You be the judge

In a move even more controversial than their decision to launch a standalone streaming subscription service, HBO has decided to remaster classic television series The Wire in high-definition widescreen. The show, as directed by showrunner David Simon, was intended to be show in the 4:3 aspect ratio of standard-definition television sets. In the process of … Continue reading “Does The Wire work in HD? You be the judge”

In a move even more controversial than their decision to launch a standalone streaming subscription service, HBO has decided to remaster classic television series The Wire in high-definition widescreen. The show, as directed by showrunner David Simon, was intended to be show in the 4:3 aspect ratio of standard-definition television sets. In the process of extending that image to 16:9, this remaster makes significant edits to the cinematography of the original series – and that doesn’t sit well with many people.

We’ve previously touched on the big difference that aspect ratio can make, so this certainly isn’t a minor change that’s going unnoticed by filmmakers. The Wire is often considered the greatest television series of all time, and to many, this type of creative tampering borderline heresy.

Simon seems to feel ambivalent about the remastering, mentioning that some scenes work better in widescreen while others don’t. That’s inevitable for such a sweeping change to the original format. But we think you, the discerning film enthusiast, deserve to be the judge of that. (Hit the jump for the clips…)

Below are series of videos provided by HBO showing two scenes in both 4:3 and 16:9. One, according to Simon, works better, while another does not. We won’t tell you which is which. See what you think.

This first scene is from Season 2, Episode 12, “Port in a Storm.“

Standard Definition

High Definition

The next clip is from Season 1, Episode 1, “The Target.”

Standard Definition

High Definition

It doesn’t seem like a lot on the surface, but there’s huge differences between these clips in terms of cinematography and mise-en-scène. It’s remarkable how a tweak like this can affect the final product in such substantive ways.

No promise that we’ll ever buy the Blu-ray series, but these clips alone are a fascinating case study of the transition between formats.

This film critic’s child grew up – with some help from the Terminator

Do you remember your first R-rated movie? Many people probably merged into the world of violent and dark films without great fanfare, but for others, graduating from PG-13 to R is a rite of passage and a sign that, yes, a parent figure thinks that you’re mature enough to enjoy that sort of movie. If … Continue reading “This film critic’s child grew up – with some help from the Terminator”

If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming, inspiring story about this passage into young adulthood, look no further than a recent post from film critic Drew McWeeny. McWeeny showed his son an R-rated movie for the first time, in a very personal blog post, he explains his son’s extreme enthusiasm for The Terminator and what it’s like watching a child take that first step into an unexplored, adult realm of culture. It’s a beautiful, emotional piece, generally about growing up but specifically about watching the next generation become film enthusiasts.

We’ll let McWeeny’s article speak for itself. It’s touching and highly worth a read if you get the warm-and-fuzzies thinking about the future relevance and magic of film.