Movie Alert - 7/26/2023

Here's all the good shit I highly recommend checking out.

My spoiler-free Oppenheimer thoughts

I just got back from Oppenheimer, and without spoiling anything story-wise, I’ll relay some of my thoughts about its digital specs. I saw it in 70mm IMAX at the Chinese Theatre and I loved the 1.43 aspect ratio scenes. I was surprised to see it switches quite a bit between 1.43 (more square) and 1.9 (more rectangular), as well as between color and black-and-white. I only found out after the movie that Oppenheimer is the first film to shoot sections on IMAX black-and-white photographic film, which Kodak created and FotoKem developed specifically for Christopher Nolan.

Dario Argento in 16mm

My favorite local indie theater, the Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills, has been dipping its toe in the repertory waters for a few months. They’ve been working with See It On 16mm to show a few interesting things, including a scheduled Dario Argento 16mm film coming up in a few weeks. The film itself is a surprise, although from my research I believe there are only 16mm prints of Four Flies on Gray Velvet, The Cat o’ Nine Tails, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

How do these exist in 16mm?

To clarify, none of those films were actually shot in 16mm. The film they will be showing was originally shot and printed on 35mm, then reduced down to 16mm. According to See It On 16mm founder Michael Aguirre, this is an original 16mm print from the era, so “expect a very ‘grindhouse’ experience.”

The reason these prints exist in the first place: 35mm prints were created for movie theaters, while 16mm prints were struck for libraries and small screenings. Many films were never even reduced down to 16mm. There’s a vibrant collector scene forming around 16mm collection because it’s quite rare in the case of many films… like Argento’s!

Brain Dead’s schedule

Brain Dead Studios just dropped their August schedule. I’m generally not a fan of this theater because 1. they show mostly digital films although they have a film projector and 2. the crowds are a little rowdy. But there’s occasionally a gem or two. Here are some fun ones, though ticket sales aren’t live yet:

• Masked & Anonymous in 35mm - this is the movie Bob Dylan wrote under a pseudonym and stars in

• The Decameron in 35mm - an iconic Pasolini

• Citizen Kane in 35mm - if you’ve never seen this one on a print, could be worth checking out

• Twin Peaks: Firewalk With Me in 35mm - I’ve never even see this in a film print!

• F For Fake in 35mm - this is the notorious Orson Welles documentary

• Throne of Blood in 35mm - another Kurosawa

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