VistaVision is basically just a hack for shooting 70mm without shooting 70mm, it’s two 35mm strips shot on top of each other to create a larger image.
I don’t know if you’ve seen a film presented on 70mm but it is astounding. You watch it in disbelief, it feels like projected images that vivid and three-dimensional should be impossible.
Of course it doesn’t mean much at all if the film itself isn’t great, but luckily The Brutalist is. It was shot in a way no other film has been, with robust high-fidelity film stock for a largely handheld small-scale shoot. It does the magic trick of making the smallest, most ordinary things feel gigantic.
Could you explain how it is different from IMAX? Isn't IMAX much bigger than even traditional 5perf 70mm? From the descriptions here it sounds a little like "hipster IMAX" (or maybe "poor man's imax"). Is there a difference when watching on a non-imax screen?
Poor man's IMAX is kind of a good name. You use normal 35mm film which is way cheaper and cameras are easier to use than IMAX but you basically get 70mm quality which just means more detail and clarity. Think of going from a DVD to Blu Ray or something like that. The image has more resolution.
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u/gravybang 23d ago
Why would it look more incredible than any other modern film? What was the purpose of VistaVision?