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UK film critic doesn't understand using HDTV to watch old movies, why kids are on his lawn

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 16th 2009 at 6:51PM


Another day, another ignorant article about high definition. This time it's Peter Bradshaw, film critic for Guardian.co.uk, claiming Humphrey Bogart would have any cameraman approximating a "high definition" effect thrown off the set. Blatantly ignoring the fact that movies of that era were made on 35mm film with more resolution than even 1080p Blu-ray can display, Bradshaw claims that instead of a HDTV, viewers would be better off with a standard definition projector and DVDs. This is all in response to a recent Sky ad campaign (check out the video with Sir Anthony Hopkins dropping in Rutger Hauer's Blade Runner monologue after the break, plus the original) promoting the broadcaster's new HD transfers, allowing home viewing of many older films in quality that would be impossible unless you'd seen it the first week in theaters, and with sound that likely surpasses anything available at the time. What someone should explain to Mr. Bradshaw and so many others with this misconception is that HDTV allows us to see the movie closer to the way it was meant to be seen when it was originally mastered, with all the detail that was present. Provided a high quality transfer, there's plenty of reasons to catch old flicks in a new format, so spread the word.

Continue reading UK film critic doesn't understand using HDTV to watch old movies, why kids are on his lawn

The Dark Knight director hungry for more IMAX

by Darren Murph posted Dec 13th 2008 at 2:29PM


IMAX has been around for years, while 3D is just now starting to really infiltrate the theater scene. Curiously, it looks as if 3D will have more of the alternate cinema market share than IMAX in no time flat, despite IMAX's tremendous advantage in launch time. Thanks to The Dark Knight, however, IMAX could receive that much-needed breath of life it has been waiting for. Director Christopher Nolan has reportedly stated that he'd like to shoot an entire film for IMAX, even though it would undoubtedly be down-converted for playback on traditional screens. He did admit that the noisiness of the camera could cause issues, but that's nothing a hard-working set pusher couldn't overcome. For those who viewed the latest installment of Batman in theaters, many were most captivated by the expansive IMAX sequences -- in fact, we'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't want an entire film to look like that.

[Via FirstShowing]

Clint Eastwood edges closer to shooting in HD

by Darren Murph posted Dec 16th 2006 at 2:57AM

Sure, we'd expect a legend like Clint Eastwood to stick to his theoretical guns when it comes to manhandling the cameras on the sets of Flags of our Fathers and the forthcoming Iwo Jima, but when HD camcorders almost win out against the tried and true 35mm film approach, we can't help but take notice. Eastwood admits that he, alongside a bevy of experts, ran a series of tests between scenes shot in HD versus film, and while he couldn't quite "reach the black levels" nor "control the atmosphere" as well as he wanted with HD cams, even he admits they came awfully close. He claimed the biggest dig against current HD rigs was their size, citing a need for ultra-fine HD capturing machinery that's uber-small as well before he could shoot an entire film with it. Still, he was able to utilize a series of Sony HVR-Z1U HDV cameras inside "prop 50-caliber machine-gun ammunition cases" after ruling out Panasonic's HVX-200 due to a lack of FireStore availability, and eventually blended a good bit of that content into the feature film. Mr. Eastwood admitted that HD wasn't quite where he needed it to be just yet, but felt very hopeful about its future in the motion picture industry, and if we had to guess, we'd say it won't be too much longer before HD technology will be "making his day."

[Via DVGuru]




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