One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2025)

[Zot!]

The IMAX print is 15-perf, meaning the image will technically be letterboxed to fit the IMAX aspect ratio. Then there's also 5-perf 70mm for standard 70mm systems.

I managed to get tickets to the LA preview on the 24th on Vistavision. I remember speaking with folk at Boston Light and Sound months back who said they were preparing a projector for Vistavision for new restorations at TCM fest and presumedly they're doing the same for the LA screening at the Vista considering they helped design the projection system there.

Ah thanks, yeah, so they will be unique prints to be able to play on the IMAX equipment, but presumably will look not too different, though IMAX theater geometry is a bit over the top for me.

Concerning the Vistavision (per in70mm.com)

• Warner Brothers will release the film in authentic 35mm 8-perf VistaVision in three cinemas. One in Europe, and two in the US. All three places will be equipped with Ballantynes version of a "sidewinder" projector. Newly-built oversized non-rewind 'Mega'-Platters have been developed by Film-Tech, to hold the long amount of film necessary to contain the entire movie in one piece. No need for reel changes in playback. Sound will be DTS (DATASAT) audio, with the changes being that the time code is outside the perforations, and the subwoofer channel audio is discrete. Unlike the way it's been done before in which the subwoofer audio was derived out of the LE and/or RE channels.

Unfortunately not a realistic option for me.

[hearthesilence]

Ehrlich on Twitter:

One Battle After Another might be the best movie released by a major American studio since I started working as a critic (~2010). distressing how little else comes to mind!

I can believe it. I looked over my favorites since 2010, and I think The Social Network and the HBO series Mildred Pierce (if that counts) are the only ones that originated as major studio productions, at least the "old" media studios. But significantly, that doesn't include big streamers like Apple and Netflix, and there are a handful of great films that were distributed by someone like Fox Searchlight.

[Drucker]

For people in NYC. I couldn't get vistavision showtimes to work on the website but I was able to on the app. Tons of seats from what I see.

[allyouzombies]

For people in NYC. I couldn't get vistavision showtimes to work on the website but I was able to on the app. Tons of seats from what I see.

I'm looking at the app now. I see two separate listings for the movie. One says "One Battle After Another: First Showing in Film (VV)", but the only showtimes available are on the 24th, which are sold out. The other listing seems to just be the regular non-VV screenings...

EDIT: Nevermind, I see them now.

[Farley Flavors]

The IMAX print is 15-perf, meaning the image will technically be letterboxed to fit the IMAX aspect ratio. Then there's also 5-perf 70mm for standard 70mm systems.

Ah thanks, yeah, so they will be unique prints to be able to play on the IMAX equipment, but presumably will look not too different, though IMAX theater geometry is a bit over the top for me.

According to imdb (to be fair, not the most reliable of sources) the IMAX 70mm prints will use the full 1.43:1 screen, shaving a little from either side of the 1.5:1 VistaVision negative. The 5-perf 70mm prints will be 2.20:1, losing some picture info from the top and bottom.

[Guido]

Wow — going from an aspect ratio of 1.5:1 to 2.20:1 for 5-perf 70mm?! Seems like a huge loss of picture info. I wonder what'll end up being the "canonical" ar when this hits physical/streaming.

[Zot!]

Wow — going from an aspect ratio of 1.5:1 to 2.20:1 for 5-perf 70mm?! Seems like a huge loss of picture info. I wonder what'll end up being the "canonical" ar when this hits physical/streaming.

I have to guess that the preferred format is the VV 1.50:1, as that is the shot ratio.

The 70mm 2.20:1 seems like a weird extra effort to do a prestige presentation in an arbitrary format when they could of course just present it in 35mm.

I don't know what PTA is playing at anyways, I don't think anything on VV has ever been projected in native 1.50:1....and it's intended purpose was to support a wide format. Like Vertigo was 1.85 : 1.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I feel pretty confident that IMDb info is nonsense. To buy that you have to believe that Anderson framed this for three radically different ARs (1.43/1.50:1, 1.85:1, and 2.20:1) and that for some reason he's decided he now must utilize the entire 2:20:1 frame for 5-perf 70mm exhibition even though The Master, Inherent Vice, and Phantom Thread were all pillarboxed to 1.85:1. (Licorice Pizza was apparently 2.20:1 on 70mm but that was shot in 'Scope, so it was a much smaller difference.)

[mfunk9786]

I feel pretty confident that IMDb info is nonsense. To buy that you have to believe that Anderson framed this for three radically different ARs (1.43/1.50:1, 1.85:1, and 2.20:1)

From everything I have read about the multiple formats of exhibition of this film, he did matte for all of these ARs. I am not a massive fan of this personally, but also have no real problem with it and find it vastly preferable to constantly switching from ratio to ratio during said exhibition.

My best guess is that the disc release will be 1.85:1, but we'll have to see.

[Zot!]

Whatever PT, you hope I make it to 3 exclusive one-day screenings? I think you might be going impossibly against the grain here. Also Criterion and Arrow released the BD of One Eyed Jacks in 1.85:1 (as supervised by Spielberg and Scorsese)...which as far as I understand was how they typically projected it at the time.

[beamish14]

They’re not one day screenings. It’s playing in VistaVision 70 for 3 weeks in L.A.

[Zot!]

Oh okay, the NYC one made makes it seem like it is one night only (but that is just the early preview)...that would certainly make more sense.

[Black Hat]

For people in NYC. I couldn't get vistavision showtimes to work on the website but I was able to on the app. Tons of seats from what I see.

Which website/app?

edit: Am I to understand the only vistavision screenings you could have bought tickets for were the 24th at the Regal?

[Drucker]

Negative. If you use the Regal app you will see VistaVision as an option for several weeks out. I don't know how to take screenshots on my phone and post them sorry.
Edit: dropped it in this link for you

[Black Hat]

Ah, I don't have the app. Incredible how. many majority useless products you have to attach yourself to these days to have an enjoyable experience.

[Drucker]

At this same Regal, I was at the Neil Young Harvest screening where multiple people walked in with tickets to the same seat, because the theater's booking system seemingly didn't reflect seats already purchased in app.

[Black Hat]

Not surprising. I can't remember the last time I went to this theater, 10 years? Surprising they're doing the vistavision screening.

[FrauBlucher]

Spielberg raves

[bearcuborg]

Just got my ticket for a VistaVision screening on the 25th. Having dinner at Le Bernardin. Should be quite a day. This will the first PTA film I’ve seen since 2007.

[GaryC]

Wow — going from an aspect ratio of 1.5:1 to 2.20:1 for 5-perf 70mm?! Seems like a huge loss of picture info. I wonder what'll end up being the "canonical" ar when this hits physical/streaming.

I have to guess that the preferred format is the VV 1.50:1, as that is the shot ratio.

The 70mm 2.20:1 seems like a weird extra effort to do a prestige presentation in an arbitrary format when they could of course just present it in 35mm.

I don't know what PTA is playing at anyways, I don't think anything on VV has ever been projected in native 1.50:1....and it's intended purpose was to support a wide format. Like Vertigo was 1.85 : 1.

If it's to be shown in 1.50:1, as well as the newly-installed projector they'd have to produce new projector lenses and aperture plates for the 35mm VistaVision showings as to the best of my knowledge that's never been an aspect ratio for 35mm projection. For what it's worth, the two official trailers now online are in 1.85:1, so that's my best guess for the ratio all formats will be shown in. All PTA's 70mm releases from The Master except for Licorice Pizza were shown in 1.85:1 (I saw all of them except for Inherent Vice, which didn't get a 70mm print in the UK), so projected in 2.20:1 with pillarboxing. IMAX 15/70 is a first for a PTA film but I guess that will be 1.43:1 letterboxed into 1.85:1. But I could be wrong. We'll see.

I intend to see this in VistaVision at the Odeon Leicester Square, as I'm certain I've never had an opportunity to see a film projected from an 8/35 print before. There were only a handful of cinemas able to show VistaVision prints back in the 1950s, though I understand at least one of those was in London.

[Farley Flavors]

I intend to see this in VistaVision at the Odeon Leicester Square, as I'm certain I've never had an opportunity to see a film projected from an 8/35 print before. There were only a handful of cinemas able to show VistaVision prints back in the 1950s, though I understand at least one of those was in London.

The London location was, in fact, the Odeon Leicester Square, where the two VistaVision projectors were shoehorned into the booth on either side of the exising three projectors.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

IMAX 15/70 is a first for a PTA film but I guess that will be 1.43:1 letterboxed into 1.85:1. But I could be wrong. We'll see.

There's an IMAX 15/70 version of the trailer and it's full-frame 1.43:1. The scuttlebutt is (as mentioned earlier in the thread) that the VistaVision, IMAX 15/70, and 5/70 prints will all be full-frame, which means a pretty big variation given that the shooting format was 1.50:1 and 5/70 is 2.20:1, but then it's not as big a difference as e.g. the majority of Oppenheimer that was shot on 15/70, then projected at 1.43:1 on IMAX prints and cropped to 2.39:1 for 35mm.

[therewillbeblus]

Coolidge Corner in the Boston area will now be the fourth(?) place to show it in VistaVision

[GaryC]

IMAX 15/70 is a first for a PTA film but I guess that will be 1.43:1 letterboxed into 1.85:1. But I could be wrong. We'll see.

There's an IMAX 15/70 version of the trailer and it's full-frame 1.43:1. The scuttlebutt is (as mentioned earlier in the thread) that the VistaVision, IMAX 15/70, and 5/70 prints will all be full-frame, which means a pretty big variation given that the shooting format was 1.50:1 and 5/70 is 2.20:1, but then it's not as big a difference as with e.g. the majority of Oppenheimer that was shot on 15/70, then projected at 1.43:1 on IMAX prints but cropped to 2.39:1 for 35mm.

Sinners, which I saw in 15/70, was an even bigger difference - full-frame 1.43:1 for the IMAX-shot material, 2.76:1 for the rest of the film, shot in 65mm Ultra Panavision. I presume DCPs will crop or letterbox accordingly and most likely show at 2.39:1. As with the Nolan films, I guess the shots are composed so that you can crop without too much ill effect. I saw Oppenheimer first in 15/70 and then in 70mm, which was 2.20;1 throughout.

[Zot!]

It really is unfortunate that they've manage to make something as laudable as actual film screenings for the heads into this weird gatekept free-for-all. Don't forget of course there is also a 1.85:1 35mm/digital print as well. Nevertheless looking forward to seeing something next week.