One Battle After Another in VistaVision: A Stunning Cinematic Experience

[ad_1]

There are numerous perks to dwelling in Los Angeles. The obvious is the climate, i.e. the dearth of snow. A detailed second to the climate, although, is the cinema, and the things you get to experience here you could nearly nowhere else, like seeing One Battle After Another in VistaVision like I did on Friday night time.

The Vista Theater in Los Angeles is one in every of simply 4 theaters in your entire world that’s projecting director Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie within the VistaVision format. Fortunately, I stay pretty near the Vista, however truthfully, even when I had not, I’d have made an additional trek to be in such rarefied theatrical air.

These three-plus hours earlier than, throughout, and after the movie equate to simply top-of-the-line cinematic experiences of my life, not far behind the raucous 2022 BeyondFest screening of RRR on the TCL Chinese language Theatre. Not solely was the movie truthfully one of the best I’ve seen in decades, however it was such a pristine presentation, with quite a lot of surprises.

What Is VistaVision? A Temporary Primer On The Iconic Format

VistaVision was created by Paramount in 1954, as a part of an effort to lure viewers out of their properties because of the introduction of tv units turning into increasingly more prevalent in each American dwelling. Whereas regular 35mm cameras had the movie inventory inserted vertically, the VistaVision course of re-oriented the digicam gate, with movie being inserted horizontally.

This resulted in a movie print with greater decision and a finer grain. It was additionally the studio’s reply, of kinds, to rising codecs like Cinerama in 1952 and CinemaScope in 1953. Cinerama was shot on an unwieldy three-camera rig with all three strips projected side-by-side on a curved display screen, although CinemaScope used only one strip, introducing anamorphic lenses.

1954’s White Christmas was the primary movie shot in VistaVision, with different classics such because the John Wayne and John Ford Western The Searchers, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and North By Northwest filmed within the format. Nevertheless, it rapidly fell out of trend with the rise of Panavision cameras and improved movie inventory.

The final movie totally shot in VistaVsion was One-Eyed Jacks in 1961, however VistaVision did not disappear fully. Visible results guru John Dykstra modified a VistaVision digicam to create what grew to become known as the Dykstraflex camera, the primary ever digital movement management pictures system that was used for intricate photographs within the unique 1977 traditional Star Wars.

All through the a long time that adopted, VistaVision cameras had been used sparingly for advanced photographs in movies like The Darkish Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Cranium, Inception and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Director Brady Corbet grew to become the primary filmmaker in a long time to shoot his 2024 movie The Brutalist totally in VistaVision, although it wasn’t projected within the format.

Now director Paul Thomas Anderson is sparking a full revival of VistaVision with One Battle After One other, and after being one of many fortunate few who had been capable of watch the movie on opening night time within the format it was supposed to be seen, the outcomes had been nothing wanting extraordinary.

The VistaVision Expertise In a Nutshell

Watching a movie projected in a 1.5:1 side ratio generally is a bit jarring at first. Nonetheless, it does not take lengthy to see how completely beautiful this print and this format is. Each shot — from sweeping desert vistas, to probably the most subtly intense “automotive chase” scenes I’ve ever seen — is solely immaculate.

Except for The Vista, you may see One Battle After One other in VistaVision at Regal Union Sq. 17 in New York Metropolis, Odeon Luxe Leicester Sq. in London and Coolidge Nook Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts.

VistaVision was designed, as PTA explained in a video earlier this month, “to attempt to determine find out how to use a bigger portion of the 35mm digicam unfavorable,” and also you understand rapidly how a lot you have been lacking. Merely put, the shifting picture put forth by a grasp craftsman like PTA is probably essentially the most gorgeous movie I’ve ever seen.

Since 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 ratios have been normalized a lot through the years, you may assume you would be “lacking” one thing with a 1.5:1, however that could not be farther from the reality. In truth, its magnificence lies in its effectivity, with the format honing in on exactly what PTA desires you to see, whereas permitting a beautiful presentation.

Oh, additionally, it does not harm that the movie itself is probably the perfect I’ve seen in a long time. Consider the hype. It’s actual.

A Few L.A. Surprises

I’ve lived in Los Angeles for nearly 18 years, although, sadly, I’ve not spent as a lot time at The Vista as I most likely ought to have. The one-screen revival theater is probably finest identified for its resurrection by Quentin Tarantino, and for having a lot legroom you can actually park a bike between rows. Sure, I am critical.

I arrived roughly 25 minutes earlier than the 6:30 PM screening, and once I noticed the road was already gone, I knew I ought to have arrived earlier. Naturally, all the nice seats had been taken. The road for concessions was midway down the aisle, so I simply skipped it and located an aisle seat within the third row.

I observed a photographer milling across the northeast exit, so I deduced they had been going to convey somebody out to introduce the movie. I assumed it might be PTA. I used to be shocked to see not solely the writer-director, but additionally Leonardo DiCaprio and good newcomer Chase Infiniti, stroll by these doorways to ship a tremendous intro you may watch beneath.

It is also value noting that, upon getting my ticket scanned on the door, they handed out these small playing cards to patrons. The playing cards featured containers for all six codecs that One Battle After One other was being screened in — VistaVision, IMAX 70MM, IMAX, Dolby, 70MM and 4DX — with white containers that may be stamped to suggest every screening.

20250927_111117(1) — The cardboard handed out on the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles that signifies every of the six codecs One Battle After One other is being screened in, which followers can get stamped with every format.

It is exceedingly uncommon that I see something in theaters greater than as soon as. I’ve many mates that may insist on seeing movies they honestly love upwards of a dozen occasions in theaters, although that is simply by no means one thing I’ve completed. Till now. I’ve each intention of seeing One Battle After One other in each single one in every of these six codecs.

It is also value noting that the younger lady who handed the cardboard to me additionally stated that when you see the movie in all six codecs there may be “a prize” that may be claimed, presumably after posting on social media.

Is It Price Seeing One Battle After One other In VistaVision?

Sure. 1000% sure. In case you reside in or are even remotely near Los Angeles, New York Metropolis, London or Brookline, Massachusetts, purchase a ticket for One Battle After One other in VistaVision, and prepare for a deal with. PTA, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti and Benicio del Toro are all astonishing and can likely get Oscar nods.

It is simply the perfect movie I’ve seen all yr, maybe even the perfect of the twenty first century. Films like this in a format like this had been designed to convey individuals to theaters, and I can solely hope they present up en masse, as a result of the movie and the VistaVision expertise are completely value it.