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Never Cursed wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 2:59 am Yeah, my point is more: why not play what's probably the most rewatchable 70mm film of all time every year you commit to a 70mm festival? If there's one movie that perfectly explains the appeal and power of large format, it's that one

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 3:30 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 6:05 am They also played it in 2023. In 2024 it played in MoMI's "See It Big" series, so it's possible that the owner of the print is concerned about wear and they're limiting its bookings to one NYC venue per year.

I have seen that Playtime 70mm print four times since my first viewing in 2005. The print is starting to show some wear and tear and could use a new one, but I doubt it will happen and the owners would probably rather run a DCP at this point. Even if they did, I can’t imagine it being another contact print and would see them going the easy route of a digital to film-out print. It’s also worth noting that I’m not sure about the staff at the Paris Theater or their equipment, but I was told they were the second venue for a new 70mm print of Vertigo a few years ago and they apparently damaged the print.

hearthesilence wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 7:09 am

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 6:05 am They also played it in 2023. In 2024 it played in MoMI's "See It Big" series, so it's possible that the owner of the print is concerned about wear and they're limiting its bookings to one NYC venue per year.

Yeah, it can be tough to book rare prints for that exact reason. I posted this before, but even though Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid gets shown regularly around New York City, they don't always have a film print. (IIRC the available DCP was made from a 16mm print, which explains why it looks so crummy.) I think there's only TWO existing 35mm prints that ever get shown: the BFI's print, which I've never seen, and the Academy's immaculate print. When Metrograph screened the Academy's print, they made it clear that it was a tough process, with the Academy going the extra mile of checking out the venue's insurance policy among other things. Elaine May just had a retrospective at Lincoln Center, making an appearance herself, and yet even there they weren't able to book the film at all, sadly an egregious omission.

I’ve seen that BFI print and can attest that it looks excellent. Beautiful, dark colors with no fading and minor damage. The DCP is a scan made from a 16mm optical reduction print (so several generations removed from the negative) distributed by AGFA and made by Muscle Distribution’s Elizabeth Purchell. From my understanding, it often screens in a legal grey zone.

But the difficulty of being able to screen prints is a real phenomenon. Without giving names, a major venue in Los Angeles with union staff apparently damaged an Academy print and the Academy refused to send a print again to them for a year. I work in art and there’s similar logistics when dealing with different types of material. I’ll never forget one lender not allowing a certain artwork that was a centerpiece to the artist’s career out because of the museum’s ancient HVAC system.

schlockvalue wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 7:33 pm Every screening of my Heartbreak Kid DCP was cleared through BMS -- the idea behind scanning that 16mm print was just to make a more proper (but of course flawed) HD version of the film accessible to theaters that either couldn't get one of the two circulating 35mm prints or that can't run film. AGFA also had nothing to do with that project.