There is no question that Quentin Tarantino‘s The Hateful Eight is one of our most anticipated films of the year. We know that we are being given the option to see the film in 70mm, and that Tarantino is retrofitting at least 50 theaters so that we can see the movie in Ultra Panavision 70. As exciting as it sounds to be able to see a film in such a rare format, the director is now saying that those who will see it in 70mm will see a very different cut from those who see it in the regular multiplex. So much so that there is even an intermission time.
More on the story below.
Tarantino revealed the latest news to Variety:
“The roadshow version has an overture and an intermission, and it will be three hours, two minutes. The multiplex version is about six minutes shorter, not counting the intermission time, which is about 12 minutes.”
The two-time Oscar winner was not ordered to truncate the film for wider release. Rather, he liked the idea of the roadshow experience having a little something extra. “Nor did I want to treat the multiplex release like this left-handed version, either,” he said. So he tweaked certain scenes to better suit the separate viewing experiences.
So in addition to the 70mm film being six minutes longer cut than the regular one, there will also be an intermission, which will run at about 12 minutes. Tarantino’s goal here is to give moviegoers an unforgettable experience, and one that you cannot replicate.
The 70 is the 70,” he said. “You’ve paid the money. You’ve bought your ticket. So you’re there. I’ve got you. But I actually changed the cutting slightly for a couple of the multiplex scenes because it’s not that. Now it’s on Showtime Extreme. You’re watching it on TV and you just kind of want to watch a movie on your couch. Or you’re at Hot Dog on a Stick and you just want to catch a movie.”
The sequences in question play in “big, long, cool, unblinking takes” in the 70mm version, Tarantino said. “It was awesome in the bigness of 70, but sitting on your couch, maybe it’s not so awesome. So I cut it up a little bit. It’s a little less precious about itself.”
The lenses used to film The Hateful Eight are the same ones that were used for Ben-Hur, The Battle of the Bulge, Mutiny on the Bounty, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Only one set of the lenses were made, making The Hateful Eight an even more exciting watch. And while that sounds great, we still don’t know which of the 50 theaters will show the movie. In fact, there are only a few theaters capable of the conversion to such a large format. Of course major markets like Los Angeles and New York will be getting them, but what about those who don’t live in the vicinity of those theaters? That information is still to come.
The Hateful Eight is slated for a December 25, 2015 release, with a wide digital release to hit theaters on January 8, 2016.
Here’s the premise of the film:
In The Hateful Eight, set six or eight or twelve years after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren (Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob (Bichir), who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray (Roth), the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage (Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all”¦
[Source: Variety]
Tarantino is so damn cool.
Comment by KLD — October 13, 2015 @ 4:11 pm