Austin cinephiles heads are exploding, a la David Cronenberg‘s Scanners but in a good way, after the announcement that the Alamo Ritz will begin screening films shot in glorious 70mm. If you’ve been wondering what was inside that huge crate in the Ritz lobby a few weeks back, now you know. Huzzah!
Ostensibly part of the new programming series “Presented in AlamoScope: 70mm at the Ritz,” the new projection system opens the door to a bounty of movie magnificence rarely seen coming out of Hollywood these days.
One notable exception, and one of the main motivators behind AlamoScope, is the fact that Paul Thomas Anderson shot his highly anticipated new film The Master in the oversized format.
Alamo CEO Tim League is quoted in the press release, saying “Paul Thomas Anderson has bucked the trend of digital conversion and shot his new American epic The Master in glorious 70mm. As an homage to his bold ambition, we have made a long-term commitment to celebrate 70mm, both as a lead-up to the release of his new film and as an integral part of our programming for years to come.”
This is seriously kickass news, seeing as how the Alamo has slotted such 70mm classics as Baraka, West Side Story, Playtime, Ghostbusters, Cleopatra, and Raiders of the Lost Ark as part of their 70mm series.
But why stop there? Here’s our suggestions for some other (often overlooked) 70mm classics worthy of your time and exuberant attention: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Lord Jim, Grand Prix, and, OMG YES, PLEASE, Howard Hughes‘s favorite cold war epic, Ice Station Zebra. Hellzyeah! We’re going to start growing our fingernails horrifically long and commence pissing in mason jars just to prepare for that last one.
Here’s everything else you need to know.
This article appears in August 10 • 2012.