Watch A New 30-Second TV Spot; LA Arclight 70mm Tix Onsale Now

A new 30 second TV spot for "The Master" entitled "Truth" has arrived via Fandango though we're having trouble keeping track at this point on what is new footage and what's been previously released. It's pretty nice, regardless and will probably be the first of many.

We also have a little ticketing news for you folks in NY and LA. Tickets for the 70mm showings of "The Master" on opening weekend at the Arclight Dome are now onsale. Click now because they will be going fast. In NYC, it looks like the film will be playing exclusively in 70mm (just waiting on confirmation) at the Village East Cinema on 9/14 and expanding wider on 9/21 including another 70mm spot at the Cinemas 1, 2 & 3 uptown. Tickets should go onsale "in the coming weeks" according to the theatre. Will let you know when we know more. Stay tuned to Twitter for the latest updates.

#THEMASTER70MM 

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Amy Adams Talks ‘The Master' On Letterman; New Clip Arrives

Amy Adams was the first from "The Master" crew to hit the talk show circuit with an appearance on Late Night With David Letterman last night where she discussed the film, her co-star Joaquin Phoenix who she called "awesome" and the "S" word. There was also a new never-before-seen 30 second spot during a commercial break and a short 30 second Adams-centric clip from the film which you can watch below. We'll update this post when we get the new commercial. (thanks to The Film Stage and Xixax for the videos.)

Watch The 2nd Theatrical Trailer For ‘The Master' Now

IMDB has just posted the second theatrical trailer for "The Master," which our readers may recognize as the same one we posted about a few weeks ago playing before "The Bourne Legacy" in selected theatres. If you look closely you'll get a little glimpse at Melora Walters in the teaser-length promo which also features a handful of scenes not seen in all previous clips. Thanks to many of our astute readers for the headsup!

#THEMASTER70MM 

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Interview: La Repubblica

  
Note: This interview was translated from Italian to English with the help of reader Stefano Cattaneo.

‘The Master' Exclusive San Francisco Screening Poster

"The Master" screened again on Tuesday night for those lucky enough to be in San Francisco and score tickets to the special event at the Castro Theatre. We've read various accounts of some lucky attendees via Twitter and it's great to see people so touched by getting to spend a few moments with Paul. Hopefully CJ will chime in sometime soon with his own thoughts on the event but in the meantime we've got a look at the limited edition print being sold at the event signed by the man himself. (Image via @Power_Lloyd) Not to be too cryptic but stay tuned, we should have something very special for you guys coming up in the near-ish future.

‘The Master' Screening In San Francisco Tomorrow Night; New Teaser Is Here

Just moments ago Al Rose Promotions unveiled another special teaser trailer featuring a coda advertising yet another benefit screening for "The Master," this one to be held tomorrow night at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. You will recall that Paul held a special advance screening of "There Will Be Blood" at the very same theatre 5 years ago and many had pegged this as a possibility on his "The Master" unofficial secret screenings tour. Like the Chicago screening, this will also benefit the Film Foundation and tickets will be $10. Believe that my Cigs & Vines partner CJ will be in attendance at this event so if you see him, feel free to say hello.

Get your tickets here.

#THEMASTER70MM 

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Paul Gives His First Interview On ‘The Master'; Amy Adams Says She “Kinda Worships Him"

After 2+ years of silence, the dam has finally broken and PTA and co. have begun actually discussing "The Master" in some detail in various publications. Paul gave his first-ever interview on the film to Newsweek which we've archived here but be warned there are some spoilers. A few safe excerpts are below:

Interview: Newsweek

Secrets of ‘The Master’

Inside director P.T. Anderson’s ‘Scientology movie. 

by David Ansen Aug 20, 2012 1:00 AM EDT
 

Scene for scene, shot for shot, Paul Thomas Anderson may be the most exciting American writer-director of his generation. He’s a kind of cinematic chemist who works with unstable, dangerously flammable human particles. At any moment his characters—and his movies—are capable of exploding, and there’s no telling which way the shards will fly, or, as in Magnolia, the frogs will drop. Think of the seething ambition of Daniel Day-Lewis’s power-hungry oil magnate in There Will Be Blood; the powder keg of anger underneath the shy Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love; the cold, narcissistic fury behind the cocky surface of Tom Cruise’s sex-guru in Magnolia; the coke-fueled desperation of the porn-world denizens in his exhilarating Boogie Nights. There are rarely conventional heroes and villains in Anderson’s emotionally charged sagas, and that’s one of the reasons his movies feel so alive; he keeps us out of the comfort zone of predictable Hollywood formulas.

‘The Master' Screened Secretly In NYC Last Night...Twice

Update 8/27: Mike Maggiore, programmer and publicist for the Film Forum reached out recently to us to say that no screening took place at the Film Forum, so it appears our source may have been confused... The screening at MoMI definitely took place since it was confirmed through multiple sources including Paul's assistant.

Updated 8/20: It appears that these may have been friends & industry screenings not meant for the public to stumble onto like the LA screening a few weeks ago. Not that a few lucky attendees didn't do just that.

Yes, 3 days after my Chicago adventure, "The Master" arrived in my backyard for not one but two secret screenings last night. The film played at the Film Forum to around 100 people reportedly in 70mm around 8pm and again at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens sometime after that. Paul was spotted in attendance for both screenings though it doesn't appear he did any sort of introduction or post-show Q&A. He introduced the film by saying "roll it." (Thanks @GusCruz) As with the surprise at the Aero these were completely unannounced, under-the-radar screenings, so almost nobody knew about them beforehand (which is just the way Paul wanted it). That sound you hear right now is an entire city of cinephiles kicking themselves for not going to check out "Taxi Driver" at MoMI last night. Paul seems to be having a ball showing up with his little surprise all over the country so keep your fingers crossed and your eyes peeled. There could be more to come...

#THEMASTER70MM 

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Expect The Unexpected; ‘The Master' Screens In Chicago

As you're probably well aware by now, "The Master" had its second public screening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago on Thursday night. The screening had come about due to an article posted over at Time Out Chicago which pointed out the venue as an ideal place to show the film in 70mm, which prompted our own campaign to find more 70mm screens that would be able to show the film. Like the LA screening, this one too was something of a surprise for audiences, but unlike the first screening, fans had a 24 hour heads up.

We here at Cigs & Vines may have gotten word of this surprise a day or so earlier but it didn't look like CJ or myself would be able to make it to Chicago on such short notice. However fate smiled on me that day and fortuitous circumstances led me to book a last minute flight from NYC to the Windy City for a whirlwind 12 hour trip. Some of you may have followed along on Twitter with my manic "Planes, Trains & Automobiles"-style adventure just getting to the venue on time and if so, thank you for your help and encouragement. (Ironically the film would end up playing in my own city about 3 days later but I still wouldn't trade the experience for anything.)

Though he didn't introduce the film or come out for a Q&A or anything afterwards, Paul was indeed there for the screening, which began a few minutes after its scheduled 10pm start time. We were told via an introduction by Music Box general manager Dave Jennings that the film did not have end credits (which we suppose still qualifies this as "incomplete" so it can technically 'Premiere' at Venice and TIFF) but rest assured, what we were shown was the final cut. Because I don't want to spoil the film for you guys until you've had a chance to see it, this will not be a review but rather some brief impressions.

‘The Master' Screening In Chicago Tomorrow Night; New Trailer Is Here

A little surprise tonight popped up on Al Rose Promotions YouTube channel earlier tonight. Take a look below.


Yes, the film will have a surprise screening tomorrow night at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago in 70mm. Enjoy. More fun to come.

#THEMASTER70MM 

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Details Arrive For The New ‘The Master' Trailer Already In Theatres

Over the weekend we learned that a new trailer for "The Master" had already quietly made its way into theatres. We asked our readers to get back to us with any details for the new trailer and reader Nate Eggert responded with a detailed synopsis.

Details Arrive For Jonny Greenwood's ‘The Master' Soundtrack

As we told you on Sunday, "The Master" soundtrack will be released on September 11th via Nonesuch Records. Today Pitchfork has the details for this release including the tracklisting and a link to pre-order. See below:

1	Overtones	2:20
2	Time Hole	1:42
3	Back Beyond	3:42
4	Get Thee Behind Me Satan – Performed by Ella Fitzgerald	3:47
5	Alethia	4:06
6	Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me) – Performed by Madisen Beaty	1:36
7	Atomic Healer	1:24
8	Able-Bodied Seamen	3:54
9	The Split Saber	3:41
10	Baton Sparks	2:20
11	No Other Love – Performed by Jo Stafford	3:00
12	His Master's Voice	3:34
13	Application 45 Version 1	5:40
14	Changing Partners – Performed by Helen Forrest	2:42
15	Sweetness of Freddie	3:25

‘The Master' Confirmed For 70mm Screening At TIFF

Earlier today Cameron Bailey (Artistic Director at TIFF) tweeted that the Toronto International Film Festival would be adding a few more films to the already stacked lineup. So we sent a reply asking if perhaps #THEMASTER70MM would be one of the aforementioned Gala's (as rumored) and he decided to let the cat out of the bag a little bit early for us. 

@cigsandredvines You got it: THE MASTER in 70mm at #TIFF12

TIFF then confirmed this from their official account. More details will be forthcoming about the time/place of the screening but as you can imagine this is very, very exciting news for a few reasons, not least of which being that 1/2 of the Cigs & Vines team will be attending TIFF (me). Assuming PTA doesn't pull any more surprises in the next few weeks, this looks like it will also be the film's official North American Premiere shortly after its debut in Venice. So far all festival screenings have been confirmed for 70mm presentations. Are any Cigs & Vines readers going to TIFF this year? Will I see you there?

Update 8/14: The film has been added to the TIFF site with the following description, "So too does Anderson’s decision to use the cinephile’s ultimate visual palette — 70mm film. Flying in the face of the rapid shift to digital cinema, The Master was filmed in that high-resolution widescreen format, and will be presented in 70mm at the Festival. The effect is cumulative, and ultimately shattering." Can't wait.

#THEMASTER70MM 

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‘The Master' Soundtrack Coming September 11th; New Trailer Already In Theatres?

With just over a month to go, the marketing for "The Master" appears to be in full swing. We've now received two separate reports that there is a brand new trailer for "The Master" currently playing in theatres. The first report comes via @BrianDuffield who wrote us the following about the clip.

Hey, there was definitely a new trailer in front of BOURNE LEGACY. Joaquin banging a window while Hoffman spoke. Amazing. [It's] absolutely not [the previously released trailer]. It had Joaquin banging a window rhythmically through out. Adams shoots a rifle at one point. It had Hoffman being led away by police (different shot than others), yelling back at the house. Joaquin kissing in a car.

The trailer was playing at the AMC in Century City before the 7:30pm showing of "The Bourne Legacy" on Friday night so we put out the call on Twitter to readers to see if anyone else had seen it and received a confirmation from another reader @Hendyhandel  who confirmed "The new trailer's playing before "Bourne Legacy" at The Landmark in West LA. Window banging. AA fires a gun. It's legit." We assume this will makes its way online at some point but until then, if any other readers get a look at the trailer, please drop us a line with any further description.

Philip Seymour Hoffman & JoAnne Sellar Downplay ‘The Master's Scientology Connections In EW; Plus 15 New Images

The new Fall Movie Preview of issue of Entertainment Weekly has arrived and features a preview of "The Master" along with some quotes from Philip Seymour Hoffman and producer JoAnne Sellar about the project, specifically the connections to L. Ron Hubbard. (They both downplay them.) Quotes have been excerpted below.

"It's not the L. Ron Hubbard story. [Scientology] was one of the bigger movements at the time, but there were a lot of movements at that time," says Hoffman. "There's nothing about how I'm behaving or talking that echoes [Hubbard]. I thought of a lot of other bigger-than-life personalities, charismatic people like Orson Welles."

"People are going to have to draw their own conclusions to that aspect of the movie," says producer JoAnne Sellar. "[Anderson] is interested in how veterans came back from World War II. They were these lost souls who were uncertain about their future."

"Joaquin's character is like a beaten dog," says Hoffman. "No matter where he goes, [Quell] gets into severe trouble. And somehow I'm able to deal with him."

‘The Master' Will Screen In Austin In 70mm; PTA Says ‘Keeping 70mm Alive Is Important'

While "The Master" won't be screening at Fantastic Fest, Austin will be one of the cities getting a prestigious 70mm release at the Alamo Ritz theatre starting September 21. Again, we may have seen this coming but it makes the news no less exciting. (via Indiewire)

‘The Master' U.S. & International Release Dates

Special Screenings

8/3  Los Angeles, Aero Theatre (70mm)
8/16  Chicago, The Music Box Theatre (70mm)
8/19  New York, Museum of the Moving Image (70mm) 
8/21  San Francisco, Castro Theatre (70mm)
9/1  Venice Film Festival, Sala Grande Theatre, Palabiennale Theatre (70mm)
9/7-9/16  TIFF, Princess of Wales Theatre, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 (70mm)
9/10  Austin, Alamo Drafthouse (70mm)
9/11  New York, The Ziegfeld (70mm) 
10/7  Karlsruhe Germany, Schauburg Cinema (70mm) [source]
10/25  Melbourne Australia, Astor Theatre (70mm) [source]


70mm Engagements

9/14  New York, AMC Lincoln Square (70mm), Village East Cinema (70mm) [source]
9/14  Los Angeles, Arclight Cinemas (70mm) [source], The Landmark (70mm) [source]
9/21  Austin, Alamo Ritz (70mm) [source]
9/21  Boston, Coolidge Corner Theatre (70mm) [source]
9/21  Seattle, Cinerama (70mm) [source],
9/21  Oakland, Grand Lake Theater (70mm) [source]  
9/21  Silver Spring MD, AFI Theatre (70mm) [source]
9/21  New York, Ziegfeld Theatre (70mm) [source]
9/21  Toronto, Varsity Cinemas (70mm) [source]
11/2  London, Odeon West End (70mm) [source]
1/9  Paris, Cinema L'Arlequin (70mm) [source]

Update 9/18: PTA says, "We'll have 16 [70mm] prints total and it'll play in different theaters around the country and theaters worldwide - and that has just been kind of a miracle that we have been able to do that."

Update 8/16: Chicago Tribune reports that the film will have a 70mm rollout in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington DC & Austin with additional cities (Minneapolis, Denver & Ann Arbor) are "possibilities" as well.

U.S. Standard (35mm/DCP) Engagements

9/14  New York, The Anglika [source]
9/21  Boston, Kendall Square Cinema [source]
9/21  Seattle, Guild 45th Theatre [source]
9/21  Chicago [source]
9/21  San Francisco, Embarcadero Center Cinema, Sundance Kabuki Cinema [source]
9/21  Baltimore, The Charles Theatre [source]
9/21  Washington DC, Landmark E Street Cinema, Bethesda Row [source]
9/21  Philadelphia, The Ritz Five [source]
9/21  Cleveland, Cedar Lee Theatre [source]
9/21  Omaha, Film Streams [source]
9/21  Winston-Salem, Aperture Cinema [source]
9/21  Dayton, Neon Theatre [source]
9/21  Charleston, Terrace Theater [source]
9/21  Columbia MO, Ragtag Cinema [source]  
9/21  Salt Lake City, Broadway Centre Cinema [source]
9/21  Brooklyn, Nitehawk Cinema [source]
9/21  Pittsburgh, The Manor [source]
9/21  Norfolk VA, Naro Cinema [source]
9/21  Ithaca NY, Cinemapolis [source]
9/21  Denver, Landmark [source]
9/21  Kansas City, Alamo Drafthouse [source], Rio [source]

Update 9/12: The film is now scheduled to be released "Wide" so should be in most major U.S. markets on 9/21 meaning we will probably not be continuing to update the list of standard engagements. We will however continue to track any screens playing the film in 70mm (above).

International

9/14  NY/LA
9/21  USA/Canada
10/11  Chile
10/12  Iceland
10/25  Greece
11/2  U.K.
11/2  Ireland
11/8  Australia
11/22  Thailand
11/23  Mexico
11/29  Portugal
12/6  Netherlands
12/7  South Africa
12/7  Sweden
1/3  Denmark
1/9  Belgium   
1/9  France
1/10  Switzerland [source]
1/11  Italy
1/11  Norway
1/17  Singapore
1/17  New Zealand [source]
2/7  Argentina
3/22  Japan
3/8  Finland


All International dates via Annapurna Pictures unless otherwise noted.

We'll keep this page updated with new information as we receive it so if you hear of any release date news, please pass it along.

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

‘The Master' Confirmed For Venice; Running Time Listed As 137 Minutes

After a rollercoaster of back-and-forth, today the Venice Film Festival confirmed "The Master" is indeed set to play in competition in 70mm, of course. (via @ThePlaylist)

La Biennale di Venezia/ 69th Venice International Film Festival 

4 new titles join the roster of the 69th Venice Film Festival · The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson 18th film in Competition (in 70 mm)

Four new titles have been added to enrich the programme of the 69th Venice International Film Festival (29 August – 8 September) directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta. The Master, the highly anticipated new film by American director Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There will be blood) will be the 18th film in Competition at Venice 69th.

The Master will be screened in 70 mm in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema) on September 1st at 7.00 p.m., in the presence of the director and of the official delegation. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons, David Warshofsky and Rami Malek. Paul Thomas Anderson is the 12th director (out of 18films) participating this year for the first time in the Competition of the Venice Film Festival, along with Olivier Assayas, Ramin Baharani, Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, Rama Burshtein, Daniele Ciprì, Xavier Giannoli, Harmony Korine, Terrence Malick, Valeria Sarmiento, Kirill Serebrennikov.

Update 8/9: The Venice Film Festival site, which had originally listed the running time as 150 minutes, now appears to have been revised with the correct running time of 137 minutes. 2 hours 17 minutes makes more sense with earlier reports. For reference TWBB: 158 min, PDL: 95 min, MAG: 189 min, BOOGIE: 156 min, H8: 102 min. (via @StoxPictures)

New Kaleidoscopic Poster For ‘The Master' Debuts

What do you think? (via Yahoo)

#THEMASTER70MM

Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates. 

‘The Master’ Premieres At A Secret Screening In LA; Reactions Rolling In

So, it looks like we're not going to be able to sleep for the next month if we're going to get through this because shortly after signing off last night we got word that Paul had brought along a little surprise last night for the moviegoers at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. In Contention was first to report that before a 7:30pm screening of "The Shining," theatre staff announced there would be a "secret screening" afterwards and anyone who wanted to stay was welcome. Afterwards guests were treated to the first public screening anywhere in the world of "The Master," projected, yes, in 70mm. Paul and Maya were in attendance for the film which reportedly plays roughly 2 hours and 10 minutes long.

The Playlist rounded up some initial reactions most of which were very, very positive:

Help PTA Show ‘The Master' In 70mm In Your City

Earlier this week, we came across a story in TimeOut Chicago where writer Ben Kenigsberg put out a plea to secure the Music Box Theatre in Chicago as a venue for "The Master." The article stated that Paul was "eager" to show the film in 70mm wherever possible and that venue is one of the few places in Chicago that is "70mm capable," not to mention just being a beautiful old movie house in its own right. TimeOut spoke to the programmer at the Music Box who said that he hadn't been contacted about showing the film and had already committed to another film during the week of September 21 (when the film opens in Chicago).

Today, TimeOut Chicago posted a follow-up piece wherein some new information has come to light. Apparently The Weinstein Company "passed on the opportunity" to play the film in 70mm at the Music Box and have made other arrangements in that city. A disappointment to be sure, but the issue might be much bigger than that. The article also states that, "Paul Thomas Anderson really does want to show The Master in 70mm as widely as possible. But it’s not entirely up to him."

19 Brand New Stills From ‘The Master'

This morning The Weinstein Co. has dropped 19 brand new stills from 'The Master" which you can check out over at our Facebook page. They're all pretty gorgeous and contain scenes/shots in present in any of the previously released teasers (via our buddies at The Film Stage). Update 8/7: Photos removed at the request of The Weinstein Company.

And thanks again to The Film Stage for the 90(!) high resolution stills from the full-length trailer that dropped a few weeks back which we've also posted over at Facebook. Perfect for your desktop wallpaper/Facebook cover photo/Twitter icon/etc. We've definitely come a long way from the Stellar Spa days, haven't we? If you haven't already you should really check out Cigarettes & Red Vines presents: A Guide To 70mm which should clear up a lot of questions we've been getting from readers. And for those still counting with us, there are just 43 days until September 14th. Still no official confirmation from Venice or TIFF despite being outed by Variety and The Wrap. We'll keep you updated as soon as we hear something.

FYI, we're a lot more active on Twitter than Facebook so if you like your news up-to-the-moment, that's where you want to be.

A Guide To 70mm: Part Three

Ever since we first heard that PTA would be shooting “The Master” (at least partially) in 70mm, we’ve gotten a lot of questions on what exactly that means for the film. We spoke to Datasat Vice President Daniel Schulz (who worked with PTA's team and The Weinstein Co. on mastering the 70mm sound for the film) to get all the answers you might need. 

In years past, 70mm was played back using magnetic striping on the print itself; in fact, one of the major advantages of 70mm was that the increased physical size of the film meant you could include up to 6 discrete tracks of magnetic sound, rather than 2 or 4 as was common with 35mm.  So, the first releases with fancy mixes such as 5 screen channels plus surrounds, or early 5.1 style soundtracks, were always done with 70mm.  Even after the waning of the great era of 70mm, studio pictures that were shot and released mostly on 35mm would have 70mm blowups made for the premiere and coastal cities, in part because of the better soundtrack achievable with 6-channel sound.

That era began to wane with the advent of Dolby Stereo in 1977 with Star Wars, which enabled low-cost, high quality 4-track sound with optical tracks on the 35mm film (mag striping is expensive and technically tricky).  Things really came to head in 1993, when DTS launched with Jurassic Park, enabling superb quality 5.1 digital sound with 35mm film.  Dolby countered with Dolby Digital, also playing back 5.1 digital tracks read off the 35mm film print.  This meant studios could provide superb surround sound tracks in a digital format, with 35mm film prints, eliminating one more reason why 70mm was preferred for high profile screenings, and in fact Dolby used this as one of their marketing reasons for studios to adopt Dolby Digital.

The DTS system was film-size agnostic: it plays back from a CD-ROM, synchronized to the film print using a timecode track printed on the film.  From the very beginning, DTS adapted their system to print timecode on both 35mm and 70mm film, and manufactured readers to read timecode from either film gauge.  Meanwhile, Dolby never did engineer a 70mm version of Dolby Digital.

Fast forwarding to today, there are no labs left that can do mag striping: the process was environmentally troublesome, and as demand fell off to zero the equipment fell out of use.  Fortunately, DTS has kept the torch alive, and has been instrumental in providing soundtracks for a whole host of 70mm restorations done by the major studios and the Academy Film Archive.  In 2008, DTS sold their movie business to a company called Datasat, but under the re-branded name of Datasat Digital Sound, we have continued to support digital surround sound for both 35mm (pretty much all Hollywood movies come with Datasat Digital Sound tracks for the 35mm prints) as well as 70mm restoration work.  Some of the titles that have been exhibited in 70mm with Datasat sound are Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, The Sound of Music, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Baraka.

All of which is to say, when PTA decided he wanted his masterpiece exhibited in 70mm, Datasat was an integral part of that process, as we did the digital soundtrack encoding and have been providing technical support to all the venues playing the film in 70mm.  As you know from your process of documenting the 70mm projection side of things, there was a bit of a scramble to ensure that venues had the correct equipment, in good working order.  In our case, most of them had the necessary DTS or Datasat playback unit (since DTS was a pretty widely adopted format, with nearly 20,000 theaters in the US equipped with DTS players since 1993), but needed to be supplied with 70mm timecode readers.

Since Datasat is highest quality digital sound format available for film (due to its low data compression), it is a perfect match for the stunning visuals of 70mm.  We're proud to have been able to help Paul realize his vision with a soundtrack as compelling as his images.

Read Part One
Read Part Two

You can find out more information on Datasat Digital Entertainment on their site.

Cigarettes & Red Vines presents: A Guide To 70mm

Ever since we first heard that PTA would be shooting “The Master” (at least partially) in 70mm, we’ve gotten a lot of questions on what exactly that means for the film. We recently learned that “more than half” of the film was shot on 70mm and so, with the film’s release almost upon us, we’ve decided to provide a user’s guide to getting a basic understanding about the large format and hopefully clear up any confusion.

We spoke to in70mm.com editor Thomas Hauerslev as well as filmmaker Craig Whitney (who spent some time on the set of Terrence Malick's “The Tree Of Life,” portions of which were filmed in 70mm) to get all the answers you might need. Because we got such great information from both sources, we’ve decided to present two different ways to absorb the info: the first part is an brief history of the format while the second part is a more direct Q&A. Enjoy.

Part One

Part Two 

Part Three

You can find a full listing of all theatres showing "The Master" in 70mm here.

FYI, we're a lot more active on Twitter than Facebook so if you like your news up-to-the-moment, that's where you want to be.

A Guide To 70mm: Part Two

Ever since we first heard that PTA would be shooting “The Master” (at least partially) in 70mm, we’ve gotten a lot of questions on what exactly that means for the film. We spoke to in70mm.com editor Thomas Hauerslev to get all the answers you might need.

1. So what is 70mm film? And how does it differ from standard 35mm format? 

70mm is a standard motion picture format which is twice the width of 35mm. The image area is between 3 and 4 times the size of a 35mm frame (depending of if you are shooting flat or anamorphic). Shooting on 65/70mm film offers extremely high resolution images, that gives the audience a different sensation - it's much better in terms of color, sharpness, contrast - it's a life-like image, almost like a 3D sensation, but without the glasses. The 70mm image does not need to be enlarged as much as 35mm on a big screen - gives you razor sharp images. In layman's terms, it's "Motion Pictures HD." Shooting on 65mm is not done every day. "Samsara" which is released in a few weeks is also shot in 65mm film, but released only in 4K Digital format. Complete list of all 65mm films.

A Guide To 70mm: Part One

Ever since we first heard that PTA would be shooting “The Master” (at least partially) in 70mm, we’ve gotten a lot of questions on what exactly that means for the film. We spoke to filmmaker Craig Whitney (who spent some time on set of Terrence Malick's“The Tree Of Life,” portions of which were filmed in 70mm) to get all the answers you might need.

There have been films made in 70mm since the late 1890s. The Henley Regatta (the rowing race that was depicted in “The Social Network”) was filmed in 70mm around 1895. However, 70mm didn't come into widespread use until the 1950s when television began to compete with film for a share of the entertainment market. This was one of a number of strategies that producers tried to give moviegoers an experience that they couldn't possible hope to have in front of a television screen. Some of these strategies, like 3D or widescreen aspect ratio, are still with us today others, like “The Tingler” or Smell-O-Vision, were not as successful (although there was a very interesting Smell-O-Vision version of Terrence Malick's “The New World” released a few years ago).

More Than Half Of ‘The Master' Shot On 65mm; Film Will Be Shown In 1.85:1

We have a quick update this morning while we finish up a much bigger post for you guys. Reader of the site Justin reached out to Kodak asking what film stock was used for "The Master" and got a very helpful reply. Kodak, who are the only company still producing 65mm film stock, revealed that “More than half of ‘The Master’ was shot on 65mm 5207, 5201 and 5213 (the rest was 35mm).” See the exchange below:

We also spoke to In70mm editor Thomas Hauerslev who confirmed through the film’s post-production manager that it will be shown in 1.85:1, not PTA's usual anamorphic 2:35:1 aspect ratio. Much more from our interview with Hauerslev coming very soon...

In other news, The Playlist sat down with director William Friedkin ("The Exorcist") who had some kind words for PTA when discussing which films he's currently excited about.

When you watch current films...
I don't.

There's nothing out there that interests you?
Very few things. I'll definitely want to see Paul Thomas Anderson's film called "The Master," and whatever the Coen Brothers do I'd probably be interested in. Not too many others.

Stay tuned. We should have a very helpful/informative post in the near future. FYI, we're a lot more active on Twitter than Facebook so if you like your news up-to-the-moment, that's where you want to be.