Quentin Tarantino explains why he shoots on film: “Digital projection is the death of cinema”
We know and love Quentin Tarantino not only for being the excellent film director that he undoubtedly is but also for the true cinephile that he has proven himself to be over the years. Tarantino often serves as something of a cinematic encyclopaedia, turning us on to films we may never have heard of before.
With that adoration of the history of film, though, also comes a deep love for the actual physical film medium, and most of Tarantino’s most-beloved cinematic works have been shot on film. The director himself has, of course, followed suit and shot all of his own movies on film stock. But why?
“As far as I’m concerned, digital projection is the death of cinema as I know it,” he once said. “At least it does nothing for me. I actually think I’m getting gypped [sic] when I go to a movie, and I realise that it’s either been shot on digital or is being projected in digital. It’s the death keel, the death rattle.”
For Tarantino, though, the real reason for his insistence on using film in his movies is that it preserves the “magic of movies” and comes down to how movies, in general, do not capture movement as we think they do but rather capture a series of still images which give the illusion of movement.
“The magic of movies is connected to 35mm because everyone thinks that when you’re filming something, you’re recording movement,” he noted. “You’re not recording movement; you are just taking a series of still pictures. There’s no movement in movies at all. They are still pictures, but when shown at 24 frames a second, it creates the illusion of movement.”
The director is keen that by stressing the importance of shooting on film, the true magic is kept alive. “By shooting it in 65mm, I’m guaranteeing, to some degree or another, there will be 70mm film prints out there in the world screening for people who care,” he said. “I’m hoping that the next generation will demand the real thing.”
Tarantino is at least willing to concede a few benefits to shooting digitally. “The fact that a young filmmaker can just buy a cellphone and can put together an interesting story and make a movie and that film can be legit. It’s a more democratic artistic society.” But for established filmmakers shooting digitally, well, Tarantino has “no fucking idea”. That’s that, then. Film, according to the iconic director, is the only way to go.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.