VistaVision Is Less Likely to Make the Same Comeback That 70mm Did

In 2012, before Paul Thomas Anderson released his “The Master” on 70mm film, the format had not been commercially presented for nearly 50 years. His enthusiasm to release the movie on that film format led others, like Quentin Tarantino, to retrofit old theaters to be equipped to project the Ultra Panavision 70 format for “The Hateful Eight,” viewing the effort as “film’s saving grace.” Just like vinyl records, all the cool kids now want their movies to be on film and shown in 70mm.

So could either Anderson or Tarantino have predicted over a decade ago that there might be a half dozen ways that you can now see PTA’s “One Battle After Another,” which is being shown in yet another long-lost film format, VistaVision?

Just as in 2012, Anderson’s push to both shoot in and project the film in VistaVision did not happen overnight. It’s a format that has…