Glorious 70mm!

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2015)

Review: The Hateful Eight Film Viewed Date: 12.28.15 Review Date: 12.29.15
Yesterday the family and I traveled 110 miles to the AMC Loews Theater in Boston to see The Hateful Eight in "glorious 70mm". To be honest, we all made many a joke over the 70mm reference as none of us really knew what that meant. Standing in line for tickets we met a group of people who traveled an hour and a half from New Hampshire to have the 70mm experience. It's funny, they didn't really know what the 70mm difference was either other than "it has something to do with aspect ratio". Be that as it may, there was a giddy, carnival-like atmosphere in the air, and we all knew at a visceral level that we were in for something special on this crisp December morning.
The experience was unique from the get go when we were handed a beautiful glossy program for the movie. Not since Gone with the Wind, have I seen an Overture and an intermission in a movie. Tarantino's nod to the the big movie event days of the past was a welcome departure from the stamped out experience we have when going to the movies these days. A movie should be an event, and folks should be loathe to watch something on On Demand or Netflix as they will have missed the event, the spectacle, and the excitement of seeing it in a theater. This has been an extraordinary December for event based films with both Star Wars and now The Hateful Eight reminding us all that going to the movies is an experience which is far greater than the sum of it's parts.
As for The Hateful Eight, the movie is an instant classic and will sit proudly with Tarantino's other films. The dialog was witty and crisp, the acting superb, and the story was tightly written and compelling. In addition, the cinematography of the blizzard and the snow capped vistas actually made you feel a chill in the air. It's always a treat to see actors and director performing at the height of their powers, and this is what one will witness upon viewing this film. This was experiencing a movie at it's absolute best and I thank Quentin Tarantino for using his celebrity to push the 70mm experience to remind us all what it truly means to go to the movies!