My wife and I just saw this at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center. Keanu Reeves is the presenter and interviewer, and does an excellent job.
It’s about the transition from celluloid to digital, and serves as a good introduction to the topic for anyone interested in the subject. They cover cinematography, editing, special effects and projection very accessibly for a general audience (which of course means that they omit some things and annoy pedants like myself). A large number of directors, cinematographers, editors and colorists are interviewed, including Lars von Trier, Lana Wachowski, Vilmos Zsigmond, Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese and George Lucas.
I saw an interview with Keanu about this, and I’m fascinated. I am very much a proponent of digital, as it just makes every step that much easier and more efficient.
I suspect that most people who are against it are clinging to old prejudices that have long since been addressed. Current cameras are recording imagery that is virtually indistinguishable under every conceivable condition now, and the worst you can say about them is the resulting image is so perfect that it feels “wrong” simply because we’re just not used to it yet.
Just came back from seeing Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, which was shot in 70mm. It looked great, watching it in Cinemarks’ XD theater - but I honestly don’t think it looked any better than if it had originated on a Red Epic.
I’m reminded of hearing that Spielberg insisted on editing actual film, although it looks like he has joined us in the 21st century. If digital editing is good enough for Thelma Schoonmaker, it is definitively good enough.