PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited new film, “The Hateful Eight” opens on Christmas Day, there is only one theater in Portland that can show it in the way it was filmed.
Tarantino is releasing the movie in the 70-millimeter format, mostly abandoned in the 1960s. The Hollywood Theater at NE 42nd and Sandy is the only theater in the area that has a 70-mm projector and screen big enough to see it.
“The Hateful Eight” was filmed in Ultra Panavision, the same format as screen classics “Ben Hur” and “Lawrence of Arabia.”
The Hollywood Theatre‘s Dan Halsted told KOIN 6 News 70-mm “has a higher image than any other image that exists, and it also has better sound quality.”— Photos: Portland’s Hollywood Theatre —
The biggest reason 70-mm films practically vanished is “because it’s incredibly expensive.”
The Hollywood Theatre was built in 1926 for vaudeville and silent movies. The ornate theater flourished when going to the movies was an event. In the 1960s it was a cinerama, showing 70-mm Ultra Panavision films.
Recently, Halsted brought back the format by chasing down parts from all over the country. The non-profit that owns the theater totally restored it, including the ornate 1926 marquee.
The Hollywood Theatre also has one of America’s largest collections of Kung Fu movies, another of Halstead’s projects.
“There’s me and then Quentin Tarantino is a collector of these films,” Halsted said. “And that’s pretty much it.”
There is talk another theater in Portland will bring in a 70-mm projector for “The Hateful Eight” to show before it goes into nationwide digital release on January 8.
“A lot of cities don’t have this anymore,” Halsted said.