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Our first look at Quentin Tarantino‘s The Hateful Eight is only the beginning of much more to come, but perhaps nearly as interesting as what we’ll see on screen is how we’ll see it. Late last year, around the time production started, we learned that the director and cinematographer Robert Richardson would use 65mm film stock and classic Panavision lenses that would provide a 2.78:1 ratio, the widest possible. He also discussed his hopes for an exclusive theatrical roadshow run in 70mm before a wider release in 35mm and digital.

While all of those exact roll-out details haven’t been officially released yet, we are starting to get an idea regarding just what to expect. This past weekend, the Cine Gear Expo was held in Hollywood, in which all the latest cinematography-related technology is on display, as well as a few presentations. One of the most notable featured test footage from Tarantino’s forthcoming western and a few more details on its release plans.

“[Tarantino] really wants to get people back into theaters. You’re not going to get this [at home]. He did something really great to bring that [experience] back,” Panavision VP Dan Sasaki said during the presentation (via THR). “Quentin wanted an epic Western, something that hasn’t been seen in forever, that would really wow people. [When he saw this test,] he started bouncing in his seat.”

A few years back Paul Thomas Anderson had a handful of pop-up screenings for The Master in 70mm, and it looks like Tarantino will go even further with his film, with plans to retrofit around 50 theaters in the U.S. to show the film in the format. Considering Panavision reworked 19 classic Ultra Panavision 70 anamorphic lenses for the production (not used since 1966’s Khartoum and now set to be employed for Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One by cinematographer Greig Fraser), it’s quite a substantial deal for exhibition. So, while we don’t know the exact theaters yet, if you’re in the U.S. we imagine you’ll be within driving distance of at least one.

Featuring Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren, Kurt Russell as John “The Hangman” Ruth, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue, Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix, Demian Bichir as Bob, Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray, Michael Madsen as Joe Gage, Bruce Dern as General Sanford Smithers, and Channing Tatum in a small role, check out a shot that was snapped below, which actually comes from a test clip before production started, but gives a great look for the wide-screen ratio being used.

In THE HATEFUL EIGHT, set six or eight or twelve years after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren (Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob (Bichir), who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray (Roth), the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage (Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all…

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The Hateful Eight will open this fall.

Are you looking forward to seeing the film in 70mm?

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