You can now see a movie in IMAX, 3D, UltraAVX or some variation of the three, but still — nothing compares to seeing a movie on film.
It's the sentiment expressed in director Julia Marchese's first feature-length documentary, Out of Print, and she should know: as an employee of the New Beverly Cinema, a mecca for hardcore movie fans in West Hollywood, Marchese has borne witness to the power of classic cinema, both firsthand and vicariously through the eyes of its many patrons filing out through the lobby at the end of a screening, some famous (Quentin Tarantino, who now owns the land the theatre sits upon).
Out of Print is a film about the death of revival cinemas like the New Beverly, as well as film as the medium itself, and Marchese does a great job making an argument for both their cultural and communal importance through talking heads with the theatre's most hardcore patrons. Directors like Rian Johnson (whose first apartment was chosen based on its proximity to the New Beverly), John Landis, Kevin Smith, Joe Carnahan and Edgar Wright all make appearances, having taken part in Q&As or personally curated events at the cinema.
Given its limited scope, Out of Print is a film that has a lot to say, but winds up making its point in the first 30 minutes or so, meaning casual cinemagoers' minds may wander as patron after patron reiterates the same stories and sentiments about the theatre and film as a format. But for those who are similarly passionate about 35mm film and the remaining movie houses that show them, Out of Print is a privilege to watch.
(levelFILM)It's the sentiment expressed in director Julia Marchese's first feature-length documentary, Out of Print, and she should know: as an employee of the New Beverly Cinema, a mecca for hardcore movie fans in West Hollywood, Marchese has borne witness to the power of classic cinema, both firsthand and vicariously through the eyes of its many patrons filing out through the lobby at the end of a screening, some famous (Quentin Tarantino, who now owns the land the theatre sits upon).
Out of Print is a film about the death of revival cinemas like the New Beverly, as well as film as the medium itself, and Marchese does a great job making an argument for both their cultural and communal importance through talking heads with the theatre's most hardcore patrons. Directors like Rian Johnson (whose first apartment was chosen based on its proximity to the New Beverly), John Landis, Kevin Smith, Joe Carnahan and Edgar Wright all make appearances, having taken part in Q&As or personally curated events at the cinema.
Given its limited scope, Out of Print is a film that has a lot to say, but winds up making its point in the first 30 minutes or so, meaning casual cinemagoers' minds may wander as patron after patron reiterates the same stories and sentiments about the theatre and film as a format. But for those who are similarly passionate about 35mm film and the remaining movie houses that show them, Out of Print is a privilege to watch.
