I am extremely finicky about movie-watching. My rigid set of ideals about how a movie should be viewed states that the best way to watch a film is in a theater, on film, and every downgrade that must be made from that perfect experience is a sacrifice. This has been hard to maintain as movie-making becomes progressively more digital. When I say what I want in a screening I have begun to add “or a 4k projection”. That’s alright. I can groove with technology. But as technology advances, it’s becoming cheaper and easier to improve your home theater… and there is so much more room for error. It began with the widescreen television. People buy them and set the aspect to whatever the internet says is right, then disable the controls and now you’re watching everything distorted and stupid. Now as quality increases, it’s getting worse. Have you ever tried to watch something on a TV and it’s looked odd and too fast, the refresh rate is way too high, or there’s something very off about the frame rate? It seems unnatural, the speed is right, but the movements are too clean and quick?
Well, that’s what The Hobbit is going to look like. Intentionally.
