Quentin Tarantino Helps Put 70mm Projectors into Theaters for ‘The Hateful Eight’

Quentin Tarantino is one of the biggest voices in preserving film — his New Beverly theater in Los Angeles doesn’t allow digital projection, proving how committed the director is to protecting and promoting film. In keeping with that spirit, Tarantino shoots all of his movies on film, including his upcoming western The Hateful Eight. And to help ensure audiences can see his new film properly, he’s reportedly retrofitting 50 theaters worldwide with 70mm projectors.

Footage from The Hateful Eight recently screened at the Cine Gear Expo (via THR), showcasing Tarantino’s exceptional filmmaking technique — the director shot on 65mm camera, and is reportedly the first to use Ultra Panavision 70 anamorphic lenses since the 1966 film Khartoum.

Cinematographer Bill Bennett was at the presentation and provided a photo from the screening, giving you an idea of how this rare format looks when properly displayed (kind of; it is a photo from Bennett’s phone, after all):

Bennett went on to tweet that Tarantino plans to retrofit 50 theaters worldwide with 70mm projectors accessorized with anamorphic lenses to ensure the best possible viewing of his film. Panavision hasn’t confirmed this news yet, but it definitely sounds like something Tarantino would do. There’s also no list of the cities in which the director plans to install these projectors.

THR adds that Tarantino is currently seeking the best way to create a digital version of the film, so even if you don’t happen to live in one of those 50 cities, you’ll still get a pretty great viewing experience.