Beautiful blue flares in 'Christine'

[Patrick Cooper]

Last night, I watched the DVD of John Carpenter's 'Christine' on my PC. I haven't seen this film for ages and it was great seeing it again. The whole concept of a possessed car is really interesting - thanks to Steven King's original story. With regards to cinematography, I really liked the wide blue flares that emanated from the car's headlights at night. These flares would stretch the whole width of the screen. They were quite visually striking. Out of curiosity, are these the telltale flares that are produced by an anamorphic lens?

 

I also watched the special features and it was noted that the dop had the idea to use Fuji film stock in the first scene with the automobile factory and Kodak stock for the rest of the movie. The reasoning behind this was that Fuji film produced a softer, browner image which gave the first scene more of a nostalgic look as it was set in the 1950s. In contrast, Kodak Eastman has more of a contemporary look so this was suitable for the majority of the movie.

[Max Jacoby]

Out of curiosity, are these the telltale flares that are produced by an anamorphic lens?

Indeed.

 

John Carpenter really likes anamorphic and uses it for most of his films.

[Chris Keth]

I also watched the special features and it was noted that the dop had the idea to use Fuji film stock in the first scene with the automobile factory and Kodak stock for the rest of the movie. The reasoning behind this was that Fuji film produced a softer, browner image which gave the first scene more of a nostalgic look as it was set in the 1950s. In contrast, Kodak Eastman has more of a contemporary look so this was suitable for the majority of the movie.

 

 

That's funny to note because Fuji and Kodak's professional still photo stocks are exactly opposite. Fuji is known for the vivid, saturated (sometimes overly so) color and kodak for the more realistic, sometimes earth-toned color rendition.

[John Holland]

I dont agree Kodak has always been oversaturated ,Fuji much more natural and life like .

[Jason Maeda]

totally depends on which niche of competing films you're talking about and what exactly you consider "natural".

 

if you want "accurate" green that's one film, if you want "accurate" contrast that's another, and on and on...

 

velvia was always a little crazy for portraits i thought but i'm sure many people loved it. then again provia had so many different characteristics during its production...

 

anyway the whole debate just sounds so old fashioned now. the photo assistants i talk to who are making these decisions dont even know how to load film into a camera. cinema will be the same in a few years, unfortunately. it all be about the cool curves you carry around on a hard drive in your pocket or something.

 

jk :ph34r:

[Antti Näyhä]

totally depends on which niche of competing films you're talking about and what exactly you consider "natural".

Also depends on whether you're talking about negative or reversal still film. Kodak's 400UC is nowadays one of the most saturated negative stocks, while Fuji Velvia 50 is the high-saturation slide film.

[Chris Keth]

Also depends on whether you're talking about negative or reversal still film. Kodak's 400UC is nowadays one of the most saturated negative stocks, while Fuji Velvia 50 is the high-saturation slide film.

 

True. I was talking chromes since that was the professional advertising medium for so long.