It was bit of a slow weekend and I decided to watch the Criterion Blu-Ray of Days of Heaven (1978). First off I forgot how truly gorgeous this film was, the shots of the wheat fields are absolutely breath taking. Néstor Almendros really made this Tarrence Malick film sing. Days of Heaven is in my opinion so much better than Tree of Life, I mean come on the movie has an actual storyline and is just as, if not more beautiful. As I was watching it I couldn’t help but notice the wonderfully rich film grain that adds to the images as much as the composition and lighting do. I have never been shy about stating my preference for film, and this made me fall in love with the photochemical process all over again. I have gotten so used to looking at footage for video noise and trying to mitigate it at every step, I forgot what it was like to shoot something and there be something wonderful happen you cant micro manage. I have gotten so caught up in this spec driven industry lately, it was just nice to see such a beautiful reminder of amazing silver halide can be.
Video Noise And Film Grain Are Not The Same Thing
