MovieChat Forums > Playtime (1973) Discussion > The film is so grainy!

The film is so grainy!


Playtime was famously shot (at great expense) on high-resolution 70mm film. Why, then, do we see coarse grain in most shots? It's very visible even watching the DVD on a small screen. You would expect 70mm film to look razor sharp, and not show the coarse grain we see.

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I just watched the film for my cinema studies class on 35mm film in a cinema. It looked fantastic except for a few rare shots which were a little scratchy. It might just be the film the DVD was recorded from. My teacher said the DVD experience is no where near as good because its much harder to see many of the fine details. I hope that helped, I think it would be worth seeing at a cinema if you get the chance and if you actually like the film. Cheers

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There must have been something wrong with the print the DVD was taken from, or with the way the film-to-video transfer was done. I've seen Play Time in 70mm twice now (both times at the American Film Institute Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland), and the picture has always looked exceptionally sharp to me.

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