Somerville Theatre presents third annual 70 millimeter film festival

Movies. They captivate us, entertain us, make us experience a gamut of emotions and perhaps even affect our view of the world. They deserve to be celebrated.

Ian Judge, director of operations at the Somerville Theatre, recognizes the special importance of 70 millimeter (mm) film, which is a wider, higher-resolution format than the standard 35mm version. In order to emphasize and highlight the significance of the format, Ian has organized the theater’s third annual 70mm & WideScreen Festival.From Sept. 20–30, movie lovers can visit the Somerville Theatre and watch a variety of films in all of their glory, culminating with the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968).

To learn more about the festival, the Daily conducted an interview with Judge:

Tufts Daily (TD): Why is the Somerville Theatre organizing this event?

Ian Judge (IJ):Since we are one of a handful of venues in the country that can project and present the 70mm film format properly, it is a natural fit for us to host the festival.

TD: Is there a connection between the movies that are playing at the festival? Why did you choose these particular films?

IJ: Unfortunately, there are a limited number of titles available to us. That is both a function of the fact that only so many movies were made in the 70mm format, and also because very few of them remain in circulation; that is, there are few that still possess a physical film print to present. Many of the film prints have been damaged or ruined beyond repair over the years, mostly from theaters that don't know how to project them properly and damage them.And the directors rarely produce new copies of these in 70mm anymore, aside from the handful of new releases that are still created in 70mm, like “Ready Player One” (2018) or “Dunkirk" (2017). So from this limited palette of titles, we try to put together a festival that features movies that we either have not played before at our previous two festivals, or are popular enough that we can bring them back every couple of years, like “Spartacus” (1960) or “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

TD: What does a 70mm format add to the audience experience?

IJ:70mm lends a much higher sound quality. We are one of the only theaters in the country that can run magnetic sound, which is the sound format most 70mm films are in. We are the only venue in the Boston area with a Todd-AO speaker setup. Visually speaking, 70mm produces a sharper, brighter image.While film is not measured in [kelvins] the way digital images are, a 70mm print is about the equivalent of 15,000K to 18,000K, which creates a much higher resolution.Some of the titles we are playing are "blow-ups" of movies that were shot in 35mm but were blown up to 70mm for theatrical release to take advantage of the sound and picture quality. However, the titles that were actually filmed in 70mm have an amazing clarity and a stunning image, especially "Those Magnificent Men & Their Flying Machines" (1965) or "2001: A Space Odyssey.”

TD: What do you hope the takeaway is for people who go to the festival?

IJ:I hope that people realize that this is a very special exhibition of rare materials, materials that dwindle in number as each year goes by. Those in the audience may be the last moviegoers to watch these works of art as they were meant to be seen.

TD: Lastly, what is your plan for other festivals or special events at the theater in the future? Are there any events you are excited about or hope to organize?

IJ: Aside from our classic film programming, almost all of the events at the theater are produced by outside groups that merely rent from us, so for those we aren't creatively involved. But there are lots of great upcoming events like the “Addams Family Values” (1993) screening with a preshow by the Slaughterhouse Society that we plan to host on Oct. 5, as well as the “Slutcracker” in December and the Independent Film Festival in April.  We almost always have something interesting going on!

The 70mm & WideScreen Festival ends on Sept. 30, so make sure to visit the Somerville Theatre before tickets sell out!