By Sid R
Christopher Nolan once compared the privacy of making a film to a magician preparing a show. You need somewhere to work things out before inviting an audience in.
That helps me understand why I don’t always want to know too much about the filmmakers I admire. I love hearing them discuss their craft. But knowing someone’s opinion on everything can leave me feeling that I’ve already met every thought their next film will contain. You build more anticipation for the artist whose imagination you still have to encounter through their work.
David Lynch resisted explaining his films because putting them into words could narrow what someone else found in them. “You have everything in the film,” he said. The images, music and performances were already his expression. He wanted to leave you alone with what they made you feel.
I’ve been thinking about that while deciding what 70 Millimeters should become. I’ve watched hundreds of movies for the first time this year, which completely changed how I view cinema. I’m so passionate about movies, that I figured sharing my passion would be a good first step to my eventual Hollywood Dreams.
Since my last review, I’ve been busy with The Real Deal which was brought back thanks to the courtesy of some key fans, and took a hiatus, even though I’ve seen tons of movies since. I had ideated plenty of plans to bring out a 70 millimeters podcast, with Jarod Hector and Domagoj Kostanjšak ofDom's Tactics Lab . But I still had plans for more.
Then Digger happened. I enjoyed it. It isn’t my favorite movie of all time, but there’s plenty of fun in it, and I thought the satire was excellent. The critical response was pathetic. The hostility felt like people resenting that they were part of the joke. And seeing the vitriol from critics made me realize I don’t want to be associated with them anymore.
It reminded me of Batman v Superman and the contempt directed at Zack Snyder a decade ago. Reviews mocked its seriousness and lack of fun. Trying something different with those characters was treated as proof that he didn’t understand them. Around Digger, I recognized that same reflex from the critic class.
The film critic class feels outdated to me when it treats its preferences as the sole boundaries of what cinema should be allowed to attempt. Some seem happiest arriving at the same conclusion about a movie as everyone else (groupthink); others make a personality out of disagreeing with the director’s choices. Either way, I’m tired of it.
Edward Norton has recalled Fight Club being booed at Venice, with people leaving during the screening. He and Brad Pitt got stoned before it because they had anticipated it. Afterward, Pitt turned to him and said, “I think that’s the best movie I’m ever gonna be in.” I love that conviction. Imagine making something you believe in that deeply that you don’t care what anyone says. And with time, Fight Club was proven right.
The conversation around Snyder’s supposed failure is hilariously dumb. Man of Steel grossed about $668 million worldwide in 2013, compared with roughly $619 million for James Gunn’s Superman twelve years later, which is hilarious without even considering inflation. But Snyder is the failure? Good one. I noticed launching this that I’m still asked to explain why I love Snyder’s work by random James Gunn stans on the internet (the Director’s Cut of BvS and his Justice League are incredible), as though there’s some central authority that decided his movies are all horrible. I don’t need anyone’s permission to admire a filmmaker, let alone random internet reply guys who have never created anything worth enjoying themselves.
By the way, I recognize the same critical tendency in myself. I have particular tastes and can pick things apart indefinitely. I’m a perfectionist. But writing a convincing account of someone else’s shortcomings isn’t a great use of my talents when I have films of my own to write. Initially, I started this as an exercise to help me dissect and analyze movies, and build an archive of my tastes that I could use to make my own movies. But now I realize I do not want to be associated with the losers that criticize movies and the filmmakers and directors behind them for a living.
As I wrote after Digger, I want to make movies. I don’t want reacting to them to become my occupation.
The movies I love leave me thinking about a scene for days or listening to a score long after I’ve left the theater. Some have changed how I see the world, helped me through difficult periods, or inspired me to do something with my own life. I want to make films that can have that kind of impact on someone else. I’d love to create something that stays with people for years, that they return to at different points in their lives and find something new in. I also want audiences to discover who I am through my work, rather than knowing everything I believe before they’ve even seen a film I’ve made.
Going forward, the 70 millimeters archive itself will change substantially. Some pieces will be heavily edited, and others will be deleted altogether. There are opinions and personal details I no longer want publicly available, and I’m going to remove them. I don’t want everything I’ve thought or felt to remain a permanent introduction to me.
You’re welcome to read what’s there now, but don’t expect the whole archive to stay. I’ll also be removing the genre listings and some existing visuals as I simplify the publication.
Going forward, the writing will be more selective, personal and mostly positive. I’ll share thoughts on what I’ve watched, with periodic articles about films, performances, music and choices that excite me. I watch way too many movies to not share anything. There are artists I’d love to work with someday, and I want to approach their work with curiosity and generosity. My taste will still come through, but I’m not here to tear anyone down anymore.
Routine numerical ratings are done. I may keep a 10/10 category for films that have had a profound impact on me, and rankings will become less frequent. You may see more reels on 70mm’s Instagram alongside occasional articles, while I put more time toward writing and directing my own films, but I’m not even sure about that at the moment.
Thank you for reading and sharing this enthusiasm with me. I want to keep giving you reasons to love movies. I also need to leave myself some time, and something of my own, to bring to the screen.
- Sid