Bill Cable Reviews AOTC in DIGITAL!! Posted by: Bill Cable 6-26-02 12:01am I was on the road for 8 hours on Saturday. I drove to Elizabeth, New Jersey to see Attack of the Clones in a digital projection theater. It was more than worth it. I saw 8 minutes of digital footage from AOTC at Celebration2, and from that moment on I knew I had to see the whole movie that way. The difference is just mind-numbing. You see things in the digital presentation that you wouldn't dream of seeing in a standard format movie, or even on a DVD. First of all, the color contrast is shocking. The first time you see a lightsaber projected in digital your eyes will pop out. The sabers practically jump off the screen. It's like looking at a lightning bolt... a real, live, hitting a tree in your back yard lightning bolt. After I saw the first saber, I was desperate for the next scene with one to come up. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Anakin to cut into the Tusken hut just so I could see the saber come on again. It was a perfect visual effect... one that didn't lose it's impact through the entire saber-heavy presentation. Probably the brightest color effect was when Anakin & Obi-Wan fly through the power couplings... the entire theater was bathed in purple. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. It's kinda like when I was a kid with a coloring book... I couldn't understand why the red and blue lazers I drew didn't glow like the ones on TV no matter which crayons I used. I didn't quite understand the concept of a picture tube radiating light... I only understood color. Well, the difference between regular projection of these colors and digital projection is just like the difference between a coloring book and TV. Regular film projection just doesn't have the capability to generate these images. On exterior shots I often was forced to squint from the brightness. It WAS as bright as a sunny day. And yet I had no problem seeing during the scenes of highest contrast or of lowest light. The picture was just perfect with an unprecedented range of light intensity. The color was one thing... the details you could see digitally were what transform the movie entirely. You could appreciate the textures of things in a way that's beyond real life. You could see the stiff leather of the Dug's outfit as Obi-Wan flew by hanging from the assassin droid. You could practically feel the soft cotton shirt that Dexter Jettster work. It looked almost fuzzy. In one scene with Jar Jar, you could tell his ears were made of rubber. The Reek looked like a clay stop motion animation model. Man... the close ups of the Reek were unreal. And the Kaminoans... man the close-up of Taun We's face are just unreal... the depth of the skin... the translucence of the outer layers... the veins and minute imperfections... it was glorious! Every digital effect worked better. The effects that looked bad on film were flawless. It was like night and day (and night wasn't even all that bad). And the details weren't only in the digital characters. The real-life people and objects were similarly improved. The one scene that really jumped out at me was the fireplace scene. Guys... you know after you shave in the morning, if you catch the right light in the mirror you can see this line where the peach fuzz on your cheek ends and the smooth, shaved skin begins. During the fireplace scene I saw that line on Hayden Christianson's face. I mean THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT! No medium should be able to transmit an image with that much detail. And it was really nice in the fireplace scene with Natalie Portman... her skin looked so soft you'd think you could melt into it. I just sat there in awe, appreciating the moment and the medium. Thank you George for designing that outfit!! The one thing the digital revolution is going to do is ruin the careers of aging starlets. There's no way to hide the flaws from a digital camera. The wrinkles or the make-up used to obscure them will show up and look bad. It's a testament to the stunning, natural beauty of Portman that she could pull off the close-ups in this film and come off as gorgeous. Every close-up of a human was a treat. You saw details that you simply can't see in any other medium. It was powerful and it was beautiful. And the only way to experience it is in a digital projection theater. If I lived any closer to a digital theater, I'd be going to see it again next weekend. I'd watch it 2 or 3 times a week if I was able. This viewing may have ruined traditional film for me... I almost shutter at the prospect of going back to normal projection. It's like going back to VHS after watching DVDs... it just looks inferior. At the same time I'm longing to see AOTC in digital again. I KNOW I'm going to see Episode 3 in digital come hell or high water. Hopefully one of my local theaters... or at least ONE theater in Pennsylvania will have a digital projector by then. I'm going to call my local theater and bug them about converting to digital tomorrow. You should do the same. Ad you should do anything within your power to see AOTC in a digital theater before it's gone. Trust me... it's worth any effort. It's that good!