Cinematographer Lol Crawley and director Brady Corbet were steadfast in their decision to film their masterpiece, "The Brutalist" on traditional film. The movie, which stars Adrien Brody in the role of Hungarian Jewish architect László Tóth, is a saga of survival and success Tóth experiences upon his escape from the Holocaust to the United States, where a fortuitous meeting with a prosperous industrialist turns his life around.
The duo, in their pursuit of perfection, carefully studied architectural photography to understand how best to depict it on frames. Ahead of shooting, they concluded that minimal distortion due to lenses is crucial, leading them to opt for rectilinear lenses for their wide-angle shots.
This decision guided them to the use of VistaVision film, an interesting choice considering its rarity. Paramount Pictures introduced this large format stock in the golden era of the 1950s to enhance image quality. The working of this stock differs from conventional animation since it pulls the film horizontally across eight perforations, leading to a larger format. This approach prevents the need for wider angle lenses to get broader vistas.
Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock also favored this format for his classics like "To Catch a Thief" and "Vertigo." Reviving this method, Crawley posits, lured audiences back in the theaters. Given that the storyline spans from post-World War II to the 1980s, the VisionVista format was an ideal pick.
A turn of events in the movie sees Tóth receiving a commission to construct an awe-inspiring public institute from Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce). This leads to a key moment in the film, where both characters select marble from a quarry in Italy. This scene, shot in the Carrara Marble Mine in Tuscany, a functioning mine, presented its own set of challenges, including safety concerns and minimal filming equipment due to a small footprint.
However, Crawley adeptly uses the existing ambient light to his advantage adding to the realism of the scene. He regards this sequence as strikingly pivotal to the storyline exhibiting almost brutal behavior between characters. Besides, it epitomizes the practical application and the visual excellence of VistaVision.
The long-drawn cinematic endeavor, exceeding three hours, has been displayed in 70mm. Andrew Oran, senior vice president of feature sales and marketing at FotoKem, collaborated with Crawley to generate the film prints, which measure a hefty four miles of celluloid film, adding up to 259 pounds. Crawley pays tribute to Oran's outstanding contribution to the film's creation.
