what is so great about a "film like" picture?

[E-Stat]

any comments on what a "film like" picture is and why it is supposed to be so great

We are referring to its capability, not its currently poorly implemented self. Such a reference would be to first generation 70 mm prints that were commonly used in the 50s and 60s for big budget films. I assure you there were no such imperfections as you have noted in those prints. There was a wide screen implementation used called Cinemascope that involved multiple projectors that took the format to a new level. Movies like "Grand Prix" were shot in that format. In 1970 when I was 13, I went to a 10 screen AMC Theatre. Such a concept was novel then, but is the norm today. Film quality has steadily declined since that date with one notable exception - IMAX films. Ever seen one of them? If not, you need to. Period. Run, don't walk. I recall the first time I saw "The Dream is Alive" filmed by NASA in phenomenal resolution.

Imagine a seventy odd foot wide screen that is more than fifty feet tall displaying an image with unsurpassed color saturation and utter lack of grain. Blacks are BLACK. It possesses a unique immediacy that mimics reality. There is a scene in Dream where you are looking out a window in shuttle Challenger as the bay doors open to a view of orbiting the earth. I get emotional just thinking about that singularly spectacular view of our planet in such high resolution splendor. There is a circular theatre version called Omnimax and there have been 3D variations as well. I saw an undersea 3D film that had kids around me reaching out to touch the fish that seemed only inches away.

That's what film can do.

rw

[lomarica]

ok I guess when film is done right it is great. I am too young for the references you provided but yes I have seen IMAX and it is a great sound and picture
thanks