Saturday, May 21, 2011

Can Digital Cinema Really Be Considered "Timeless"?





Came across this older list from Daily Film Dose recently of the top 10 films with budgets under $500K. Some on the list include Pi, Eraserhead, Following, and Primer.

As we pondered the list, we couldn't help but wonder why no digitally shot films (HD or MiniDV) were on it. Is the format still somehow not taken seriously as celluloid when it comes to what's considered "classic cinema"? While we certainly don't disagree with most of the list, we still wondered if there was still some sort of "digital divide" when it came to the perception of great, timeless cinema.

Then we remembered that there ARE in fact a nice-sized number of groundbreaking films that were shot on digital cameras, and for budgets of sometimes less than 10 grand. Here is one comprehensive list from one of our earlier (and favorite) posts: "The 13 Most Important DIY Films of the Decade."

Our only hope is one day to see these films and the films on the list above it somehow compiled into ONE list, instead of these two.

What do you guys think? Can you look on objectively and honestly say that digital films that you've seen have that "timeless" quality to them? Do you think that because of the technology of the times we are living in, that the very existence of a digital film automatically dates it?

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