SYMPHONY Space is presenting a classic film series with a new twist — instead of being projected on 35mm film, the movies are being presented in a high-definition digital video format.
The series, which kicks off Sunday with Federico Fellini’s “La Strada” and Victor Erice’s “Spirit of the Beehive,” is being billed as the first major digital retrospective series in New York.
Other titles being shown on Saturdays and Sundays — mostly in double features — include such repertory favorites as Francois Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows,” Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal,” Roman Polanski’s “Knife in the Water” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai.”
Rather than the traditional 35mm prints being shipped to the Upper West Side venue, the films will be delivered via the same dedicated high-speed Internet line used for high-definition theater and opera presentations.
“Getting a decent 35mm print has been a difficult thing for a long time,” says Ira Deutchman of Emerging Pictures, which is distributing the series for Janus Films. “When people see these pictures on a big screen I think they’re
going to be surprised how good it looks.”
Schedule at symphonyspace.org. Purists and others on the future of digital in repertory programming at blogs.nypost.com/movies.