2023 Movies Shot on Film: From ‘Oppenheimer’ to ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and ‘Maestro’

Bill Desowitz
·10 min read
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It’s been a banner year for movies shot on Kodak film, led by the Oscar-contending “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Poor Things,” “Saltburn,” “Past Lives,” “All of Us Strangers,” “Asteroid City,” “Origin,” and “The Iron Claw.”

And those are just the prestige films. There are also such notables Raven Jackson’s “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Kristoffer Borgli’s “Dream Scenario,” Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera,” Christos Nikou’s “Fingernails,” Steve McQueen’s “Occupied City,” Eddie Alcazar’s “Divinity,” Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama,” Alice Rorhwacher’s “La Chimera,” Sean Price Williams’ “The Sweet East,” Ken Loach’s “The Old Oak,” and many more.

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All told, there are more than 60 movies shot on Kodak film that either have planned theatrical releases this year or premiered at film festivals and await release. That’s a substantial increase from the two dozen in 2022. Here’s a look at the movies shot on film in 2023:

This article was first published April 7, 2023. It has been updated.

“Knock at the Cabin” (Universal, February 3)

M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller (shot by Jarin Blaschke and Lowell A. Meyer in 35mm) tracks a family of three being menaced by a band of strangers who swear one of them must die in order to save an increasingly apocalyptic world.

“Sharper” (Apple TV+, A24, February 17)

A con artist takes on Manhattan billionaires in this thriller directed by Emmy winner Benjamin Caron (“Andor,” “The Crown”). It stars Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, John Lithgow, Justice Smith, and Briana Middleton and was shot in 35mm by Charlotte Bruus Christensen (“A Quiet Place”).

“Past Lives” (A24, June 23)

Korean-Canadian playwright Celine Song (“Endings”) makes her directorial film debut with this drama that premiered at Sundance. It’s about two childhood friends from South Korea (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) who get separated and reunite two decades later in New York City. Shot in 35mm by Shabier Kirchner (“Lover’s Rock”).

“Blue Jean” (Magnolia Pictures, June 9)

A British drama directed by Georgia Oakley about a closeted PE teacher (Rosy McEwen) who’s pushed to the brink when a new student (Lucy Halliday) threatens to out her. Shot in 16mm by Victor Seguin.

“Asteroid City” (Focus Features, June 16)

Wes Anderson tackles UFOs, aliens, and strange encounters in a 1955 desert town during the annual “Junior Stargazer and Space Cadet” convention in his 11th film. His latest ensemble cast includes favorites Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, and newcomers Tom Hanks and Steve Carell. Anderson’s go-to cinematographer, Robert Yeoman, shot the film in 35mm in color (2.40) and black-and-white (1.37). The desert setting shot in Spain captured the pastel look and was inspired by “Bad Day at Black Rock”. It was shot with the sun overhead and a lot of contrast. The black-and-white was also like the 1950s era.

“Earth Mama” (A24, July 7)

Savanah Leaf’s directorial feature debut concerns a pregnant, single mom (Tia Nomore) who embraces her Bay Area community in her time of need. Shot in 16mm by Jody Lee Lipes.

“Oppenheimer” (Universal, July 21)

Christopher Nolan’s historical thriller about eccentric theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the “father of the atomic bomb,” ventures into uncharted territory with go-to cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. They use the large-format IMAX camera to explore the landscape of faces for the contrasting perspectives of Oppenheimer’s in color and adversary Admiral Lewis Strauss’ (Robert Downey Jr.) in black-and-white during the Cold War. In fact, this was a first for Kodak to finish Double X 5222 black-and-white film in 65mm format for shooting in IMAX and Panavision cameras.

“White Bird: A Wonder Story” (Lionsgate, July 30)

Marc Forster directs a prequel to “Wonder,” based on the graphic novel, with Helen Mirren’s grandmother as a young Jewish girl (played by Ariella Glaser) in hiding in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Shot in 35mm by Koenigswieser.

“Heart of Stone” (Netflix, August 11)

Tom Harper (“The Aeronauts,” “Peaky Blinders”) directs this spy thriller starring Gal Gadot, shot in 35mm by George Steel (“The Aeronauts”).

“Fingernails” (Apple TV+, August 31)

Christos Nikou’s sci-fi romance about a test that tries to prove if a couple is truly in love, starring Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed, is shot in 35mm by Marcel Rev.

“Divinity” (Utopia, October 13)

Eddie Alcazar’s sci-fi thriller (financed by Steven Soderbergh) about a future society in the grips of an immortality serum, is shot by Danny Hiele on 16mm black-and-white reversal film.

“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” (Netflix, September 20)

Anderson’s four-part series of shorts, shot in 16mm by Yeoman, were adapted from Road Dahl’s collection of short stories. The titular short, which had an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a wealthy Englishman who learns to cheat at gambling by mastering a form of Yoga.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple TV+, Paramount Pictures, October 20)

Scorsese’s historical drama is based on the nonfiction book by David Grann, which uncovers the shocking murders of Osage tribal landowners in Oklahoma in the 1920s after the discovery of oil on their property. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, the weak-willed nephew of William Hale (Robert De Niro), a local rancher who wants the Osage oil rights. The cast also includes Lily Gladstone as Burkhart’s Osage wife, Mollie. Shot in 35mm by go-to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who captured the natural colors of nature and the Oklahoma landscape for the scenes isolating the Osage characters. For the rest, he emulated Autochrome of the 1920s and then ENR, with its high contrast and reduced color saturation, for the harsher, more brutal sequences. And, for the 1930s epilogue, he emulated three-strip Technicolor to evoke movie color of the period.

“All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” (A24, November 3)

Raven Jackson directs a decades-spanning exploration of a woman’s life in Mississippi. It premiered at Sundance and was produced by Barry Jenkins and shot in 35mm by Jomo Fray (“Port Authority”). They created an artistic manifesto so that the light and camera would be naturalistic and paired down to its most elemental component parts for a tactile experience.

“Dream Scenario” (A24, November 10)

Kristoffer Borgli’s fantasy black comedy about millions of strangers seeing Nicolas Cage’s hapless nobody in their dreams was shot by Benjamin Loeb in 16mm.

“Another Day of Hope” (Midnightblurfilms, November 16)

Taifeng Liu’s Chinese drama about an Internet delivery product manager, whose life is shattered by a sudden accident, is shot by Daniel Yan in 16mm.

“Saltburn” (Amazon/MGM, November 17)

Emerald Fennel’s savage depiction of the British upper class in the mid-2000s is a cross between “Brideshead Revisited” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” only told as a vampire black comedy starring Barry Keoghan as a cunning opportunist. It’s shot by Oscar-winning Linus Sandgren (“La La Land”) in 35mm and 1.33 to enhance the voyeurism at the titular 14th-century estate with rich color and contrast.

“Fallen Leaves” (Mubi, November 17)

The fourth film in Aki Kaurismaki’s working class cycle about two lonely people with emotional baggage who take a chance on love is the Finnish Oscar entry for Best International Feature. It’s shot by Timo Salminen in 35mm.

“21 Paradise” (Begin Again Films, November 21)

Néstor Ruiz Medina’s feature debut about a young couple trying desperately to keep their passion alive is shot by Marino Pardo in 16mm as a series of 21 key moments in their relationship (framed as single takes).

“The Sweet East” (Utopia, December 1)

Williams directs this drama about a South Carolina high school senior’s class trip to D.C., shot by him in 16mm.

“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures, December 8)

Lanthimos follows up “The Favourite” with an alternate Victorian universe (based on the novel by Alasdair Gray). It’s a “Frankenstein” gender bender with Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), re-animated by eccentric scientist Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and going on a wild, liberating journey. Oscar-nominated cinematographer Robbie Ryan (“The Favourite”) is back shooting 35mm with fish eye lenses — color (including Ektachrome) and black-and-white — for a surreal look.

“Origin” (NEON, December 8)

Ava DuVernay directs this biographical drama about the roots of hate, adapted from Isabel Wilkerson’s acclaimed nonfiction book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) becomes the protagonist on a journey of global investigation and discovery during the writing of her book, shot by Matthew Lloyd in 16mm.

“The End We Start From” (Republic Pictures, December 8)

Mahalia Belo directs this Benedict Cumberbatch-produced English thriller (adapted from the Megan Hunter novel) about a mother (Jodie Comer) and her family fighting for survival. It was shot by Suzie Lavelle in 35mm.

“Maestro” (Netflix, December 20)

Bradley Cooper directs and stars in this sweeping exploration of legendary conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein through the lens of his complicated marriage to Chilean-American actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Spanning more than four decades and shot by Matthiew Libatique (Oscar-nominated for “A Star Is Born”) it’s like “The Wizard of Oz” in reverse: the first half idealizes the couple’s strong emotional bond in black-and-white, while the second half offers the harsh reality of their drifting apart in color.

“All of Us Strangers” (Searchlight Pictures, December 22)

Andrew Haigh’s queer romantic fantasy finds screenwriter Andrew Scott hooking up with Paul Mescal’s mysterious neighbor while venturing back to his suburban roots for visits with his deceased parents. It’s shot in 35mm by Jamie Ramsey with a nostalgic nod to the ’80s and ’90s, like looking at a family picture.

“The Iron Claw” (Searchlight Pictures, December 22)

Sean Durkin’s true-life wrestling saga about the tragic Von Erich wrestling brothers (starring Zac Efron as survivor Kevin) is shot by Mátyás Erdély in 3-perf 35mm for a raw look. It captures the ’80s world of wrestling with colorful glam and dark brutality.

“Occupied City” (A24, December 25)

Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) directs this documentary about Amsterdam under Nazi occupation during World War II. It’s based on the illustrated book “Atlas of An Occupied City: Amsterdam 1940-1945,” written by McQueen’s wife, Bianca Stigter, the Dutch cultural critic who directed the doc “Three Minutes – A Lengthening.” Shot in 35mm by Lennert Hillege (“The Forgotten Battle), the film explores present-day Amsterdam by tracing a hidden past and darker history.

Festival 2023 Premieres Currently Without Release Dates

“Americana” (TBA)

Directed by Tony Tost, this Western crime thriller premiered at SXSW and revolves around the spiritual power of a rare Lakota Ghost shirt, which protects the wearer against bullets. Shot in 35mm by Katelin Arizmendi 35mm.

“Deadland” (TBA)

The heightened thriller, directed by editor Lance Larson, concerns a West Texas U.S. border patrol agent (Roberto Urbina) who keeps apprehending a ghost. It premiered at SXSW and was shot in 16mm by Jas Shelton.

“Fairyland” (TBA)

A coming-of-age drama, directed by Andrew Durham, about a girl growing up in the ’70s and ’80s with her gay dad in San Francisco. Shot in 16mm (hybrid) by Greta Zozula (“The Half of It”).

“Handling of the Undead” (Neon, TBA)

Documentary filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl (Adjø Montebello) directs this horror film that reunites “The Worst Person in the World” co-stars Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie. Shot in 35mm by Paal Ulvik Rokseth (“22 July”), it’s about a collective migraine that spreads across an Oslo town as a result of a strange electric field.

“Jamojaya” (TBA)

Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”) directs this drama about an aspiring Indonesian rapper (Brian Imanuel). It premiered at Sundance and is shot in 35mm by Ante Cheng (“Blue Bayou”).

“La Chimera” (NEON, TBA)

The third entry in Rohrwacher’s action-packed tomb-raider franchise premiered at Cannes, and stars Josh O’Connor as a grieving British archaeologist. It is shot by Helen Louvart in 35mm to link the past and present with the Etruscan civilization and super 16mm for daily life.

“The Old Oak” (TBA)

Loach’s Northeast England pub drama, which tackles the influx of Syrian refugees, premiered at Cannes, and was shot by Robbie Ryan in 35mm with their typical observational style.

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