Before The Master, Landmark's Century Centre converts to DCP

We knew that The Master, which opens Friday, wouldn't get a timely 70mm run in Chicago. Now it's clear the film won't show in 35mm, either. Landmark's Century Centre, one of the last 35mm holdouts in the city, is converting to DCP this week—which means all of Chicago's first-run screenings of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest will be in digital. It's possible the theater will still use celluloid for the occasional festival; when I reported a story on the conversion in February, Landmark CEO Ted Mundorff told me he was hoping to keep at least one 35mm projector in every market.

The movie will also open at the AMC River East 21 and in the suburbs (UPDATE, September 20, 12:27pm: TWC has added the ShowPlace ICON as well), but apart from the Gene Siskel Film Center, it's no longer possible to see a 35mm print downtown. The Music Box hopes to bring The Master back for an encore run in 70mm this winter. I've seen the film only in its native wide-gauge format, so I can't offer a comparison. But is it worth seeing in 70mm if you can? Absolutely, unquestionably yes.