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Quentin Tarantino has declared “cinema is dead” at the Cannes film festival, where he argued screening films in digital is simply forcing an audience to watch television in public and lambasted established film makers for turning their back on 35 mm film.
Speaking at the festival where the director won the Palme d'Or prize in 1994 for his cult film Pulp Fiction , Tarantino condemned digital projections as a poor substitute for the "real thing".
Tarantino joined Uma Thurman and John Travolta for the 20th anniversary celebration of Pulp Fiction, shortly before a 35mm screening of his hit on the beach on Friday night.
The 51-year-old filmmaker told journalists and critics: "As far as I'm concerned, digital projection and DCPs is the death of cinema as I know it."
“The fact that most films now are not presented in 35 mm means that the war is lost. Digital projections, that's just television in public. And apparently the whole world is OK with television in public, but what I knew as cinema is dead."
Cannes 2014 in picturesShow all 57 1 /57Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Jane Fonda arrives on the red carpet for the Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Model Irina Shayk attends 'The Search' premiere during the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival
Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Quentin Tarantino dances with Uma Thurman as he arrives at Cannes
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 John Travolta, US actress Uma Thurman and US director Quentin Tarantino pose as they arrive for the screening of the film 'Sils Maria'
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Model Rosie Huntington Whiteley during the festival in Cannes
Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Cast of the "Lost River": (L-R) Reda Kateb, Matt Smith, Ian De Caestecker, Christina Hendricks and director Ryan Gosling attend the photocall during the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival
Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Director Ryan Gosling attends a photo call for "Lost River" at the 67th international film festival in Cannes
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Actress Frederique Bel attends the Opening ceremony
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi attends the opening ceremony
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 French actress Laetitia Casta poses as she arrives for the Opening ceremony of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Actress Zoe Saldana attends the Opening ceremony and the 'Grace of Monaco' Premiere during the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Model Karlie Kloss poses at the Opening ceremony and the 'Grace of Monaco' Premiere during the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival on 14 May, in Cannes, France.
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 'Grace of Monaco' cast and crew: (from left to right) Paz Vega, Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, director Olivier Dahan, Jeanne Balibar, Pierre Ange Le Pogam and Geraldine Somerville
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Elena Lenina attends the Opening Ceremony
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 French actress and member of the Un Certain Regard Jury Geraldine Pailhas poses as she arrives for the Opening ceremony of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Model and TV personality Kendal Jenner at the Opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May, 2014 in Cannes, France.
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 (Left to right) Jury members, US director Sofia Coppola, Iranian actress Leila Hatami, French actress Carole Bouquet, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, New Zealand director Jane Campion, Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon, Chinese director Jia Zhangke and US actor Willem Dafoe arrive for the screening of 'Grace of Monaco' and the Opening Ceremony of the 67th annual Cannes Film Festival.
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 US actress Jane Fonda poses as she arrives for the Opening ceremony of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Jury member Masami Nagasawa attends the welcome Cocktail party for jury members
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Jury member Gael Garcia Bernal attends the welcome Cocktail party for jury members
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Nicole Kidman dances with French actor and Master of Ceremony Lambert Wilson during the Opening Ceremony of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Jury members Leila Hatami and Nicolas Winding Refn
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Director Alfonso Cuaron attends the Opening ceremony
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Actress Nicole Kidman on the red carpet at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Photographers line up to photograph the Grace of Monaco cast on the red carpet
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Spanish actress Paz Vega attends a preview of 'Grace of Monaco'
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Cannes 2014 in pictures Cannes 2014 Jury member Sofia Coppola
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When asked how cinema could be saved, he described this generation as “quite hopeless” but said he remains hopeful the next one “would demand the real thing”.
“I'm hopeful that we're going through a woozy romantic period with the ease of digital,” he added. “I'm very hopeful that future generations will be much smarter than this generation and realise what they lost."
"Back in my day, you at least needed 16mm to make something, and that was a Mount Everest most of us couldn't climb.
"But why an established filmmaker would shoot on digital, I have no ******* idea at all."
An excited Tarantino broke out into an impromptu dance and recreated Pulp Fiction's Jack Rabbit Slim's scene as he arrived at Cannes before greeting Travolta and Thurman with a high five.
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Try for free The trio held hands while posing for cameras and then headed to the premiere of Clouds of Sils Maria at the Palais des Festivals before Pulp Fiction was shown.
After arriving at city's beach for the screening of his breakthrough film, Tarantino told an excited audience: "I've seen Pulp Fiction under every circumstance a person can see it except this one," and instructed them to “rip out a joint and light it up”.
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