‘Digger’ frames disaster in VistaVision

Digger, a comedy-drama starring Tom Cruise, places the world’s most powerful man at the centre of a disaster he unleashed. The movie has a distinctive big-screen hook: it was shot in VistaVision, a large-frame 35mm process that captures more image detail for cinema presentation.

Digger is screening in Ster-Kinekor cinemas and Nu Metro theatres as well as at The Bioscope from today (2 October 2026).

VistaVision runs 35mm film horizontally through the camera, producing an eight-perforation frame twice the size of conventional 35mm. VistaVision is the capture format, while Imax is one of the formats used to exhibit the finished movie. The additional negative area retains more photographic information for presentation on a giant screen.

Paramount introduced VistaVision in 1954 with White Christmas. Early productions included The Ten Commandments and Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, while the format later supported visual-effects photography on Star Wars.

A recent revival has returned the process to feature filmmaking. The Brutalist, shot extensively in VistaVision, earned cinematographer Lol Crawley an Oscar. The format also provided the visual foundation for One Battle After Another and Bugonia in 2025.

Digger continues that revival by using horizontal 35mm photography to frame a crisis that threatens humanity. The film follows Digger Rockwell on a frantic mission to prove that he can save the world before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything. He is both the man who unleashed the catastrophe and the man asking the world to trust him with the solution. His mission depends on stopping the destruction and persuading humanity to see him as its saviour.

Filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu directs Digger, reuniting with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki after they each won consecutive Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant: directing for Iñárritu and cinematography for Lubezki.

Cruise leads the cast alongside Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Iñárritu co-wrote the screenplay with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman. The story is credited to Berman, Iñárritu and Jez Butterworth, while Cosmo Sheldrake composed the score.

Conor O’Neill and Oscar winner Stephen Mirrione edited the movie, while Dennis Gassner and Richard Johnson served as production designers. The technical team includes costume designer Jacqueline West, makeup and hair designer Alessandro Bertolazzi, and prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and deputy editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky at @jas2bann.

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