'The Smashing Machine': From VHS to 16mm to 65 mm, director Benny Safdie opens up about groundbreaking method in movie

Benny Safdie, the mastermind behind ‘The Smashing Machine,’ opened up about the intricate details of the film that seamlessly bind them together to make something eternally worthy of a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

As the trailer received an idyllic response, the anticipation has soared through the frames and screens.

Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson reveal the insightful behind-the-scenes

In an insightful conversation with A24 between the writer and director, Benny Safdie, and the titular role-playing actor, Dwayne Johnson, the former revealed the secrets of the groundbreaking methods to make the film realistic in a mind-blowing way. Talking about the filming of the film, Safdie displayed that ‘The Smashing Machine’ was shot in three ways: VHS, 16mm, and 65mm, with an approach of being an audience and not present in the scenario.“The movie starts out with VHS and then the movie hard cuts into this 16mm emotional state of mind,” the writer said, as Johnson continued that you feel the change in quality. Safdie then continued to show the minute size of a 16mm film, and then the film proceeded to show the hyperquality of the massive 65mm film – adding unbelievable tonality and depth to the scenes. When Johnson asked whether the director always had the switch-up in mind, Safdie responded with ‘Always.

’

Overcoming the challenges

However, the creativity came with its own struggles – the incessant grains on the visuals. As the 16mm comes with a grain, the visuals blew up when it was enlarged. The masterminds figured out a way to remove the grains with a film stock, even confirming the graphics on IMAX. “It just allowed us to live in the place and space like this is real. We are really in the ring, and we are really having these fights. There is like a DNA to the film that you can feel,” Johnson added.

'The Smashing Machine' will hit the cinemas on October 3, 2025.