VIDEO Here's why The Hateful Eight shot on 65mm film

Quentin Tarantino's eighth film is almost ready to hit cinemas and The Hateful Eight is going to be a bit of a special release.

That's because the filmmaker managed to convince the studio to let him shoot on 65mm film and with expensive lenses which haven't been used in years, all with the intention of releasing the film in an exclusive early 'Roadshow' version just for outlets capable of projecting film at 70mm.

Now this video explains why 65mm and Ultra Panavision are important, and shows just how enthusiastic everyone was about the process. It's also narrated by Samuel L Jackson, which is always fun.

The Roadshow version of The Hateful Eight will be more than three hours long and will include a musical interlude, something we haven't seen since the theatrical presentation of Pearl Harbor or re-release screenings like Kubrick's 2001. It's going to be quite the experience for fans.

There's only one cinema with a functioning 70mm projector in Ireland so they would technically be able to mount The Hateful Eight but there's no word on whether the Roadshow will travel here. We'll have more information closer to the release date.

The Hateful Eight is set for release in its roadshow version in the US on the 25th of December 2015. It will go on general release in Ireland and the UK on the 8th of January 2016.