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Is it that much crazier than previously, when a movie was shot on film, scanned to a digital intermediary, then printed back onto film for distribution?

EDIT: Now that I've read up on Greig Fraser's reasoning, it makes a lot more sense for Dune! https://ymcinema.com/2021/12/03/dune-was-shot-on-alexa-lf-tr...

> Is it that much crazier than previously, when a movie was shot on film, scanned to a digital intermediary, then printed back onto film for distribution?

Yes. They did that because they didn't have digital equipment suitable for cameras and projectors. This is much crazier.

The reason is supposedly to achieve a softness in the image. I’m sure that could have been achieved with a video filter.

This happens a lot in music production/mastering as well. Digital -> tape -> digital. Tape certainly adds specific saturation.

This is just what happens to people with unlimited budget.