Ridley Scott’s new short film shows what the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200MP camera can do
In some ways, Sir Ridley Scott helped inspire the name of our favorite operating system. The director’s 1982 classic,Blade Runner, was based on a Philip K. Dick novel titledDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?and featuredNexusmodel cyborgs, popularizing words that have since re-entered common vernacular thanks to Google’s mobile OS. So it’s only fitting that Samsung would tap the legendary filmmaker in a project meant to showcase the video capabilities of thenew 200MP camerain theGalaxy S23 Ultra.
The film was shot entirely on a Galaxy S23 Ultra — granted, Scott and cinematographer Flavio Labiano used professional-grade lighting and a Hollywood-style camera mount, but Samsung’s high-end flagship indeed captured all the video. The film is titledBeholdand has a runtime of just under four minutes.
In an interview Samsung shared during itsFebruary 1 Unpacked event, Scott described the film as a “Very simple piece of storytelling where we’re in an environment which is aggressive, and every turn this man takes, it seems to have an aggressive side to it.” He went on to note that the main character “Finds absolution and peace with an animal — with a horse that he turns loose at the end … Out of a dark world becomes good things with good behavior. It is, therefore, a little bit poetic.”
Labiano offered high praise after working with the Galaxy S23 Ultra for this project. “At first, I feared it wouldn’t give me the range of functions I normally have available when working. But once I became accustomed to its settings, I was pleasantly surprised by how versatile it was. Once I became more familiar with the S23, I was impressed with its capabilities, the quality of image, and the dynamic range of the sensor.”
Meanwhile, Scott was impressed with the S23’s (relatively) small form factor and the possibilities it opened up for filmmaking: “I thought it’s a great challenge, a very interesting challenge. But the scary thing is, a small object, it’s going to take the place of all the big cameras. Which is great … I like being able to go into real environments where a lot of rooms and a lot of spaces are very small. So it’s very useful.”
In our short time with the phone, we’ve beenthoroughly impressed by the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera. If you’ve been on the fence about the three different models Samsung just launched, seeing the Ultra’s rear shooter in action here might help you finally decidewhich size Galaxy S23 to buy.
The camera upgrades on the Galaxy S23 Ultra are impressive in the hands of a professional, but the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor on the Ultra’s main camera will crank out some superb photos even without having to futz with Pro mode all the time. Combine that with S Pen support for easier on-device editing, a 5,000mAh battery to stay alive even while live streaming, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s performance and efficiency, and you’ve got a nearly unbeatable phone.
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