Quentin Tarantino to unwrap ‘Hateful Eight’ on Christmas Day, in 70mm

Quentin Tarantino fans must have been good this year.

The idiosyncratic filmmaker’s ensemble western “The Hateful Eight” has been scheduled for release on Christmas Day, exclusively in 70mm in select theaters for the first two weeks, the Weinstein Co. announced Friday.

Following that initial run, which is being billed as the broadest 70mm release in more than 20 years, the film will expand to a wide release Jan. 8, 2016.

Because of the expansive, high-resolution imagery it affords, 70mm film is beloved by filmmakers and cinephiles alike, but it remains something of a niche format because of the increased cost and complexity involved.

For Tarantino, the release of “The Hateful Eight” will culminate a production that has had as many twists and turns off screen as most Hollywood movies do on screen.

The film -- a post-Civil War story about a mistrustful group of motley characters who are stranded by a blizzard at a stagecoach stopover -- first came to public attention when the script leaked in early 2014 and Tarantino said he was shelving the project.

In the ensuing months, the director engaged in a legal battle with Gawker Media over alleged copyright infringement, staged a live reading of the script in Los Angeles, and repeatedly sparked speculation about whether he would make the movie.

He did, obviously, with Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern playing the eponymous eight.

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