iPhone Feature Films? 28 Years Later and June & John Home Cinema Test

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With every new iPhone generation, Apple advertises that its cameras now meet the professional demands of Hollywood directors. And indeed, two films were released this year that were shot exclusively with iPhones: Danny Boyle's horror film 28 Years Later and Luc Besson's road movie June & John.

Both films are now available on Ultra HD Blu-ray (UHD) as well as Blu-ray Disc and as a stream on AppleTV. The UHD releases in particular show whether the iPhones can actually keep up with professional cameras, or whether the 4K discs merely expose the flaws of the small camera sensors.

In this home cinema test, we look at the technology and compare both films in the various disc and stream releases. On the following pages, we will clarify the questions: Is this the future of cinema or just a technical gimmick? And are the films any good in terms of content?

Incidentally, "28 Years Later" will be continued in cinemas in mid-January with "The Bone Temple." So it's the perfect time to have a closer look at the start of the new trilogy.

Cinema for your Pocket

There was a time when the announcement that a feature film was shot with a smartphone was, at best, met with a condescending smile as a PR gag. Tangerine L.A. (2015) by Sean Baker was the first bombshell that conquered Sundance and showed that the iPhone 5s had enough dynamic range to make cinematic history.

Steven Soderbergh followed up with the claustrophobic thriller Unsane (2018) and the sports drama High Flying Bird (2019), proving that the small lens saves budget and enables an entirely new, intimate aesthetic. Today, where the sensors of Apple's Pro models are almost venturing into areas previously reserved for ARRI and RED, the Shot-on-iPhone label is no longer a gimmick but a conscious aesthetic choice.

This year, two heavyweights of European cinema met with exactly this approach, albeit under completely different circumstances. On the one hand, Danny Boyle, the British visionary, who returns to his cult-loved "Zombie" franchise after almost three decades (strictly speaking, they are infected, not undead). His 28 Years Later is a 75-million-dollar blockbuster shot on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

On the other hand, Luc Besson, the French "Cinéma du look" pioneer, who, during the Covid lockdown, roamed Los Angeles with a minimal crew and (presumably) an iPhone 11 Pro to shoot June & John, an anarchic declaration of love to filmmaking itself.