Spike Lee had to urge Netflix to let him shoot on rare film for some of the most memorable scenes in 'Da 5 Bloods'

• "Da 5 Bloods" cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel told Insider that Spike Lee had to push Netflix to let them shoot the movie's flashback scenes on 16mm film.
• The grainy, chrome look of the scenes where Da 5 Bloods are fighting during the Vietnam War has been praised by critics.
• Sigel said the streaming giant was concerned about the challenges that would come from shooting on the format.
• It's a rarely-used film format and there were concerns about shipping the footage from the set back to the US for it to be processed.
• Sigel said it was Lee's "fervent support" that finally got Netflix to give the OK.

Spike Lee's new movie "Da 5 Bloods" is being celebrated for its moving story that mirrors the social unrest currently going on in today's world and its unique visionary choices.

But the movie's cinematographer said the latter would have been less memorable if Netflix got its way.

Veteran director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel ("The Usual Suspects," "Drive," "Extraction") revealed to Insider that the streaming giant was initially concerned about having the movie's flashback scenes of the main characters fighting in Vietnam shot on grainy 16mm film.

"There was pushback because it opened up a lot of challenges," Sigel told Insider.

The DP said because 16mm film, specifically the kind of stock Lee wanted to use that gave the picture a chrome look, is so rarely used these days it would be hard to come by. And with the movie being shot in Vietnam and Thailand, the 16mm footage would have to be flown back to the US to be processed at a specific lab.

All of this would lead to a heavy price tag for Netflix to pull off.

"But Spike was pretty adamant," Sigel said. "I would never have been able to do it without such fervent support from him."

Sigel said originally the flashback scenes of Da 5 Bloods (played in the movie by Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Chadwick Boseman) fighting in the war was not to be shot on a different format. He proposed the idea to Lee in preproduction.

"I think what really sold Spike on it was that this is what would have been used if a crew was there in Vietnam shooting during the war," Sigel said.

The choice has been hailed by critics. The Atlantic noted the flashback scenes are "crackling, vibrant visuals." While The Guardian praised how Sigel "squeezes the widescreen frames of the present into the square newsreel format of the past." The 16mm look definitely makes those flashback scenes match perfectly with the archival footage of civil rights leaders and horrific visuals from the Vietnam war that shows up throughout the movie.

Some may scratch their heads that Netflix would question Lee about wanting to shoot on 16mm as it has historically been known for abiding by filmmaker requests, even spending millions so Martin Scorsese could de-age Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci in the close to $200 million-budgeted "The Irishman." However, Lee has been adamant while doing press for the movie that Netflix was the only place in Hollywood willing to make the movie, having been rejected by numerous studios previously.

Lee didn't de-age his main characters during the flashback scenes because, as he told The New York Times, "I was not getting $100 million." But Lee putting his foot down to get the right visual aesthetic for a movie is consistent with what the Oscar-winner has done throughout his filmography. Movies like "25th Hour," "He Got Game," and "Clockers" are just a sampling of the titles where Lee played with picture tone and different shooting formats to tell his stories.

Looking back Sigel said it's possible they could have got a similar look in the flashback scenes on "Da 5 Bloods" if they didn't shoot on 16mm and just messed around in post-production with the footage. But, why fake it?

"It would have never been the same," Sigel admits.

"Da 5 Bloods" is currently available on Netflix.