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but a lot of filmmakers prefer to shoot flat because of greater flexibility in low light situations.
...because there is a bigger variety of spherical lenses than anamorphic lenses. Don't forget that anamorphic lenses distort images differently than spherical images. This creates a "look" that people would call epic or "surreal". Older films shot in Cinemascope had some weird distortion issues which is why there are very little close ups in these films. It got better with Panavision but you still notice some weird issues, especially at the edges of frames. Look at ANH on the Tantive IV and look at people on the left and right sides of the frames for the medium and wide shots. Or better yet, 2001 when Dave climbs down the ladder to get to the pod room to get the other guy HAL tossed into space. There's a pan shot that reeks of scope distortion (mixed with a really wide lens).
Still a lot of directors like to shoot in scope and use wide lenses to create this weird look. Wes Anderson is a prime example.