This is completely incorrect - the 810 is tested at somewhere shy of 15 stops DR. Portra 400 can squeak out 18. A slow B+W film can do 20-21.

I spent years struggling with high dynamic range/contrast acutance with severe weather photography and digital cameras. Blown highlights, color noise in shadows, rough tonality through contrast transitions, etc. Specific films (not slide film like Ektachrome) were my salvation.

Also, noise is not the same as grain. If the difference is unimportant, I'd think the other nuances relevant to this conversation may be as well.