As all self-respecting fans will know, in a week (from the date of publication) Oppenheimer will be hitting theaters. It’s the upcoming feature from Christopher Nolan, arguably one of the most significant directors currently working. His films have grossed over $5 billion, placing him comfortably in the top 10 of all time, but what makes him stand out from most of the others is that there is arguably no one else (save perhaps Ridley Scott) whose work offers as powerful a mix of true cinematic spectacle, strong narratives, and complex ideas. He draws his audience in with incredible visual images while telling stories that contain ideas that mainstream audiences might not normally engage with.
Since The Dark Knight in 2008, Nolan has become an unofficial ambassador for the IMAX format. He was the first to use its film cameras for a non-documentary feature, with his Batman sequel featuring 28 minutes of footage captured on IMAX film cameras, and he has used IMAX film cameras in all his subsequent movies. He continues to push the boundaries for IMAX and has worked with the company to create black-and-white IMAX film stock for the first time.
Oppenheimer was shot on a mixture of IMAX film cameras and 65mm large-format film stock and making it he’s, quite literally, pushed the boundaries of IMAX film again. With a runtime of three hours, it’s the longest IMAX movie ever which is a technical feat in and of itself. To achieve the 2 hour 49 minute runtime of 2014’s Interstellar he needed IMAX to widen the platters that hold the film. Now he’s done it again. As he told Collider, “I went to them and I said, ‘OK, I’ve got a 180-page script. That’s a three-hour movie on the nose. Can it be done?’ We looked at it, they looked at the platters, and they came to the conclusion that it could just be done. They’re telling me this is the absolute limit because now the arm that holds the platter went right up against it. So, this, I think, is finally the outer limit of running time for an IMAX film print.”
Let’s quickly recap then what is special about IMAX film. Most movies today are shot using digital cameras, or if on film, it’s 35mm. IMAX 15/70 film frames are considerably larger. The number 15 refers to each frame having 15 perforations across – these being the holes that are used to hold the film as it moves through the projector. The 70 refers to the fact that the frame is 70mm tall. This compares with regular 70mm or 35mm film stock, which has only five perforations down. (IMAX film moves through the projector horizontally, hence the perforations are at the top, whereas other formats move vertically). IMAX 15/70 frame is, therefore, 8.3x larger than 35mm and 3.4 times larger than 70mm – and the result is unprecedented quality.
This large frame allows much more fine detail to be captured, delivering richer colors and greater contrast. The highest-resolution digital cinema cameras have 8K sensors, and digital projection maxes out at 4K resolution but some estimate IMAX film stock to have an equivalent resolution of 16K. Let’s leave it to Chris Nolan himself to sum up with his belief that IMAX 15/70 is, “the highest quality imaging format ever devised – [it] gives you an incredible sense of immersion in the image. The clarity, the crispness – it is the gold standard.”
Not only that, but native IMAX film has an aspect ratio of 1.43:1 (1.43 meters across for every meter tall), making the image much taller than conventional widescreen cinema. For IMAX 1.43 sequences, you get the largest image possible, filling a giant screen from floor to ceiling. It fills your peripheral vision and draws you in – it’s breathtaking.
Sadly, most IMAX cinemas though cannot actually show IMAX 1570 as it requires two things – a 70mm IMAX film projector and a 1.43:1 screen. This is an increasingly rare combination and only 30 theaters on the planet will be able to show Oppenheimer in this ultimate hero format. In the UK, we are fortunate to have three: the Manchester Printworks, the London Science Museum, and the BFI IMAX. YMCinema has published a full list of all 30.
Nolan not only shoots on IMAX 1570 film but is the only director in the world that ensures that physical IMAX 1570 prints of his movies are struck and distributed around the world. Creating film prints is difficult and expensive, and that goes especially for IMAX, with Oppenheimer prints weighing over 600 lbs (272 kg) and 11 miles long if rolled out. As IMAX head of post-production, Bruce Markoe told me, “We quality control every single one so if there’s a color or lab issue, we have to reprint the reel. It also has to be watched in real-time for every single print, so it takes a couple of months – a long, laborious process.”
How much of Oppenheimer will be shown in 1.43: 1 is unknown at this point (the official press guide says “many sequences”), but the moments when IMAX switches to full frame are always special. Some may argue that IMAX full frame is only worth it for massive action sequences but as well-known critic Mark Kermode says in this otherwise rather cheesy promo, “I think there is a really, really fascinating thing about capturing human emotion on screen in a format like IMAX.”
The Best of the Rest
If you are unfortunately not able to get to an IMAX 15/70 screen, then the next best option will be a standard 70mm film print, and if not a 35mm film print. It’s worth checking if any of your local theaters will be showing it in these formats as aspect ratio notwithstanding, a film projected on film will give it that authentic quality that Nolan intended.
If no film option is available, then it’s back to IMAX – albeit in digital projected form. All of these will have screens that are 1.90:1 aspect ratio – so not full the 1.43:1 goodness but still taller than regular screens. However, again these are not all equal. A screen with a dual-laser projector will be the best option (aka, Cineworld Leicester Square in London), or failing that a single-laser system, where the screen will inevitably be smaller. My local multiplex offers this and the quality of picture and sound is very good. IMAX laser systems have 12-channel sound so you’ll benefit from that too – the sound design of an atomic bomb going off should be mighty.
After that, we have the rest of the IMAX digital screens, which use Xenon projectors and 6-channel sound.
Considering Nolan’s obsession with IMAX, this would give it the nod over the next best, which is Dolby Cinema. This will offer a crisp 4K image with up to 108 nits of brightness, with the best color and contrast ratio you can find in projected cinema screens.
Your next choices are the other premium large format screens that combine 4K projection with Dolby Atmos sound. The aspect ratio here will be 2.2:1, zoomed inside a 1.85:1 container, to make the most of the image quality available in the projector. In the USA, these are delivered under theater-chain brand names such as Regal RPX, Cinemark XD, or Cineplex UltraAVX, while in the UK, you’ll find them as Empire IMPACT, Odeon iSense or Cineworld Superscreen.
Not surprisingly there are no “gimmick” formats – such as ScreenX or 4D so at the bottom of the heap will be a regular 2D screen, with 2K resolution. This is not a premium format, but it might be a cheaper ticket, and, as befits what is arguably the cinematic event of the year (Barbie aside, obviously) – it’s still better than waiting to see it at home.
To summarize, here’s the list in my order of preference.
1. IMAX 70mm: 15 perf/70mm film projection in 1.43:1 asper ratio
2. 70mm film: 5 perf/70mm
3. 35mm film: 35mm anamorphic film
4. IMAX Laser: 1.90:1
5. IMAX Xenon: 1.90:1
6. Dolby Cinema: Up to 108 nits (31 Foot Lamberts) of full-screen brightness—
7. 4K Digital Cinema: Large format with Dolby Atmos sound
8. 2K Digital Cinema: Better than waiting to watch it at home.
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