I could make a 2 hour trip to see it in 70mm, or see it in IMAX in my neighborhood. Is the difference significant enough to warrant a special trip?

  • Kabe
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    1 year ago

    Depends on how much of a Chris Nolan fan or a movie geek you are, tbh. But if it’s not too much trouble then, yeah definitely. It’s pretty rare to have a film shot on 70mm IMAX, so it’s worth seeing it just to appreciate the full potential of the format.

    This article has a good summary about why IMAX 1570 is so special:

    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 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.”