Odyssey turned me into an IMAX believer

After seeing Christopher Nolan The Odyssey for the first time at the beginning of last week, I was impressed, but I disagree with the two parts of the film. Although these pictures were beautifully made and very impressive, there was something a little different about the way he liked me. I spent days wondering what, exactly, it was that didn’t work for me during my first theater viewing, and I thought I might be tearing my hair out. But it wasn’t until I saw the movie again over the weekend — this time in IMAX — that the story became clear.

Even though I had heard all the right things The Odyssey being the first show completely with 70mm film IMAX camerasI thought most of it was a clever marketing ploy meant to introduce Nolan’s cinephile fans. I never thought about how watching the film in a larger format would make for a different viewing experience. But The Odyssey it’s actually a movie that needs to be seen in IMAX if you want to know the truth about the story that Nolan is telling.

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for The Odyssey (which, to be fair, is based on Homer’s nearly 3,000-year-old poem).

There are many events all over the world The Odyssey which is best seen when the film is shown in 35mm format. The big, big shots of Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his men at sea make you appreciate the expanse of the Mediterranean Sea, and you can feel the disharmony of the soldiers as they hide inside the Trojan horse. Although you can see that the film was cut, Odysseus’ terrifying encounter with the Laestrygonians gives you an idea of ​​how big they are compared to the wandering Ithacans. But The OdysseyScenes involving the story’s biggest monsters have a certain gravitas when shown in IMAX because of the sheer number of visuals that must be captured.

When I saw The Odyssey in 35mm – which is shown in many pictures, 2.39: 1 aspect ratio – I knew that the Cyclops Polyphemus (Bill Irwin) climbed above the people who entered his cave in search of food. But when I saw the IMAX screening of the film – whose 1.90:1 aspect ratio is smaller than 70mm’s 1.43:1 ratio – I had a better understanding of the scale of the creature and the visuals baked into Irwin’s body. Because the IMAX screening showed a long image, I was able to spend more time reading details that were easy to miss the first time around, like how Polyphemus works to keep his head from hitting the cave ceiling.

The stark difference between the two scenes became even more apparent when I saw the Cyclops chase Odysseus and his men down the mountain again. In 70mm, you can see more of the beast’s upper body as it slashes through the trees with enough ferocity, bringing a sense of danger and urgency to the chase. I also had the experience of seeing soldiers rowing across a stormy pool unaware that they were heading in the direction of Scylla’s monster. A 35mm screening will show you that Scylla is funny, but an IMAX screening makes it easier to understand how she can snatch her tormentors before they realize they are hiding in the cliffs above them.

By shooting The Odyssey entirely in 70mm, Nolan has created a film whose size and shape can make it immersive in ways that are not modern. But he also chose that type it makes it difficult for many theatergoers to see the movie in its most impressive form. Because there is about 40 theaters around the world (25 in the US) that can screen 70mm IMAX movies, many people will probably never get the chance to take them. The Odyssey just as Nolan wanted. This and the fact that IMAX screens are more expensive than regular movies have encouraged some accusing the director of being anti-art and contribute to the nature of obsessive color purism.

One could even say that Nolan is using it The Odyssey showing IMAX and theater owners that there is real public demand for movies shot in 70mm. The recent shortage of 70mm screens for The Odyssey it’s because IMAX couldn’t make new projectors. Talking with MiscellaneousIMAX CEO Richard Gelfond explained that the company has been focusing on restoring old projectors, but there are not many movie theaters willing to take the construction costs that it would take to build 1.43:1 screens necessary to show 70mm films. If IMAX and the various theater chains were willing to raise the funds to increase the projection area and expand the space, 70mm screens would become commonplace. But for now, companies seem comfortable using the lack of visibility as a marketing tool.

That marketing strategy has worked The Odyssey – a highly anticipated project from one of the world’s most respected filmmakers. But Nolan’s star power clearly has a more to do with a good movie at the box office. There aren’t many other guides that can get people travel across the country just to see one of their products. It also helps that the film is worth seeing, especially in IMAX.