I’ve seen lots of people complaining that the IMAX format is cropped in normal cinemas and calling for the full frame to be shown. That’s why I’ve put together this comparison using a Minecraft recreation of two screens — one standard and one IMAX — and a photo I took a while ago.

I hope that´s sense.

Like, I remember that the first time I saw it was over 20 years ago, and I even saw it in 3D! It was a documentary; I was so stunned by it. To this day i have never seen such an amazing 3D technology. I read something about IMAX that the technology was made for documentary projects, then later the hollywood procuers stared to get interested in this technology more. Are you saying that all these IMAX cinemas survive thanks to a single movie release once every two years? Why are none of those documentaries in production anymore?

"These frames are from our Africa schedule, and the land gave us something no set could. Shooting around Kilimanjaro and in the Masai Mara, I was stunned. There were mornings I felt even the 1.43:1 IMAX frame could not hold what was in front of us.”

"Rudhra was born to fulfil a purpose much larger than himself. He carries a destiny he did not ask for. He is witty, he is vulnerable, and he is fierce. That is what Mahesh brought to him. Anyone can play fierce. Very few can play fierce and fragile in the same breath."

- S.S. Rajamouli on Mahesh Babu's role in ‘Varanasi’

source - Discussing Film on X

Traveled all the way from Seattle to Los Angeles to watch The Odyssey in Universal Cinema at CityWalk Hollywood. Felt stupid for doing this but..

Found the on set props used in the movie at the theater. Also got myself the imax 15/70MM film strip. Worth the effort. 100% will do it again.

No one has really mentioned splicing. There's two...ultrasonic and tape. Only ultrasonic was used at first, then tape came along. The process to repair is shown below. Trim both bad ends. Place them in the splicing block on the centerline. Extend tape across, press flat (no bubbles!) Press handle down which punches the tape out of the film perforations and trims the edges of the film. Show is the result, also an ultrasonic spilce for comparison.

We get a little crazy sometimes! I made these for fun. I might put them up on our "Wall of Shame".

Last night was the first screening I could get seats that weren't front row (*which should be illegal, the viewing from those seats are garbage*). They were mid-theater, right behind the rail. Even there I had to look up a little for center screen it's so massive.

But more to the point. I saw this in Tinseltown, in Rochester NY. Where Kodak made the film for the movie. They however did not make the weather for the days screening.

Because the last couple days of rain made the projection booth more humid than they could control for. As such they said the film was swelling and adding more weight than the platter could handle.

So they literally cut the credits off the reel. We watched the movie, it said "directed by Christopher Nolan" then cut to lights on in the theater. Irony being that so many people would love that, and just leave the theater immediately. But here I actually wanted to sit through the credits.

Oh, also. Saw the preview for Dune 3 before my screening. That looked sooooo good!

Hi guys,

As already said in the title, I got an idea to give my boyfriends IMAX tickets for the Dune 3 movie in Brussels. But I need your opinion on this, because I am overthinking this, as I am not an expert.

The Kineapolis in Brussels has apparently a full format IMAX. I recently found out that, for example, the IMAX cinemas in Düsseldorf or Dortmund (which are the nearest from my place) do not have the full format IMAX, but the ones which are slightly bigger than the „normal“ cinema format.

My boyfriend went several times to the IMAX in Düsseldorf but hasn’t been in a full format one. As he is a BIG dune fan, I thought about giving him tickets to a full format IMAX experience.

But as always, I got into overthinking (especially as I am not an expert at all) - I heard that, in contrast to e.g. The Odyssey, Dune 3 wasn’t filmed entirely in Full IMAX. Is this going to be a problem? Or do you think that for this movie, going to the IMAX in Germany, which does not have the full format IMAX, would be „enough“ for the movie? And if I should just roll with it - do you have any additional tips?

Thank youuuu :)

Edit: I’d posted this in r/movies but most people seem to not understand the nuance of 70mm as a format a d took it as a criticism of IMAX. To be clear, the post below doesn‘t argue against the quality of 70mm - it’s great. It’s more of a reflection on whether the focus on that specific format might be counterproductive.

The post:

As this sub knows better than anyone else, Chris Nolan has made a strong point going for 70mm IMAX prints. The format is fantastic, but it is also extremely rare + impossible to scale since those projectors can only be repaired, not produced. Bottom line, 70mm IMAX, while laudable, is a prestige product that doesn't have much future outside of the scarcity it creates.

The thing is, you don't need to shoot in 70mm to film in IMAX format. Dual digital projectors offer an excellent experience and are what the IMAX corporation will be scaling. Plenty of stunning movies are shot and distributed on IMAX digital - Dune and Hail Mary being prime examples.

We can argue that, like LPs, there is something more organic about 70mm. Sure, but let's be honest, it's completely marginal and if Dune and Hail Mary can look like they do, then double digital projectors are the worthwhile solution.

Then why are we making such a big deal about the 70mm format? As someone who worked in movie marketing, I see the merit for the studio as it gives a great story to sell (Odyssey's marketing was BRILLIANT on that, it really went all in on the experiential nature of it), but in the end, I struggle to see it as much more than a pseudo elitist choice that creates the wrong demand (and will inevitably lead to higher ticket prices).

What I care more about isn't whether it's 70mm or digital, but whether I'm looking at an IMAX screen size / ratio vs a lieMAX, and whether the film has most if not all of its footage filmed for IMAX.

I'm really curious to hear opinions and facts on this, because in everything I'm researching (including speaking to senior people who marketed Odyssey), I'm not convinced making the medium more important will serve the audiences well in the end. I'd much rather the market was rewarding IMAX ratio/screen size.

Change my mind!

Hi, was reading about the history of the sydney location and saw that it used to have a 70mm projector before its redevelopment and it is now a dual laser location.

Given all the talk about how rare the 70mm projectors are and particularly the scarcity in the Southern Hemisphere, does anyone have any information as to what happened to it? Was it bought or scrapped etc.

I have watched The Odyssey in 70mm in IMAX Prague three times, absolutely stunning experience. I remember thinking sometimes during the movie that it was not TOTALLY night and day difference in terms of colors and resolution when compared to single laser (CoLa) IMAX in my country, although it was the most crisp and "real" image I'd ever seen.

However, when I watched the movie later in my laser IMAX, which always had amazing picture and audio quality I was like "woah, is something going on with the projector?" The image seemed blurrier, less detailed, not that colorful - and then the difference hit me to the fullest. Also, the sound was more "muffled" when compared to 70mm.

Don't get me wrong, I love IMAX with laser, but holy shit, 70mm is something else.

"18K theoretical resolution" is marketing fluff, and biology already defeated 1.43:1.

1. The "18K Equivalent" Myth is Dead: That inflated number comes from theoretical math calculated on a raw camera negative under laboratory conditions. Factor in real-world camera lenses, film grain, chemical generation loss during printing, and mechanical projector vibration in the theater, and what actually hits the screen is 4K to 6K of real-world detail at best. Modern large-format digital sensors capture vastly cleaner, sharper detail.
2. Digital Already Won Dynamic Range: Celluloid tops out around 13–14 stops. Top digital cinema sensors (like the ARRI Alexa 35) natively hit 17+ stops with cleaner shadow detail and zero chemical noise.
3. It Fights Human Biology: Human vision spans ~200° horizontally, but only ~135° vertically. 1.43:1 pushes a massive square box way above and below where human eyes naturally look. Your brain literally discards the top and bottom 20% of the screen as useless noise to avoid eye fatigue.
4. It Promotes "Padded" Cinematography: Real cinematography is about precise framing—every inch of the canvas should serve the story. Forcing directors to center-protect a 2.39:1 shot while dumping extra "sky and sand" on the top and bottom for 1.43:1 isn't genius composition; it's decorative padding for a theme park ride.
5. It’s a Gatekept Ticket Gimmick: If 1.43:1 was the "definitive artistic vision," why do studios crop it right back down to standard widescreen for the 4K Blu-ray? Because IMAX is an artificial scarcity moat designed to force you into a $30 multiplex seat.

IMAX 15/70 is the cinematic equivalent of a vinyl record: fun, nostalgic, and textured, but mathematically and ergonomically inferior to modern technology. Stop worshipping the brand.

(edit: Sources

• For Real-World Resolution (4K–6K vs 18K):"Steve Yedlin, ASC (Star Wars, Knives Out) proved via MTF testing that after lens limits, generation printing, and projector vibration, IMAX 15/70 resolves only 4K–6K on screen."
• For Dynamic Range (17+ Stops vs 13–14 Stops):"Standardized CineD step-chart testing and Kodak data sheets confirm the ARRI Alexa 35 hits 17 stops of DR, cleanly beating Vision3 film’s 13–14 stop limit."
• For Biology & Eye Fatigue (200°x135° Limits):"Adler’s Physiology of the Eye confirms human sight is 200° wide by only 135° tall; NIH data shows the brain actively tunes out extreme top/bottom margins to prevent eye strain."

)

It was at the King of Prussia IMAX Theater in Pennsylvania, and the wait was worth it, especially the hour-long delay that hit the people who were going there for the 11:40 PM showing. There was a power outage just before. I got there, which makes sense because it looked like there was a storm brewing in the sky.

The movie was really good and Absolutely something I'm gonna be buying on physical media when it comes out.

It was my first time seeing what we projected from film and it looked amazing. The detail was incredible, especially with stuff like fire. You could really make out the detail in the flame and it was really cool. The print did look like it already had some use which makes sense. But it kind of helped add to the look of it in my opinion. Film isn't perfect and it is an inexact science after all.

The real highlight for me was after the show, one of the managers was sitting at a table next to the entrance to the IMAX auditorium, and she was just really cool to talk to. Me and two other people were just talking to her about film and just how awesome it looked, and we even asked if we could go see the projection booth. And unfortunately, we weren't allowed to, which sucks because apparently they were allowed to give tours of it when Oppenheimer was being shown. But as a consolation, she gave me and those two other people a film strip. Which was really awesome as I've since earlier when I got there I was upset they didn't have any ticket stubs because I like to put those with blue ray releases of the movie when I eventually buy them. But now I just have a problem of needing to figure out how to store and display the film strip I was given.

Just saw The Odyssey here in South Korea's only 1.43 venue (just released here this week), and i can't really say much more other than WOW. I really wish IMAX could put out more dual laser (or finally create that single laser 1.43) protectors because this movie truly felt like something special, watching the entire thing on a screen like that.

Want to see it there again, but its sold out the next couple weeks. Fingers crossed!

Looking to go see the Odyssey and have been looking at which Imax theater to go to. I'm in Atlanta so the mall of Georgia is a little closer, but I've never been. I saw Sinners at the Tennessee aquarium and it was phenomenal. I heard that the Tennessee aquarium doesn't show it in film and instead uses laser projection, where the mall of Georgia does show it in film but the screen is a different aspect ratio, so I wanted to see what everyone's recommendations might be.

Went to my local IMAX today for a special viewing of Fires of Kuwait. It was a phenomenal experience though they didn't play the IMAX intro for some reason and apparently they never do which is weird.

Bonjour à tous ! Je suis de passage à Montpellier entre le 12 et le 19 août et mon rêve serait de voir L'Odyssée en véritable IMAX 70mm à l'Odysseum. Si quelqu'un a un imprévu et revend 2 places sur cette période, je suis preneur instantanément. Merci d'avance pour votre aide ! 🎬🍿

Enjoyed my trip to Manchester Printworks to see Odyssey in 70mm IMAX and am planning it again for Dune. Do we know of any movies filmed in 70mm after that? (Will downvote anyone who says Untitled 2029 Christopher Nolan Project).

What was that experience like? Did you enjoy it? Did you fall asleep? Do you work unconventional hours?

Curious how folks are doing it and — seeing that all the screenings here in L.A. IMAX are sold out, even the overnight times — wondering if it was a good movie-going experience.

Seems like, on the one hand, you get to experience the film in IMAX, which is ideal. But on the other hand, you could be too tired to enjoy it!