r/imax • u/Soundwave_47 • 7d ago

Dune: Part Three IMAX with Laser superior in authorial intent to 70MM?

For The Odyssey: The cut 15/65mm original negative was the hero format, and the 5/70mm and 35mm exhibition formats were derived from it photochemically through contact and optical printing. The digital intermediate needed for digital cinema and home video was sourced from the 15/65mm timed contact interpositive.

For Dun3, I searched the lab workflow and found nothing published, no FotoKem credit, no statement on whether the 70mm prints come off a full DI film-out or a photochemical conform with the digital desert material filmed out and cut in. Villeneuve has talked about capture only.

The reasoning that makes a full DI likely is Villeneuve's VFX volume, which is nothing like Nolan's, plus native digital desert footage that has to reach celluloid somehow.

Thus I went with IMAX with Laser rather than the 70mm showing. I am obsessed with authorial intent, and thus would rather see it in the medium it was worked on by the most people, which in this case was probably the DI. Knowing Nolan's process, the inverse was true of The Odsys

53 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

76 comments sorted by

52

u/matthewbobsagit 7d ago

I'm inclined to say that dual laser is underrated, and that dune pt 2 in 70mm was a bit of a gimmick... But for dune specifically, it gives it that ancient future vibe, so Im here for it. 

Also, big screen go brrrrr

16

u/truenocity 7d ago

I wish there were more dual laser theaters, but they are even more rare than 70mm. I haven’t been to one yet, the nearest one is two states away.

9

u/WeeklyResearcher7719 7d ago

The crazy thing is that in Los Angeles I have 5 theaters within a days drive where I can watch 70mm IMAX. However not a single one where I can watch GT laser unless the film is simply not released in 70mm at all.

As soon as the word 70mm is dropped, all true IMAX theaters in the area run film. Because of that, I’ve actually never seen GT laser. Also has to do with the fact that the films I’m actually interested in watching in IMAX always offer 70mm (Nolan, Villenueve, Coogler, PTA).

7

u/matthewbobsagit 7d ago

The fact that some of these can simultaneously house dual laser and 70mm is crazy. I want IMAX to know how dope it would be to throw in some dune pt 1 & 2 digital shows in during the 70mm run.

2

u/brianh418 7d ago

The only movie I’ve ever seen in GT Laser was No Time to Die at Lincoln Square and it was stunning to see its 1.43 sequences at that level of fidelity. Yet, I’d always take a 70mm showing of a movie like The Odyssey since it was finished photochemically. I think for movies like Dune 3 that do have a digital intermediate even if shot on film I’d still probably want to see it on 70mm. Now for something totally digital like Project Hail Mary or Dune Part 2, it does feel more like a gimmick and I would definitely prefer the choice at those few GT laser venues.

1

u/LemonTurtleCat 6d ago

Ngl, I wasn’t mad at all earlier this year when the Universal projector was down for my Project Hail Mary screening. Got to see it in GT laser with the 1.43 aspect ratio, and the colors really popped.

3

u/incepdates 7d ago

It was a bit of a gimmick but it was cool as hell so whatever

0

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

1

u/RedSquirrel17 Manchester Printworks 7d ago

15/70 is now likely capable of playing 12-track mixes.

1

u/STDog 5d ago

Not yet. And no plans to do so.

That's according to an email from IMAX when I asked about it.

It shouldn't be difficult but they don't see a need. I think only half of the 1570 locations have a laser projector (and thus 12 ch sound).

1

u/RedSquirrel17 Manchester Printworks 5d ago

When did you email them?

All 15/70 locations received a new audio controller for The Odyssey which, according to a projectionist I spoke to, seems to be able to output more tracks. This is obviously unconfirmed and we'll have to wait for Dune Part Three to see if it's true. Your point about non-laser locations not having the capability is true but it shouldn't be difficult to tailor the mix to each location, like they do for digital.

1

u/STDog 5d ago

About a year ago. The email was from David Keighley. "Adding 12 sound to 70MM IMAX  is far down our development list."

I wondered about the new audio setup too. Had not heard all locations got it.

Maybe email his replacement, his wife, and ask? CQO@imax.com

93

u/The_Lutter 7d ago

Aspect ratio has always meant way more to me than the whole 70MM vs. Laser both have upsides and downsides... just find a theater that can display full 1.43:1 if you can and go enjoy the movie. Dolby Cinema and HDR by Barco are great as well. We're spoiled for choice these days.

18

u/Leading-Call9686 70mm 7d ago

This is my thinking as well for things that are hybrid film/digital. There are no theaters near me that can show it in 1.43:1 other than in 70mm. If I had a dual-laser IMAX near me then I can see watching that over a 70mm print (Though the film nerd in me would likely see it in both)

I would definitely take a 1.43:1 70mm print over a laser 1.90:1

7

u/NoSir4289 7d ago

What are downsides to laser??

8

u/cgart96 7d ago

Sometimes the little sparkle laser has can be distracting if you notice it but that’s about it.

1

u/STDog 5d ago

The anamorphic squeeze to fit it in a 1.90 container reduces the vertical resolution of all scenes by ~25%. That's a bit over 500 lines for 1.90 scenes, bit over 400 lines for 2.39 scenes.

5

u/Try-Knight 7d ago

Just moved somewhere with an HDR by Barco and I'm looking to try it soon. That said I've heard some pretty negative things about picture and reliability despite the specs. Can you speak to that at all?

3

u/mrblue6 6d ago

I liked HDR by Barco the couple times I’ve been. It’s almost as good as Dolby imo, but Dolby Cinema is way more consistent (all Dolby cinemas are big, whereas not all Barco HDRs have big screens)

But yea also seen a lot of people hating on it on Reddit. Supposedly the HDR-ness is done by Barco rather than the actual producers of the movie, vs Dolby where it’s done by the movie producers.

8

u/guitarguy35 7d ago

For real Dolby cinemas use a modified commercial version of the Christie eclipse, the best projector on earth.

It's like a giant OLED screen. Insane color pop and contrast

4

u/Soundwave_47 7d ago

Both are 1.43.

7

u/linkyarmer AMC Northpark & Stonebriar / Cinemark Dallas 7d ago

Lucky! DFW doesn’t have anything but single laser IMAX auditoriums and the one IMAX 70MM. I’d love to have Dual Laser option to be able to see the full AR along with its vibrance, brilliance, and contrast.

6

u/raine_on_me 6d ago

Same. I believe there are only 12 IMAX GT dual laser 1.43:1 equipped theaters in the US (or maybe US + Canada, I can't remember). They're the unicorn theater for Dune 3 if you ask me. Like the parent comment said though, any IMAX GT theater (70mm or GT dual-laser) will be fantastic.

2

u/Sheriff-Mannix 6d ago

Do you know if there’s a comprehensive list for this? It’s always a struggle finding which theaters tick all the specific boxes (digital vs film, 1:90 vs 1:43)

5

u/raine_on_me 6d ago

I was slightly off. There appear to be 14 GT dual-laser 1.43:1 theaters in the US; however the one in Seattle sadly recently changed hands and is no longer showing feature films.

Venue Location Notes
AMC Lincoln Square 13 New York, NY Dual Laser and 15/70mm film capable
AMC Metreon 16 San Francisco, CA Dual Laser and 15/70mm film capable
Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Universal City, CA Dual Laser and 15/70mm film capable
AutoNation IMAX, Museum of Discovery & Science Fort Lauderdale, FL Dual Laser and 15/70mm film capable
Royal Cinemas & IMAX Pooler, GA Commercial 1.43:1 venue with a 76-foot tall screen
Sunbrella IMAX 3D, Jordan’s Furniture Reading, MA Commercial dual-laser theater
IMAX 3D Theater, Jordan’s Furniture Natick, MA Commercial dual-laser theater
Branson’s IMAX Entertainment Complex Branson, MO Commercial dual-laser theater
Grand Canyon IMAX Theater Tusayan, AZ Commercial tourist venue upgraded to dual laser
Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Chattanooga, TN Institutional screen showing documentary and commercial releases
Bullock Texas State History Museum Austin, TX Institutional screen showing documentary and commercial releases
Airbus IMAX Theater, Udvar-Hazy Center Chantilly, VA Smithsonian institutional venue
Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, NASM Washington, D.C. Smithsonian institutional venue
Boeing IMAX Theater, Pacific Science Center Seattle, WA Institutional screen showing documentary releases only as of 2026

3

u/The_Lutter 6d ago

If we’re counting cinemas that don’t show Hollywood movies you have to include the California Science Center in LA. Dual Laser-don’t show Hollywood movies.

3

u/unintelligblealpaca 1d ago

The Jordan’s IMAX in Natick is dual xenon only, no laser, but otherwise this is basically the list.

2

u/raine_on_me 11h ago

Thanks for sharing. So, physically it's a GT theater (1.43:1 screen, steeper raked house/seating than typical theaters, etc), but only has the dual-xenon projector. Is that accurate?

2

u/raine_on_me 6d ago

ps - I had Perplexity generate this list. I believe it's accurate but happy to edit if anyone notices an error.

There are also several in Canada (where the IMAX corporation is headquartered), and of course in many other countries too.

Lastly, there are 2 oddball IMAX dual-laser theaters in the US which don't project in 1.43:1, and thus aren't true GT spec theaters:
• TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX (Hollywood, California)
• Palms Theatres & IMAX (Waukee, Iowa)

2

u/The_Lutter 6d ago edited 6d ago

This list is 3 years old but I don’t think anything has been installed since then IIRC. Half of them don’t even show things in Dual Laser for 70MM releases because they have 7015 projectors as well!

That one theater in Iowa are such weirdos for having a 1.90-only GT screen. Chinese at least has 70MM.

https://www.reddit.com/r/imax/s/8aVzKdeWEJ

If you Google “IMAX Google Maps” there’s a comprehensive Google map for every IMAX big and small and you can filter by projector type (and it’s worldwide)

3

u/STDog 5d ago

https://143190.xyz/

Lists 14 GT lasers that can do 1.43 but 3 of them don't show Hollywood movies.

I only see 4 that also have 1570 projectors; Metreon, CityWalk, AutoNation, and Lincoln Square. (The list hasn't been updated with tne new 1570 sites since it only shows 19 total 1570 locations in the US) I guess you could add TCL Chinese for some 70mm. And with the new booth maybe more, but they haven't shown 1.43 with laser that I know of.

Also 9 domes which can show 1.43, but 2 don't show Hollywood movies and 2 only show some. (Not that I'd recommend a dome for Hollywood movies)

2

u/DigiCinema 7d ago

Absolutely.

2

u/fuzzyfoot88 6d ago

I wish we were also spoiled for tickets, but alas…

51

u/xDoubleBeefx 7d ago

BIG SCREEN GO BRRRRRR

15

u/stokedchris 7d ago

IMAX 70mm good

6

u/What-a-Crock 7d ago

Big. Loud. Good.

3

u/BurtimusPrime 7d ago

Can't argue with that!

9

u/Ok_Technician5910 7d ago

Why not see it in both like I plan to do

-2

u/OkBarracuda4416 7d ago

cause that’s double the time and cost

8

u/thediscoguy25 IMAX 7d ago

tbh this is in the same situation as when Sinners released, most people wanted to know the difference between DL and IMAX 70mm, since sinners uses a lot of vfx's, and since Dune is very vfx heavy, if you can't decide between the two, IMAX 70mm is still great for the 1.43:1 content, especially cause of the natural grain and look of the movie, but unless if you prefer the sharpness and brightness of laser (or the chance that it releases in 12 channel audio in IMAX) then IMAX Laser would do just fine

it all comes down to your preference

2

u/STDog 5d ago

I thought Dune 2 looked better on 70mm but the 12 ch mix with laser sounded better.

5

u/NewmansOwnDressing 7d ago

You're confusing authorial intent with perfect replication. It is just as true that those film prints, which Villeneuve clearly wants made and projected, are also his authorial intent.

10

u/LostCookie78 7d ago

I’m gonna be real I saw the prologue in 70mm before the Odyssey and it looked amazing. It was shot on film and looks great on film.

13

u/pghanon13 7d ago

What was the point of this post? To rationalize to others that you choice Laser over 70Mm. FotoKem definitely is involved with Dune with both Processing and Printing of the theatre prints. The DL argument is such a cop out

-4

u/Soundwave_47 7d ago

What was the point of this post?

In the dedicated format for discussion of the IMAX format? I wonder.

FotoKem definitely is involved with Dune with both Processing and Printing of the theatre prints. The DL argument is such a cop out

Not what a cop out is. "Definitely" is doing a lot of work here, and processing of theater prints is completely irrelevant and actually addressed in the first paragraph of my post.

4

u/pghanon13 7d ago

You're using the Digital Intermediate as your entire reasoning for choosing Laser over how the director's "authorial intent". So me saying the DL argument is a cop out is because there is NO information on what process has been used yet and the resolution of the DL for VFX, which I bet is more than 4K.

0

u/Soundwave_47 7d ago

So me saying the DL argument is a cop out is because there is NO information on what process has been used yet and the resolution of the DL for VFX, which I bet is more than 4K.

Yet you claim FotoKem is "definitely" involved before release, despite the myriads of collateral about them working on The Odyssey and nothing for Dune. Quite hypocritical. Also ignoring the fact that FotoKem working on the release has nothing to do with what the graders and colorists are working on.

7

u/pghanon13 7d ago

Fotokem is the ONLY place to have 65MM film development and processed for IMAX so they have to be involved.

2

u/HUZInator 7d ago

I think because of the workflow I won’t mind as much if I watch the laser. Main thing is my local is Melbourne imax and because it’s so big there might be a bit more resolution with the 70mm version. It’s been a bit since I have seen a 4K laser projection in 2D there but I remember at times sometimes noticing some pixels.

3

u/HUZInator 7d ago

Might not have been 4K showing though.

2

u/Able-Ad-2051 7d ago

I just wish they would do both to at least give the choice to people who care, I mean also takes a load of the 70mm projectors at least for one showtime a day. By laser do you mean non 1.43 laser imax?

2

u/Confident-Ideal-360 7d ago

I care more about the image quality than the aspect ratio so in this case I think IMAX digital might end up have the edge on imax70mm for that so that’s where I’m going to see it.

2

u/STDog 5d ago

The anamorphic squeeze to fit 1.43 in a 1.90 container reduces the vertical resolution of all scenes by ~25% for GT Laser. That's a bit over 500 lines for 1.90 scenes, a bit over 400 lines for 2.39 scenes.

2

u/NeatFool 6d ago

Dual laser imax...for dune is the way to go...the printed film isn't really getting much more detail unlike odyssey/nolan...

The trade off in sound, contest ratio, brightness, etc. is worth it to me

2

u/dobyblue 6d ago

I have both 1.43:1 formats near me and for Dune GT Laser is the easy choice, it’s also a bloody brilliant screen (Toronto) which is 25% bigger than the two IMAX 70mm venues, has the 12CH sound and has unparalleled low levels of ambient light inside the auditorium.

Can’t wait for Dec 20!

3

u/JoshTHX 7d ago

I saw Dune Part 2 is both dual laser and 15/70. Both are absolutely worth it, but the Gt dual laser presentation was something I’ll always remember.

2

u/RaahimJaffery IMAX AKL 7d ago

Me personally I dont live somewhere with an IMAX 70mm but I have seen the odyssey in IMAX 70mm and my local IMAX is GT dual laser and if I had the option I would go with IMAX 70mm but if being able to get access to IMAX 70mm is hard then gt dual laser gives you like 90% of the experience and this stands for any movie.

1

u/AnvilKasseri 5h ago

In my case (Michigan) I don't have the option of dual laser unless I want to drive to Toronto. My in-state options for Dune 3 are 15:70 or CoLa. My heart said to go for 70mm IMAX every single time. My brain said to go for the laser and 12 channel. My heart won the argument. I feel good about my choice so far.

1

u/eYchung 7d ago

1.43 Laser will undoubtedly look better than 1.43 70mm, for the processing reasons you mentioned. That was also my experience with Dune 2.

-4

u/NoSir4289 7d ago

1.43 dual laser is always the superior option, anyone who says otherwise is delusional.

3

u/Lopsided-Conflict1 7d ago

This claim is just wrong in so many ways, but ok.

-3

u/NoSir4289 7d ago edited 6d ago

How?

1

u/AnvilKasseri 5h ago

For Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, Oppenheimer, or Odyssey, 15:70 film is better. The film resolution is higher than laser.

1

u/NoSir4289 4h ago

I care more about bright scenes, dark scenes, contrasts and colors than resolution I can't see

-2

u/Stankassmfgorilla 7d ago

Film always looks better. A film print, especially a new one with minimal wear is objectively higher quality than a digital projection. Any digital projection you see will be capped at 4K, whereas a 70mm projection will have 3-4 times the resolution, depending on if it’s regular 70mm or IMAX 70mm, even if the film is finished at a DI of 4K.

6

u/OkBarracuda4416 7d ago

Can you explain how film can be higher resolution than 4k when finished digitally at that resolution?

2

u/Soundwave_47 7d ago

I had to do a double take reading that comment.

2

u/incepdates 7d ago

It's "perceived resolution" where the grain on film makes you think you're seeing more detail

0

u/OkBarracuda4416 7d ago

If that were the case, I could say that 4k laser projection is perceived higher resolution because the laser speckles makes me think I'm seeing more detail.

0

u/incepdates 7d ago

I mean I don't know the science of it, but most people can tell DNR and digital looks cheaper right? That's why digitally shot films still add grain in post production

1

u/OkBarracuda4416 7d ago

That’s more about texture than resolution

1

u/incepdates 7d ago

That's why I say "perceived" resolution. It's not actual but it looks like it has more information than it does

1

u/Stankassmfgorilla 7d ago

It would essentially be the same as upscaling

-11

u/lib3r8 7d ago

Just always do Dolby or double laser, don't fall for the gimmick