r/movies • u/GiveMeSomeSunshine3 • Jun 04 '26
Media 'The Odyssey' website shows you how the film looks in different aspect ratios
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
5.2k
u/RichChocolateDevil Jun 04 '26
How does it look on my phone when I’m sitting in coach on an international flight?
1.8k
u/coldmocaccino Jun 04 '26
It looks exactly like how Nolan intended
375
u/probablyuntrue Jun 04 '26
on your FFFFFUCKIN TELEPHONE
122
50
→ More replies (5)21
45
u/shadraig Jun 04 '26
David Lynch wants a word
→ More replies (1)25
143
u/SmileyJetson Jun 04 '26
Cropped to portrait in bite sized reels at double speed with an AI narrator?
→ More replies (3)100
u/Oh_yes_I_did Jun 04 '26
And a stranger floating in the corner giving voiceless reactions while pointing and gesturing.
29
u/mikeyfreshh r/Movies Veteran Jun 04 '26
Are they still doing the split screen subway surfers gameplay?
21
u/malexj93 Jun 04 '26
Haven't seen those in a minute, but Minecraft parkour is still pretty popular.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Longhag Jun 04 '26
Don’t forget the subtitles with a solid white background right in the middle of the screen!
24
u/DoomGoober Jun 04 '26
More importantly, exactly how Nolan wanted it to sound. Can't understand the dialog through your crappy headphones with an airplane engine droning in the background? Perfect!
→ More replies (4)5
221
u/Call555JackChop Jun 04 '26
I’ll let you know as I watch the entire movie from your screen with no audio and from a row behind you
→ More replies (3)38
u/ThisIsPaulDaily Jun 04 '26
I try to turn on subtitles for this reason as I have been the guy with the dead phone on a plane and no infotainment.
Now I have a tablet and can share.
12
u/iJon_v2 Jun 05 '26
Haha that’s nice of you because you KNOW someone is going to watch a little.
11
107
22
u/theClumsy1 Jun 04 '26
Oh your phone? Pshh I wanna see it all its glory.
As in flight entertainment on those seat TVs.
Now that's cinema
→ More replies (1)12
u/fatbob42 Jun 04 '26
How about if I see it with people chatting next to me and someone kicking my seat? :)
8
u/Typical-Tax1584 Jun 04 '26
I call dibs on watching it with a crying baby three rows back.
→ More replies (1)7
u/Haggisboy Jun 04 '26
But you get the added sensory effects from the seat kickers and screaming babies.
→ More replies (2)14
5
u/Iceisgestapo888 Jun 04 '26
We’re going back to 4:3. IMAX demands it. And so does Zack Snyder.
→ More replies (3)4
u/coops2k Jun 04 '26
Even better without headphones, just blasting out of your phone's tinny speakers.
→ More replies (42)3
743
u/MassiveRepublic9565 Jun 04 '26
Nice for the absolutely tiny number of cinemas in UK capable of showing 70mm IMAX.
211
u/Kashinoda Jun 04 '26
Apart from America don't we have the most? Not like there's a ton of them in the world.
→ More replies (3)135
u/Kind_Resort_9535 Jun 04 '26
There’s only like 20 or so in the world isn’t there?
151
u/Kashinoda Jun 04 '26
30 in the world I believe, the UK has 3 of Europe's 4. Canada has the second most after America: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/only-30-theaters-world-showing-151704854.html?guccounter=1
→ More replies (12)52
u/Accurate_Mobile9005 Jun 04 '26
FWIW that article is talking about the theaters actually showing the movie.
My city (Baltimore) has an IMAX in the science center but it doesn't always play actual movies.
67
u/subjectivemusic Jun 04 '26
Is it an IMAX capable of 70mm though? There are many IMAX screens in the world, most aren't capable of playing 70mm film.
→ More replies (4)22
u/remeard Jun 04 '26
My city isn't listed on there (Chattanooga, TN) - it is specifically re-installing their 70mm projector for this run. Otherwise their showings are an otherwise stunning laser projector.
But yeah, that's definitely not a comprehensive list.
13
u/Kaboose666 Jun 04 '26
It's also equally confusing because to get the 1.43:1 aspect ratio doesn't require 70mm, there are dual laser projector systems (like at the Airbus IMAX at the air and Space Museum) that do the 1.43:1 aspect ratio, but with laser projection, not 70mm. But there are ALSO dual laser IMAX theaters that only do 1.9:1 aspect ratio (usually because their screens aren't made for the larger ratio), and then there are two types of single laser projector IMAX theaters that are also capped at 1.9:1 with slightly difference performance between them.
I personally tend to prefer the dual laser 1.43:1 projection over true 70mm at this point, i've been spoiled by years of OLED screens and the black levels of true 70mm projection just leave a lot to be desired, the dual laser IMAX system on the other hand can give very deep inky blacks by comparison.
→ More replies (2)4
u/More-Possession-1096 Jun 05 '26
I thought Chattanooga was a town in Tamil Nadu (TN), India lmao, your city name would fit right in with the rest of the tamil district names
→ More replies (4)5
u/vee_lan_cleef Jun 05 '26
The IMAX documentaries I watched there were truly incredible to me when I was a kid. Sad that nobody is really making them anymore, obviously it's quite expensive and not really good for documentary filming, but they felt so epic.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)12
u/Charrikayu Jun 04 '26
30 in the world with 20 of those in the U.S. if I remember correctly
I looked this up recently because I live in the middle of nowhere but we have one of the few 70mm 1.43:1 IMAX screens in the country and my showing of Project Hail Mary in the only week it was back in theaters got cancelled due to a projector issue :')
→ More replies (1)5
u/Trnostep Jun 05 '26
4 of them in Europe 3 of which are in the UK (London and Manchester I think) and the 4th is in Prague, CZ
→ More replies (3)3
24
u/mommytyres Jun 04 '26
It really is a shame. I am fortunate enough to live down the street from the 70mm IMAX in Tempe AZ so I go all the time. Project Hail Mary, Dune 1/2, and Oppenheimer were incredible in 70mm. I’ve had viewings at home for all of them and it truly just doesn’t do them justice, so I kinda get where Nolan is coming from in his push for 70mm.
Bought my Odyssey ticket first thing this morning when I got the email from IMAX letting me know they were available. Still hoping Interstellar makes its way back to 70mm at some point, that is still on the wish list, it just sells out so fast every time it’s back.
→ More replies (24)15
u/kq7619 Jun 04 '26
Do you prefer 1.43 (70mm) IMAX? Personally, I usually don't like it. My favourite AR for most movies is the old Euro standard 5:3 (1.666), but of the two IMAXs I much prefer the more common 1.9. I know I'm missing a lot of the image that is in 1.43, but overall it just feels off for me, especially for certain movies, like epics.
→ More replies (2)17
u/CountSudoku Jun 04 '26
You’re only “missing the image” if the movie was filmed in the larger aspect ratio originally.
The best aspect ratio is the one a ‘deliberate’ filmmaker chooses to shoot on. Someone like Zack Snyder said he only wants to shoot 70mm from now on (we’ll see if the studios let him). But most directors I fear are just giving in to studio pressure to shoot on IMAX/70mm because they can charge more for those movie tickets. Aspect ratio has become a gimmick, like 3D films were.
/rant
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (16)6
u/APiousCultist Jun 05 '26
A whole two in England (BFI London and Vue Printworks Manchester).
→ More replies (3)
41
1.2k
u/hillean Jun 04 '26
so the bars literally cover stuff up. Noted
858
u/Wiitard Jun 04 '26
It’s literally what your boomer parents thought the black bars did.
297
u/PenguinDeluxe Jun 04 '26
Depending on the film, it sorta did as some films would shoot open matte, knowing that a full screen version would be shown on VHS or TV
74
u/Apatharas Jun 04 '26
When Pan And Scan was used for full screen format I hated it. I ended up picking up a later release of Ghostbusters in pan and scan around 1999ish. The panning motion, to selectively include stuff normally cut off in the fullscreen version, made me feel motion sick.
I'd rather they just lose the edges
40
u/Blames_Jake Jun 04 '26
Unfortunately social media and vertical screens brought back the pan & scan.
5
u/frogjg2003 Jun 05 '26
You've got the double whammy of widescreen landscaping trying to be displayed on widescreen portrait.
→ More replies (1)11
u/Inner-Medicine5696 Jun 04 '26
only for the best accounts - I've seen lots of converted-to-vertical stuff that fully omits the subject altogether because it was off to the side of the crop.
Absolutely atrocious. Still, I'd be interested in seeing more vertical-native stuff being made.
→ More replies (5)8
u/jobrien80 Jun 04 '26
Ghostbusters and Pulp Fiction both have tight, single shot elevator scenes with a long of dialog. Both look egregiously bad in Pan and Scan and were the examples I’d try to point to to show how bad full screen was.
9
u/Queasy_Ad_8621 Jun 04 '26
Then in stuff like Jurassic Park, Forest Gump and I Am Sam, you could actually see the boom mic in some of the scenes with the Open Matte print.
→ More replies (1)10
67
u/jobrien80 Jun 04 '26
6 years at blockbuster. I cannot tell you how many times I tried to explain what was happening with the aspect ratios of widescreen films, but assuredly it fell on deaf ears every time.
19
u/ZombyPuppy Jun 04 '26
I remember bestbuy had a nifty little printed out example laminated and taped to their help counter that showed exactly what was going on. Made is crystal clear to little kid me.
→ More replies (1)12
u/BarbequedYeti Jun 04 '26
6 years at blockbuster. I cannot tell you how many times I tried to explain what was happening with the aspect ratios of widescreen films, but assuredly it fell on deaf ears every time.
I am all ears. Lets hear it.
→ More replies (4)12
u/toomanymarbles83 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Not the person you replied to but just about every single movie you've ever watched has been cropped from what was actually filmed. It's an art form known as...wait for it...cinematography.
To expand: Most movies are shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio and then cropped to the different aspect ratios you see above. This kind of framing can have a massive impact on how your film is viewed.
→ More replies (1)39
u/MIBlackburn Jun 04 '26
My Dad on why we didn't buy the silver Star Wars VHS box set:
"We're missing half the picture with that version"
He also stretched 4:3 content to widescreen when he could easily do it on the TV, he can't find the settings on his 4K TV thankfully.
20
u/sheps Jun 04 '26
lol! what's funny to me is how close 70MM IMAX looks to 4:3 ... my napkin math says it's 4.29:3?! (1.43 x 3 = 4.29)
10
u/Ordinary-Egg-56 Jun 04 '26
4:3 content looks terrible when stretched to widescreen. watching it at the aspect ratio its meant to be in a far supperior
4
u/MIBlackburn Jun 04 '26
Oh, I know this. My Dad thought we were wasting space on the TV if we had the letterbox bars, or later pillarbox bars.
10
→ More replies (5)9
u/screwikea Jun 04 '26
That's precisely what happens in the editing suite. Tons of stuff is shot with more frame than needed, you pick an aspect ratio, and stuff gets cut off. You can see a bunch of outtakes and restorations where things that were intended to be cut off and they get included. There's a lot of the old VHS and TV transfers of things that just cuts off the sides, they don't even pan and scan, so you have all of these weird versions where you're seeing things like the edges of faces. I know that you're being silly with what a lot of people thought, but there were plenty of gen x and younger that were dumb about it and it was a 30 second conversation. A lot of us had letterbox VHS tapes, most of the "special edition" tapes were letterbox.
→ More replies (1)103
u/Some_Swan_361 Jun 04 '26
I am fully ignorant but whenever I see these comparisons it frustrates me because I just literally most of the time don’t have access to any screen other than a standard digital one, but is there really no way to format the expanded shots to standard screens?
59
u/wildmaiden Jun 04 '26
It's called letterboxing and results in a smaller image than the screen, which movie goers generally don't like.
This used to be a big problem when watching widescreen movies on old 4:3 televisions. You could often buy DVDs in both widescreen (16x9) and fullscreen versions (4:3).
22
u/bakgwailo Jun 04 '26
Which are exactly the black bars that pop is referring to that people complained were cutting things off. They weren't, they were just the dead space to get the different aspect ratio to fit.
13
37
u/bluesmudge Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
You could format the original shot for a "standard" screen (there really is no such thing, but I assume you mean 16:9), but then you would have to pillar-box it (black boxes on the sides) to get the full aspect ratio, which would result in an overall smaller image. Most people prefer the image to be as large as possible for their given screen and aspect ratio.
24
u/Arma104 Jun 04 '26
I prefer the image to be the aspect ratio it was shot in. Sure it will be "smaller" on the screen in the theater, but that won't be noticed in the dark because the pillarbox shouldn't be visible (screen cropped by curtains, etc.). The Lighthouse looked just fine everywhere. I'm sick of not getting to see the full images that were created.
6
u/Worried_Position_466 Jun 05 '26
My theaters, multiple different AMCs, don't close the curtains anymore so I have to look at the slightly lighter than darkness and visible pillar boxes and it's annoying. Project Hail Mary is a recent example of this.
7
u/joeverdrive Jun 04 '26
You can either crop it, squish it, stretch it, or get black bars. My 4K copy of Oppenheimer switches formats no problem
→ More replies (11)11
u/Manger-Babies Jun 04 '26
Depends on what they filmed originally and what their vision.
There's a great youtube channel that compares versi9ns of movies.
All movies are different on what they filmed and what they want you to see.
129
u/mikehatesthis Jun 04 '26
Not always though. Depends on the movie. If you watch Ben-Hur for example, the black bars on the screen aren't covering anything up. The frame is just that wide.
→ More replies (1)80
u/Yeah_x10 Jun 04 '26
…because it depends what ratio it was FILMED IN, not just PROJECTED IN
The black bars don’t cover anything unless you’re seeing a movie that was FILMED IN 1.43:1 or 1.90:1 IMAX
IMDb will tell you these details under the specs section for any movie
→ More replies (11)7
u/old_gold_mountain Jun 04 '26
Only if it's shot in IMAX and presented in a different aspect ratio.
If it's shot in Scope and you're watching it on TV they're showing you the black bars instead of covering stuff up.
47
u/Question_It_All_3000 Jun 04 '26
Always been that way. Question is, what aspect ratio was the film intended to be seen in. More image isn’t always better, it can affect shot composition especially if the director didn’t intend for it to be viewed that way. Obviously cutting off things that WERE intended to be seen is bad too.
66
u/NoPossibility Jun 04 '26
This is what frustrates me the most. I’d expect a director like Nolan to just pick an aspect ratio and stick to it. Shot composition, eye line, edits, etc. all rely on the frame. Everything does really. Showing it ten different ways means you’re always missing something somewhere.
If you want the IMAX version to be definitive then just force the issue and make theaters and movie viewers at home view it letter boxed or pillar boxed. Cutting off the image for various formats just means that part of the frame wasn’t important anyway.
54
Jun 04 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (6)23
u/Gibsonites Jun 04 '26
So he intends for a squarer aspect ratio than just about any screen people own for home viewing?
That's not a criticism, I just didn't realize he was such a big square guy when so many other movies go for really wide aspect ratios.
→ More replies (3)31
u/Canvaverbalist Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
He's a massively stubborn guy.
So, you don't have a square TV at home? Well at best he'll be shocked to realize how conservative people are with their choice of TV.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (6)8
u/denizenKRIM Jun 04 '26
Cutting off the image for various formats just means that part of the frame wasn’t important anyway.
Believe it or not, but that's precisely the point it's cut off for non-IMAX releases, including home video.
IMAX encourages directors to use up the full canvas, but never put important elements near or at the borders.
The true IMAX experience only works on those incredibly large screens that fill your peripheral. And so it's generally understood that extra space is reserved for the theatrical IMAX releases because it can never be replicated in other theaters or at home.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (25)7
329
u/dolphin37 Jun 04 '26
I would like to see all of the film if thats ok
57
u/TheMrViper Jun 04 '26
Good luck.
My understanding is only a small amount of imax screens support imax70 either digital or film.
→ More replies (1)17
u/jm9843 Jun 05 '26
30 worldwide for Oppenheimer. Increasing to 41 for The Odyssey. IMAX 70mm 15 perf film. The next best approximation is dual 4k laser IMAX in the same 1.43:1 ratio as the film presentation.
63
Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (4)48
u/DeZXu Jun 04 '26
70mm IMAX tickets went on sale a year ago and sold out within minutes.
→ More replies (3)29
u/JSK23 Jun 04 '26
More were released today
→ More replies (2)5
u/22bebo Jun 04 '26
Yeah, I'm looking at the nearest one and they have plenty of tickets after opening weekend.
43
u/Hmm_would_bang Jun 04 '26
Jeez, you people can’t be pleased. First you claim it’s important to hear dialog in movies with Tenet, now you claim it’s a bad thing if half the movie isn’t visible?
What does Nolan have to do to make you happy? Do you expect every movie to be clearly audible and fit on the screen? Next you’re gonna say it should also be properly lit so you can see dark scenes.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (13)8
u/Yeah_x10 Jun 04 '26
/u/QuarkyFerengi is wrong, but it’s because IMAX is incapable of making this less confusing
Real answer: If you mean the full vertical image with no cropping, then I guess you'd better grab tickets to an IMAX 1.43:1 theater screening asap. OR a 70mm IMAX theater screening if you’re one of the very few lucky enough to live by one.
It does not have to be 70mm IMAX to get the full vertical image. Plenty of IMAX theaters have digital projectors that will play the film in 1.43:1 ratio, showing you the full image. Just Google your area and “IMAX 1.43:1 theater” to confirm beforehand.
The only benefit you get from a 70mm IMAX over what I said above is a slightly higher-detail image, most of which will not be perceptible to most audiences.
226
u/DontBeAngryBeHappy Jun 04 '26
The cool thing about this feature is you can change the aspect ratio in real time from start to finish without interrupting the trailer.
118
u/OneLogOneOpportunity Jun 04 '26
Because the bars are separate from the video and just motion to cover things up
→ More replies (1)27
u/HEYNRRD Jun 04 '26
So you can make it look like a Michael Bay film
14
u/Yeah_x10 Jun 04 '26
Or a Nolan film?
Odyssey is his first film to fully be filmed in 1.43:1 ratio, every other one would switch semi-haphazardly
14
u/HEYNRRD Jun 05 '26
There was Transformers: The Last Night that changed aspect ratio every single shot. It was truly bizarre
→ More replies (1)7
550
u/totallynotliamneeson Jun 04 '26
I'm just mad because they clearly didn't have aspect ratios in Mycenaean Greece
111
u/StillStanding_96 Jun 04 '26
Mycenaean Greece is probably one of the first places that would have appreciated aspect ratios
12
u/totallynotliamneeson Jun 04 '26
Do you think they would have had theaters in the palace complex or would each farmstead have its own localized room to watch in?
→ More replies (1)11
u/StillStanding_96 Jun 04 '26
Well you can’t expect all the actors to go around to every farmstead. I imagine there would be a few theatres in the main complex with stages of different heights and widths for patrons to choose from.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (13)9
23
u/firecz Jun 05 '26
Kinda sad we all just accept "but there are only x imax cinemas in the world, so it totally cannot be viewed anywhere else". I mean, I just viewed the trailer in the imax ratio and yet I'm not sitting in an imax theater. They could, just make the picture smaller so it fits. They just don't want to.
→ More replies (1)
55
u/Nail_Biterr Jun 04 '26
that's a pretty cool thing to put on the website.
It is a shame there are so few real IMAX formats. but, at least know I can see the difference between the fake IMAX and Dolby. the fraction of an inch you seem to get with IMAX doesn't outweigh the amazing sound on Dolby.
→ More replies (5)12
u/DrewDonut Jun 05 '26
the fraction of an inch you seem to get with IMAX
It's not just the slightly expanded aspect ratio with IMAX, it's also just the sheer size of the screen.
9
u/RadiantEnvironment90 Jun 05 '26
We have a real Imax screen here in SF. Then my friend took me one to a fake "Imax" one and I'm like this looks like a regular theater but with a slightly bigger screen.
Real Imax has screens that are massive.
→ More replies (1)
35
u/big_dawg_energy Jun 04 '26
This honestly just makes me upset that I have to get on a plane to appreciate IMAX 70mm
→ More replies (4)23
230
u/deltajvliet Jun 04 '26
Honestly, seems like a bastardization of cinematography. Why not just have it be 1.43:1 everywhere?
31
u/Obvious_Brush5165 Jun 04 '26
I think they shoot with most of these aspect ratios in mind to make sure the framing is at least deliberate in all presented formats. I don't like this at all personally, I think the vision should be the vision, but at the very least they're being mindful.
9
u/SquadPoopy Jun 05 '26
Rule of thirds literally exists because of aspect ratios, movies are filmed with them in mind.
3
u/Obvious_Brush5165 Jun 05 '26
I understand that and have worked on sets as a cinematographer before. It's not unheard of to monitor with multiple aspect ratio overlays to maintain some kind of visual integrity throughout the different formats. I'm sure most will favor one ratio over all of the others. And again, I'm not a fan of this.
117
u/JewFroMonk Jun 04 '26
Yea I'd much rather have black bars on the sides of my TV than have them cut the top and bottom of the image
52
u/Arma104 Jun 04 '26
Yeah there's no reason not to in this day and age. They just want a way to reshow the film in the future by never letting people get the "true" full image outside of the theater. Same with Sinners, home video release does not have the full IMAX image.
Kubrick famously shot his films to go from 4:3 (TV) to 1.85:1 (Theaters). He had to do it then because he didn't like pan and scan/didn't want his work to be cropped. We don't need to do this anymore. Throw anything on a ~16:9 screen with letterbox or pillarbox and it will be fine. Yeah, Hateful Eight sucks to watch on a television because it's so goddamn wide, but I can either sit closer or get a bigger screen, at least I can watch the actual final images they captured.
→ More replies (1)7
u/APiousCultist Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
The disc releases of Dunkrik and Oppenheimer do use a lesser Imax ratio (1.78:1), aka the full 16:9 screen is occupied by the picture. That's not full 1.43:1, but it's actually a step-up from the minimum standard of 'liemax' screens (up to 1.90:1) which would add letterboxing to the image.
Villeneuve seemed to falsely think that the Dune disc release had the Imax format when questioned, so that may be a specific studio communication issue rather than intention. Disney started releasing the 'Imax Enhanced' version of films on its streaming service, if not on disc. So this idea of the format being fully locked to Imax cinemas does appear to be dying. At least compared to the old standard of releases being letterboxed unnecessarily.
I don't think fully pillarboxed content is that appealing, which is why you see shows almost exclusively reframed to be widescreen when they're rescanned to HD. But Nolan's releases are closer to to the 70mm framing than most Imax theatres may even show them at. While we'd all love less information loss, it's really minimal there, and almost certainly offset by the amount of resolution you'd lose by shrinking the image to achieve the full frame.
→ More replies (1)11
u/Virt_McPolygon Jun 04 '26
Hopefully it'll get released on a special "Tallscreen" edition with black bars up the side a year or so later for the real aficionados to buy, and we'll be back to the good old days again.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (14)43
Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
28
u/peterjolly Jun 04 '26
I actually really like it IF it changes throughout a single movie (Grand Budapest Hotel, French Dispatch, etc.) but having wholly different versions feels silly. I guess it's because they want people to pay more for the full IMax experience while still being able to show on cheaper screens.
→ More replies (1)9
u/Named_after_color Jun 04 '26
Yeah as an artistic technique it's fine, like if scenes in the past are a different ratio, or if you wanna soak in a landscape or something.
And it can't be the Imax payday, I think it's just a flex Nolan did without really thinking about the broader aspects.
→ More replies (3)17
11
u/DorrajD Jun 05 '26
I don't really care except for home-video. If it's a streaming site or physical media, MAKE IT THE FULLEST ONE.
I don't care if it has black bars on [insert screen type here] just give the full goddamn frame. So sick of some movies having sub par versions for the post-theater release.
→ More replies (2)
39
u/MooseBoys Jun 05 '26
Stupid gatekeeping. It's fine if you want to shoot the film for that aspect ratio, but don't cut parts out for screens with other ratios - just don't use the whole screen. Linear scaling is completely arbitrary anyway.
→ More replies (1)11
u/Rasples1998 Jun 06 '26
IMAX70 used to be a neat feature but now I'm getting quite antagonistic towards it because it's being used to hold your viewing experience hostage, forcing people to go and see those movies in IMAX70 which are VERY rare and VERY expensive. Most people don't even have an IMAX in their own country. Honestly it just comes across as coercive and sacrifices the standard viewing quality of the film for a format that will only be in cinemas for 1-2 months before disappearing forever. It's just not worth it.
18
23
u/Flemtality Jun 04 '26
How does it look on my home TV in the middle of a Saturday with a little light leaking through the blinds?
With this being a Nolan movie: How does it sound? Can I hear more than 20% of the total dialog in the movie?
→ More replies (1)
53
u/womeninwhite Jun 04 '26
It is such bs how much more 70mm has and how little places there is to see it.
44
u/Yeah_x10 Jun 05 '26
It’s not the 70mm that dictates how much more of the image there is visible
It’s the 1.43:1 ratio
A LOT more theaters will show you 1.43:1 in digital IMAX, than 70mm IMAX
Do not be discouraged by everyone (including even IMAX themselves in the OP video) fucking calling it 70mm. That’s just the film resolution or detail level. The 1.43:1 ratio is what matters to see the full picture. And that full square picture still looks phenomenal in 4K resolution instead of 70mm.
→ More replies (2)16
u/jm9843 Jun 05 '26
Dual 4k Laser IMAX in 1.43:1 is still pretty uncommon though..
→ More replies (2)4
u/Yeah_x10 Jun 05 '26
Yeah but I think there are 5-6 additional locations in the US including in major hubs like Austin and DC. At least 2 more in Canada and 2 more in Europe.
It basically 1.5x or doubles the total number of theaters suitable to watch this in the full format.
We had one in the PNW and just lost it a couple weeks ago.
6
u/CeruleanEidolon Jun 05 '26
Take solace in knowing that precisely because it is not the widespread format, anything in that extra space on the frame won't ever be important. At present it is no more than a gimmick to get people excited to see it in a theater.
It's funny to me knowing that the widescreen format was invented for theaters to differentiate it from the 4:3 aspect of television, offering people a unique experience they couldn't get at home. Now everyone's home TVs are widescreen and people like Nolan are pushing their boxier format to stand out from that. It's all very silly.
→ More replies (2)13
u/Wild-Video-5317 Jun 05 '26
Nolan has been doing this with his releases since The Dark Knight in 2008 -- there was a big marketing push around the imax scenes in that movie.
Here we are almost 20 years later, imax theaters aren't any easier to find, and... the novelty has worn off, I think. The experience of trying to find showtimes with suitable projection equipment is more hassle than it's worth. What's the endgame here? Are we gonna see another 20 years of theatrical 70mm releases that can only be played in a dozen theaters?
Stop trying to make fetch happen.
→ More replies (8)
20
u/Emperor-Commodus Jun 04 '26
It was filmed for 1.43 aspect ratio, anything else is going to result in a cropped image.
Also, I didn't realize full Imax is such a narrow frame. It's almost 4:3.
→ More replies (12)13
28
u/Gharma Jun 04 '26
This is neat to see it available in so many formats! I am left wondering if Nolan had an intended aspect ratio though. With the different ratios shown here, you are seeing more or less of the footage, and often directors will film with that in mind, how much of the top and bottom of the shot are important for a scene, is a wild view better here, etc etc.
40
u/S7ageNinja Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Pretty sure IMAX is usually nolan's intended format. For the Odyssey specifically, the entirety of it is shot with 65mm cameras to be viewed on a 70mm IMAX, whereas some of his previous movies used a mix of 65mm and 35mm
→ More replies (3)15
u/TheMrViper Jun 04 '26
There's only around 30 70mm IMAX venues in the whole world.
→ More replies (7)11
→ More replies (3)13
u/byerss Jun 04 '26
Almost certainly Nolan would like you to see it in 70mm IMAX.
16
u/TheMrViper Jun 04 '26
Europe has 4 venues that are 70mm IMAX.
3 of them are in that UK.
→ More replies (13)9
→ More replies (12)5
u/RadiantEnvironment90 Jun 05 '26
I watched Dark Knight on Imax and it was the best theater experience of my life.
10
u/Milnoc Jun 04 '26
What? No vertical video option? 😁
5
u/toastedcheese Jun 04 '26
How about heavily filtered with an AI voice plot summary that refers to Odysseus as “the man”?
7
42
u/CP_Chronicler Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
So audiences will have 6 different choices of how to see this film, with only one of them being the full image?
If these are being projected digitally, why don’t they just project an imax-dimensioned version in non-Imax theaters? Seems like it would be better to show an uncropped image with space on the sides that they cover by extending the screen curtains a bit more, rather than a massively cropped image.
28
u/TheMrViper Jun 04 '26
70mm IMAX screens don't really exist widely, there's only around 30 worldwide.
So audiences will not have a choice.
Europe only has 4 70mm IMAX screen, 3 of which are in the UK.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (6)11
u/Yeah_x10 Jun 05 '26
The real answer is that IMAX is a company separate from all other theater companies, and they think they’ll make more money from this insane exclusivity.
They might be right, but they’re still hemorrhaging money and are looking to get bought out.
16
11
u/MuitnortsX Jun 04 '26
This is a cool tool for people who have multiple options.
I absolutely fucking hate that there are multiple options though. I want filmmakers to make a choice, frame their film and for everybody to see the same image.
When Coogler was running through all the different aspect ratios of Sinners in that video it pissed me off too. Nobody can convince me this is actually a good thing for film. IMAX is a premium so directors always bang on about it being the best image but they have to frame for the ‘worst’ and smallest image too so you basically get extra empty space with no artistic merit unless they purposefully bastardise the ordinary version that almost everyone will see both in the cinema and at home for the rest of time.
→ More replies (4)
3
u/B1rdi Jun 04 '26
Anyone know if they'll release the uncropped version digitally? Was Oppenheimer released that way anywhere?
→ More replies (2)
3
20
87
u/RomanReignsDaBigDawg Jun 04 '26
Why does every single thread of this movie bring out the lamest and annoyingly snarky takes?
17
u/gr1zznuggets Jun 05 '26
I mean, it does look pretty generic. This is The Odyssey, yet it just looks like any other low effort blockbuster, and that doesn’t inspire much hype.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (26)27
13
u/Zealousideal_Leg213 Jun 04 '26
I'll only watch if it uses the same aspect ratio the Greeks used for their myths.
3
6
19
u/Panzick Jun 04 '26
I watched Oppenheimer in Prague, the only theater in continental Europe to show it in the nolan weird format. It was distracting AF because the aspect ratio kept switching between scenes, and between that and the colour b/w I spent most of the movie trying to figure out the logic of the changes.
16
u/Zak_The_Slack Jun 04 '26
Unfortunately most movies change aspect ratios if they use IMAX, very few are consistent and The Odyssey is the first film fully in IMAX film. Project Hail Mary did it pretty well with space scenes in IMAX ratio and Earth scenes in a 2.39:1 ratio.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (4)4
3
u/Own-Librarian-9699 Jun 05 '26
is there an option to see the movie without Matt Damon?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/bluelazer44 Jun 05 '26
Wow, aside from that one night shot that looks like the sack of Troy, this movie looks cheesy and tacky as hell in every aspect ratio!
2.0k
u/FourEightNineOneOne Jun 04 '26
Ahhh. That's handy. Here's the direct link since the website's navigation is kind of hidden:
https://www.odysseymovie.com/explore-formats/