Why It Matters Which Theater You See the Odyssey At
Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey promises to be one of the biggest cinematic events of the year, if not the biggest. Demand for tickets has overwhelmed AMC theaters to the point that the company has forced customers to line up to access the website or app—even if they don’t intend to buy tickets. Despite being one of the oldest stories in the world, The Odyssey is generating tremendous excitement. Chances are, if you’re heading to the theater this summer, you’ll be seeing this film.
Although all theaters showing The Odyssey will be showing the same version of the film, your choice of theater is crucial. Sure, you can watch The Odyssey as many times as you like and still end up with the same story, with the same actors delivering the same lines. But the experience will be completely different.
The film “Odyssey” was shot in IMAX format.
“The Odyssey” is the first major feature film shot entirely on IMAX cameras. Many films have used IMAX cameras before, including most of Christopher Nolan’s recent works. But “The Odyssey” was the first film in which IMAX was the sole camera used in the shoot.
You probably know IMAX as a specialized theater that shows films in a larger format. So you won’t be surprised to learn that IMAX cameras shoot on large-format film—and yes, they shoot on film, not digital. IMAX cameras record on 70mm film, which is already a large format. But IMAX cameras do something different than regular 70mm cameras: they move the film horizontally instead of vertically, allowing them to capture much more of the image in each frame. This discussion is certainly a bit technical, so check out Callum Vandenberg’s excellent explanation below for a visual breakdown:
Without going into too much detail, IMAX is the largest and highest-quality image format currently used for filmmaking. Filmmakers don’t typically use it for a number of reasons: it’s expensive, especially in our digital age, and the cameras are bulky. Large image formats mean large cameras, and they’re very noisy— although IMAX developed a quieter version of its camera for Christopher Nolan’s latest film. But when IMAX is used, it creates a frame that completely envelops the viewer. When you sit in a real IMAX theater and watch a film shot for IMAX, you truly see nothing but the film itself. The edges of the frame aren’t in your direct line of vision; they occupy your peripheral vision. It’s a completely different experience than traditional film projection.
There are many projection options in Odyssey .
Most movie theaters can’t show IMAX in this format. Even most IMAX theaters can’t. Only 70mm IMAX theaters can, and they’re rare.There are eight 70mm IMAX theaters in the US , and if you want to see The Odyssey in its original format, you’ll need to visit one of them.
Your local theater may offer several different screenings of The Odyssey , even if IMAX 70mm isn’t available: you might be offered a screening in IMAX, 70mm, 35mm, Dolby Vision, or Premium Large Format, among other options. While each has its pros and cons, for this discussion, we’ll focus on aspect ratio, which is as follows:
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IMAX 70mm: 1.43:1
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IMAX: 1.90:1
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70 mm: 2.20:1
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35mm: 2.39:1
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Dolby Vision: 1.85:1 or 2:39:1
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Premium Aspect: 1.85:1 or 2:39:1
That’s a lot of numbers, but here’s a simplified explanation: 2.39:1 is the “standard” widescreen aspect ratio for most modern films. If you’re watching a movie in a theater, especially if it’s fairly widescreen, it likely has an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The “smaller” the first number in this aspect ratio, the “larger” the frame becomes. So, an aspect ratio of 2.20:1 for 70mm film produces a slightly larger image than 2.39:1 for 35mm film. Dolby Vision and Premium Large Format theaters can show a film in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which produces an even larger image, but they can also project in a 2.39:1 ratio, which matches the widescreen frame of 35mm film. IMAX (not IMAX 70mm) has an aspect ratio of 1.90:1, meaning you get the maximum image beyond IMAX 70mm.
To fit images into different formats, filmmakers have to resize and crop images. Therefore, when viewing The Odyssey in a format other than IMAX 70mm, you “lose” part of the image, and this loss increases even more as the frame size decreases. Depending on the format you view the film in, you may miss small details—things that don’t affect the plot in any way, but that other viewers see .
The Odyssey movie website shows the differences between the different movie formats.
These aspect ratios are difficult to visualize, so a visual representation is very helpful. If you want to quickly see the differences between the formats in which The Odyssey will be shown, visit the film’s official website . There, you’ll find an interactive tool that lets you watch the trailer and adjust the aspect ratio for each format.
You’ll really notice the difference when switching from IMAX 70mm to any other format. The frame is significantly smaller, cutting off much of the peripheral image. But the difference is striking even between some smaller formats. Although IMAX is smaller than IMAX 70mm, it still displays more of the image than 70mm or 35mm. Dolby Vision and Premium Large Format are similar in quality, but only when projected in 1.85:1. In a Dolby Vision theater, where the film is shown in 2.39:1, you’ll see the same frame as when shown in 35mm.
There’s much more to this than just aspect ratio. Not all IMAX theaters are created equal, and watching a film on 35mm or 70mm will be different from watching it on any other digital format. But when it comes to the actual framing of the film itself, your choice of theater will determine how much of the film you see. If you’re interested, you might want to watch the film multiple times in different formats to compare how it looks in each. (And if you somehow manage to catch a showing in IMAX 70mm, please let me know. I’ll buy some popcorn.)