Movie fans who haven’t had a chance to see Oppenheimer in director Christopher Nolan’s recommended format of IMAX 70mm now have until the end of August. Per Variety, the atomic bomb biopic’s 70mm run has been extended two weeks past its original date of August 17th due to popular demand.
Back in June, Nolan told The Associated Press that the premium film format offered the “best possible experience” to see Oppenheimer because its “sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled.” He added, “By shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you’re really letting the screen disappear. You’re getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You’ve got a huge screen and you’re filling the peripheral vision of the audience. You’re immersing them in the world of the film.”
Unfortunately, only 19 theaters in the US (and 30 worldwide) can play films in IMAX 70mm format, making tickets extremely hard to come by. In an interview with Variety, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond explained it was a “time consuming and expensive” process to create the 70mm experience for Oppenheimer. Since the film is three hours, the physical reels are a whopping 11 miles long and weigh 600 pounds.
“It actually looks better in film,” Gelfond added. “It’s not just about nostalgia. It’s a better experience.”
To operate one of the largest film reels ever produced, IMAX designed and created an emulator meant to evoke the look and feel of a PalmPilot, a decades-old gadget used to control the original Quick Turn Reel Units.
Oppenheimer, which stars Cillian Murphy as “the father of the atomic bomb,” has tallied more than $550 million at the global box office, with all IMAX formats accounting for $114 million of the total. Read our review here.
Listen to Dylan Arnold chat about Oppenheimer on the Kyle Meredith With… Podcast…
