Christopher Nolan would prefer for everyone to see his latest film, “The Odyssey,” an adaptation of Homer’s epic, on a 70mm IMAX screen, as it is the first narrative film to be shot entirely using IMAX cameras.
Unfortunately, Ohio does not have that option for its residents. The closest moviegoers can get to Nolan’s vision of a higher-resolution and expanded picture is to see the film at the independent, nonprofit Gateway Film Center, which offers non-IMAX 70mm showings.
Those who seek the full IMAX experience will have to take a short road trip to the IMAX Theatre at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, about 175 miles from Columbus.
Gateway Film Center reports high pre-sales
Gateway Film Center at 1550 N. High St. is offering multiple showings a day of “The Odyssey,” with some showings on 70mm film and 4K Laser.
The resolution of 70mm film is equivalent to a 6 to 8K resolution, Gateway Film Center President and CEO Charly Bauer told the Dispatch.
A film canister of 77mm film is twice as big as standard 35mm film. To show “The Odyssey” in this way, Gateway had to get 180 pounds of film over three reels delivered by FedEx, Bauer said.
“It just came in yesterday,” Bauer said. “Then, we stitched together those three reels into one giant reel, and we play it for each screening. But the colors are quite dynamic and beautiful, and the resolution is higher than our best digital formats.”
That’s roughly a pound per minute of film for Nolan’s newest epic. Bauer will explain his own odyssey of the process for obtaining this amount of film and what it looks like at the 4 p.m. showing July 16.
In terms of just how popular this film will be at Gateway, Bauer didn’t hold back.
“Our pre-sales are very, very high,” Bauer said. “We think this will be the movie of the year.”
See below for the July 16 “The Odyssey” showings at Gateway:
Want the full IMAX experience?
The nearest 70mm IMAX venue for moviegoers in the Columbus area is the IMAX Theatre at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, roughly a 3-hour drive away.
Seeing “The Odyssey” in 70 mm IMAX lets the viewer see more of the frame than in a typical theater, and the image looks better.
Additional 70mm IMAX locations within driving distance, according to USA TODAY:
Has ‘The Odyssey’ sold out in Columbus?
The short answer: No.
Gateway still has plenty of seats available for its July 16 showings.
Lennox Town Center at 777 Kinnear Road has availability for its IMAX showings through the weekend. AMC Easton Town Center also has seats available for its IMAX and Dolby Cinema showings July 16 and through the weekend.
Not everyone will get to experience “The Odyssey” on 70 mm at an IMAX theater, but regular IMAX, Dolby Cinema and non-IMAX 70mm options can still provide a smooth viewing experience.
“The really fun thing with Dolby Vision is you’re looking at a very, very high contrast ratio: incredible blacks, very, very high, peak whites, peak brightnesses,” Nolan explained to Letterboxd, according to USA TODAY.
Dispatch Reporter Nora Igelnik can be reached at nigelnik@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gateway readies for ‘movie of the year’ as Nolan fans seek out 70mm ‘Odyssey’ showings
Reporting by Nora Igelnik, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nora Igelnik, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
