Remember the days of Full Screen versus Widescreen DVDs, where you knew you were missing out on part of the image if you bought the wrong version? Well that's basically what's happening if you see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on any screen other than an IMAX theater's screen. Take a look at how much you're missing out on in the video below:
From the looks of the special video that IMAX has provided into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's, Zack Snyder's latest blockbuster has taken full advantage of the IMAX format, all thanks to the fact that certain sequences filmed with the IMAX camera system. But instead of creating a version of the film that's formatted specifically for the traditional theatrical screen format, Snyder has expanded the vision of the scene for the full effect on the large format screen. Taking a deeper look at the footage on display, this is something that truly enriches the IMAX release of the film.
Upon viewing the standard theatrical format of the sequence being shown in this clip of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the scope of Batman seeing the destruction of a city-scape is still pretty fantastic. But as the aspect ratio opens up to both IMAX friendly ratios, you can see that the picture itself expand as well, showing a more total vision of the destruction that is being wrecked during what's been dubbed the "Knightmare" sequence from the upcoming film. The further the picture widens, the more devistating the damage looks on screen, as the city and the explosion in the frame are shown in greater scale, with what looks like a spaceship or some sort of massive craft in the top left part of the frame. These enhancements are only visible in the 1.43:1 ratio that IMAX is showing this part of the film with, which is exactly what should be done with a large format release of a film as massive as this.
We've seen this sort of image expansion executed to a certain extent with James Gunn's personally approve IMAX tweaks for Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's definitely the preferred approach to films that are slated for a large format release. It's common to digitally convert a standard image into a more IMAX friendly presentation, but if you really want to give your fans something impressive that persuades them to spend the extra ticket money, you're better off throwing in a little more on the screen in order to make it worth their while. Expanding the picture is one thing, but expanding what's being shown in the picture is a whole other level of presentation.
Considering this is most likely not the only sequence in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that receives the IMAX treatment, this little sneak peek is a perfect appetizer to the full entree that will be unfurled in front of our eyes this weekend. We're even more excited to see the Man of Steel clash with the Caped Crusader, especially if the moments the two titans go to the mat are shown with the same level of enhancement. We'll see if this is the case when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens as early as Thursday night in standard and IMAX screenings.
