Over the last several years, as Hollywood has attempted to deal with, and recover from, a global pandemic that, among many other things, closed movie theaters for several months, there has been a lot of talk about the importance, or lack thereof, of the theatrical experience. Christopher Nolan has been one of the most vocal proponents of theaters, and much has been made of his dedication to providing viewers with a special theatrical experience. It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s quite another to actually see it.
I don’t mean see Nolan's new movie Oppenheimer, I mean see the film, the actual literal physical 70mm IMAX film that Oppenheimer can be viewed on. I’m lucky enough to live not far from one of the few places in the country where theatergoers will be able to experience Oppenheimer in 70mm on an IMAX screen, and during a recent press screening at the Esquire IMAX theater in Sacramento, I saw what three hours of 70mm film looks like. As a film nerd, it was pretty incredible.
Here are a couple of fun pics. This is what #Oppenheimer looks like in 70mm IMAX, as in, the actual film. The orange trays had to be specially 3D printed because the existing film trays were not big enough to hold the movie. pic.twitter.com/OmRtYH85WcJuly 19, 2023
These pictures (taken by friend, fellow Sacramento area film critic and documentary filmmaker Matias Bombal) are of the film prior to the beginning of the screening, and needless to say, that’s a lot of film. It’s so much film that the platters holding it all had to be 3D printed because the existing ones the theater used were simply not large enough to hold Christopher Nolan’s epic.
This just isn’t something you see anymore. Actual film is almost entirely a thing of the past when it comes to theaters. Everything has gone digital. Movies arrive via the cloud. That's not inherently bad. There are benefits to digital filmmaking, no matter what the purists say. But if you love movies, there’s something about seeing something like this that is just special.
Maybe my awe of this comes from the fact that 24 hours earlier, I was at another press screening for a different upcoming movie, and the screening ended up being canceled while I sat in the theater due to technical problems that simply would not have been an issue if the movie had been on actual film. While I do believe there are benefits to digital film, there are also obvious benefits to real film.
I didn’t write CinemaBlend’s Oppenheimer review, but I don’t really disagree with it at all. It’s an incredible movie, my favorite of the year so far. And contrary to popular belief, Christopher Nolan isn’t that concerned with how you see it. Though having said that, if you’re planning to see Oppenheimer in theaters, and you can see it in 70mm IMAX, do yourself a favor and do so when it arrives on July 21.
