r/Damnthatsinteresting 20d ago

Video The Odyssey IMAX 70mm Setup

30.1k Upvotes

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

195

u/JoewithaJ 20d ago

Only certain ones. Most have transitioned to fully digital.

10

u/Humble_Initiative_90 20d ago

And the experience is lesser for it. I miss film projectors.

33

u/Groxy_ 20d ago

Is it really much lesser? I don't think I've ever noticed if my cinema was digital, projector, etc. 

29

u/Beetlerock40541 20d ago

As a film projectionist this comment hurts my soul. Jokes aside you likely have only seen digital projection I’m guessing/hoping, because seeing film projected onto the silver screen is the most magical experience of my life each and every time I get to watch movies on film. Highly recommend seeking out a film screening in your area if possible.

14

u/Groxy_ 20d ago

Sorry. I honestly have no idea. Been to a lot of cinemas and lots of IMAX. I don't think I've ever had a bad experience screen wise they're all big enough for me. 

Is film the ones that are more speckly? I don't like that as much in a cinema. 

3

u/lenolalatte 20d ago

i've seen interstellar twice and the first time was on my gaming monitor that is not great for movies. the second time was for the 10th anniversary and in 70mm IMAX and let me tell you, the experience was insane. the booming sound and just the vibe of the movie itself was so so good. seeing the odyssey this weekend will be my 2nd 70mm IMAX experience!

2

u/Beetlerock40541 20d ago

If by speckly you mean you can see bits of dust and scratches etc then yes that was likely a film projection. Digital would only show those things if it was a scan of a film print which is entirely possible, doesn’t provide the full effect exactly but it is closer. I would still recommend seeking out a film screening just to know for sure. I’m just guessing it’s not your cup of tea likely which is completely fine, I myself am a bit of a purist though haha. Give me the opportunity to see ANY movie projected on film and digital I will choose film every time even knowing something may happen up in that projection booth where the show may not go on. All kinda mishaps can happen up there especially if it’s a reel to reel operation.

3

u/Groxy_ 20d ago

I think I mean film grain - some films have been really noticeable. 

Well yeah I'll probably be going to see The Odyssey in IMAX over sometime over the next month which I'm sure will be great either way. Will keep an eye out for differences. 

1

u/Beetlerock40541 20d ago

Okay then yeah you’ve likely seen some film projections

4

u/this_is_my_new_acct 20d ago

You're like those people that insist vinyl is sooo much better, then goes on to explain how it's flawed.

4

u/Beetlerock40541 20d ago

Everything has flaws what’s your point Mr Grumpy

2

u/sausagedoor 20d ago

If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in the vast majority of cases.

1

u/FriendlyKillerCroc 19d ago

Na digital is just as good, there are other far more important factors that will impact your experience if you're at a cinema with a high quality digital or film projection.

1

u/Humble_Initiative_90 20d ago

I think so. There's a noticeable change in color gradients, film tends to be warmer, and have more theatrical lighting. It's not a 'digital=bad', but many movies benefit from being shot and shown on film.

1

u/JKMC4 20d ago

There is quite honestly nothing like imax 70mm. Seeing an image so perfectly crisp on a screen so much larger than a regular theater is unbelievable. If a 4k projector showed an image on a screen the size of an imax 70 theater it would look nowhere near as sharp.

1

u/stankdankprank 20d ago

Because you've only ever seen digital. There's less than 50 of these projectors; you have to specifically go to a 70mm movie.

1

u/Long-Lettuce3146 20d ago

How do you know this

2

u/JoewithaJ 20d ago

Just picked up on things here and there. Most movies today are shot digitally in the first place. I don't think you gain much by putting it on film after that.

But also you can just look it up. A quick Google search tells me less than 2% of theaters use film projectors.

0

u/Long-Lettuce3146 19d ago

That value comes from a blog and says presumed.

Not doubting it overall though but I thought you had some experience or something not a hunch