On November 4, 2014 I drove over 300 miles to see Interstellar in 15/70 IMAX near Boise, Idaho. Quite a unique experience given that I drove a considerable distance to see it in a small theater, surrounded by agricultural farms. Immediately after the movie, I drove another 1,200 miles to see it again in 15/70 IMAX at the Metreon in San Francisco. As you can imagine, the experience I had traveling across the western United States to see this film in 15/70 IMAX was an experience I’ll never forget. Over 1,800 miles in 48 hours, nearly 3,000 miles round-trip, it was truly an “interstellar” journey. I plan to do a similar trip for Oppenheimer this summer.
What a wonderful adventure. I've covered a lot of miles across the USA and I love those road trips. They''re different to here unless you're trying to get through Atlanta in the rush hour (which seems to be all day at times) or trying to traverse from one side of Los Angeles to the other. OPPENHEIMER looks like it's going to be another great Christopher Nolan film but another that has to be seen in the full Monty, genuine article 15/70 IMAX film. John.
Yo that's amazing. I'm an hour away from San Francisco so I'm relatively close to the Metreon and I'll never complain about an hour commute after reading your journey
@@aninjaguardian If they've got an IMAX 15/70mm print of OPPENHEIMER at the Metreon then I think we all know where you'll be heading a few weeks time then. I'm still trying to sort out which screening to get to at the BFI IMAX over here. John.
I live in Boise and somewhere around 2016, the IMAX removed the 15/70mm projector. Even worse is that they only kept the xenon digital and never upgraded to laser. Good luck on your trip!
I did the introduction speech for this screening plus all the previous Interstellar screenings we've had so far and every single time I mention that fact we are showing it on actual film, it always get a thunderous applause, and what better way to boo the people who haven't seen it before so I'm glad it came across great. It always gets the crowd going and yes everyone, please do join us when Oppenheimer comes out. Shout out also to Caesar who was in the projection booth for this screening.
It was a good fun introduction Tom but I couldn't get in touch to let you know what I planned to do with it once I knew it had come out in a usable fashion. I thought I'd better cut it down having not spoken to you but it was such a good advert for the BFI IMAX that it simply had to be included. Well done for telling everyone it was on 'film' because the TENET introduction told us it was 'IMAX with laser' which had a few of us worried. Take a look at my TENET IMAX video from about six weeks ago and you'll see Cesar in that one. He was very good on camera and we had a lot of fun making that video. Tianna was very good too. We had a wonderful time on Sunday. The IMAX has restored my faith in cinema which I regard as being in terminal decline owing to all the lower standard video projection everywhere today. But it's still possible to see the best occasionally and I think the BFI are sitting on something very special now. What is required is a genuine IMAX 15/70 festival there every year. People would fly in from all over the world because they just can't see quality like this any longer. Thank you to everyone involved with these IMAX screenings. See you for OPPENHEIMER if I can't find an excuse to get up before... THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is foremost in my mind! John.
@@CriticFella If you can get to see it in 15/70 IMAX CriticFella then you'll be seeing the ultimate film format and if you see it at the BFI IMAX then you'll be seeing a perfect print which was struck directly from the original camera negative. Even the 35mm blow-up sections are better than any video projection you're likely to see anywhere in the world today. No surprise really as 4K video probably isn't up to 35mm potential quality. John.
@@TomSmithFilms I did Tom. I'll be able to get that sorted out sometime but bear with me as I'm not getting spare time at all lately and am months behind on where i should be by this time of year. Try dropping me an email from bfcc biz (with the full stop missing from that link). I'm the only John on there but reply on here to let me know when you've sent an email as it's an alias, forwarding address and not the real address so if anything goes wrong I'll get it up here in disguised form and then take it down again once we make contact. John.
I would give my right arm to experience what you have had the privilege to. I have a deep respect for Christopher Nolan and agree whole heartedly INTERSTELLAR must surely rank as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Finally giving 2001 a run for it's money {in my humble opinion being an even greater film} and if I were in any way in a position to do so I would fly over to see it. But thank you for the your enthusiasm your passion and love of cinema. Believe me the experience you had was palpable in your wonderful video. So for those of us who never will thank you for allowing us to see it through your eyes. Thank you. John. Michael - South Africa
@@thelookuplookdown I'm badgering the people at the BFI IMAX to do an annual genuine IMAX 15/70 weekend festival Michael so you never know, we may all get together there one day. I think enthusiasts would fly in from all over the world for that. Thank you for your enthusiastic comment too which is great encouragement. John.
I'd never been emotional watching it before but it got me this time. It's a masterpiece that keeps getting better and better every time you see it... particularly in genuine IMAX. John.
I was so preoccupied by the visual experience I missed the emotional aspect, but on my second viewing at home I definitely had tears come to my eyes. Just wrapping your mind around losing time with people you love is heartbreaking.
A lot of people tell me the same thing M J. and I can understand why. Has to be seen in the real McCoy to fully appreciate how good it is though. John.
@@moviecollector5920 understood. If I had known it was playing there at BFI, I would have considered the trip for it! I’ll check to see if it’s playing stateside. It’s one of those movies where I am glad they didn’t create a sequel because I like to imagine what Cooper and Brand do next myself!
Hi John. It was a pleasure to meet you and the others after the showing. I, like you, came to see this when it originally came out. I brought my 11 year old son. It made a great impression on us both. After years of home cinema upgrades etc, you kid yourself that “This is as good or better than a cinema”. Then you come and see (and hear) this masterpiece on film and you realise that it doesn’t even come close. Total immersion on a Sunday morning. A religious experience indeed. Magic.
You have a way of summing these things up so well Jim. If the image quality of genuine IMAX isn't enough, that sound system in there make you want to weep when you come home and put your high end home system on. I think my house would fall down if I had bass response to match the BFI IMAX though so there's not a lot that can be done about it. A wonderful film in the ultimate format. i can't remember exactly what Stan said now but something along the lines of "This is cinema!" and that really does say it all. It's just a shame cinema is usually so poor just about everywhere else now. When I look back at the 1990's and how cinema seemed to be getting better and better for most of that decade, and I now think about the crap presentation and poor image quality generally on offer, I find it all rather demoralizing. Most people can't remember, or were not alive, when cinema was at its height. But just occasionally the best can still be enjoyed when a genuine IMAX film is being screened. Bring on OPPENHEIMER and I'll see you there. John.
@@moviecollector5920Have you seen Dolby threater and Imax Dual Laser I love Imax 15/70 but it's a dead format? 0:07 lucky if you see it every 3 years since it's not coming backed they need to make Imax digital to equal film right now Imax Laser is good Enough.
Me and a friend came over from The Netherlands to attend the screening. We were also there that Sunday morning. Absolutely amazing and incomparable film experience. Was our first imax 70mm (or any 35/65/70mm film) experience. It's such an amazing experience. Funny enough we had near front right side front row seats, like you had when you saw it the first time. Or the one side it's sad when you think about that you might never see the uncropped 70mm frames ever again. On the other side. That made the experience even better, because it gave a lot of scenes a complete new perspective for me. Will definitely consider coming back to see Oppenheimer :)
I'm going to try to get a video out when I manage to get tickets for OPPENHEIMER in the hope that a whole load of us film enthusiasts can get together at the same screening so let's see how well that works. As for INTERSTELLAR, what an unbelievable film it is when you see it in the full majesty of the genuine article rather than a video projection purporting to be IMAX. The fact that the BFI IMAX have just added another two screenings tells me that even they're surprised by the popularity of the film almost ten years on. It looks to me like people are telling cinemas that when they pay to see a film in a cinema they actually want to see a film. I think cinema is in terminal decline and they need to do something different to get people off their sofas and away from their televisions or IPhones. Film does seem to be a way to do it until someone else can come up with superior video projection. Shame Douglas Trumbull died recently as he was onto something whereby he put a shutter into video projectors and voila, the film look was back... apparently. John.
It's a great film however you look at it Juanjo but genuine 15/70 IMAX takes it onto a different plain. Pure cinematic magic that is almost too good to be true. John.
@@ANDRE1mang There were 15/70 blow-up prints of INCEPTION but it wasn't genuine IMAX Andre. It was shot using large format film for much of it but I can't remember entirely (VistaVision I think) so will still look excellent just nowhere not close to a genuine IMAX print. Maverick was shot entirely on video so no film prints of that one but it is one of the best quality movies ever shot on video with the 2.40:1 'Scope ratio sequences looking better than the faux IMAX 1.90:1 sequences. DUNKIRK and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES are the other two genuine IMAX films to see besides TENET and INTERSTELLAR. John.
Hi John, Have been watching your channel for many months now since I’ve started collecting physical media. I’m only 23, so your videos on the technical aspects of filmmaking and exhibition have been very informative. After watching this video, I was able to hunt down a theater about 100 miles from home where I can see Oppenheimer in 15/70 IMAX. Just pre-ordered tickets for it. They were almost sold out. Very excited. Keep up the great work, John!
Oh, you are in for a treat there Tim. I don't think tickets have gone on sale here but I expect them to be in huge demand when they do. It's possible that OPPENHEIMER could re-generate interest in film because it should be a massive box office success and anyone who sees it video projected is surely going to hear how much better it is in the real McCoy. Let me know how you get on. John.
Just make sure it's a genuine IMAX and showing a genuine IMAX 15/70 film otherwise the impact won't be the same and the quality won't be anything exceptional. John.
Awesome video! Back in the early 2000s we had a newly opened IMAX cinema in downtown Frankfurt, Germany. These were 50 minute long presentations. Both in 2D and in 3D. I absolutely loved it and went several times there. The wide angle shots are so amazing. It's like watching a great 35mm print at the center, but with your field of vision all covered with a crystal clear image, sides, up and down. You can watch an IMAX film many times and still discover new details each time. Needless to say: when they switched to digital, I didn't go anymore.
Video projection is a major reason why cinema is dying. Granted, the audience isn't there any longer but the big downgrade in 2011 is a major cause of that. Genuine IMAX is still the best cinematic presentation format in the world today and it gets me out of my home cinema and back into a real one. Rarely does anything else now. John.
I've booked in for the May Day showing, Interstellar is my favourite movie of the last 10 years and am giddy with excitement for watching this in it's premium format.
@@moviecollector5920 I was lucky to have a really good seating position (halfway up and dead centre) with the screen taking up not just my horizontal vision but vertically too. The scenes filmed in the full IMAX ratio were breathtaking. I have seen this film many, many times and this felt like I was watching it new with so much more image to view from the full IMAX ratio, with this and the crystal clear audio which delivered that stunning Hans Zimmer masterpiece of a soundtrack it was a cinema experience that is seared into my mind, truly one of the greatest movie moments of my life!
@@justaregulargamer1860 That is exactly the sort of response I was wishing for! Well bloody done. The impact this particular IMAX film had on you was the same as me. I wondered if it wouldn't be so good, or make such a big impression, this time around but if anything, it was even better. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I agree the movie exceeded my expectations too. That high screen accentuated the vertically of many of those scenes and I suspect Nolan had the IMAX format in mind when creating much of this brilliant film.
@@justaregulargamer1860 For sure he had genuine IMAX in mind because Warner Bros. wanted him to shoot the last Batman film in 3D and he said he'd make it for them in IMAX. That really started the process of all these genuine IMAX films even though there were a few IMAX sequences in the second Batman film. It's the unrivalled clarity of 15/70 IMAX that means it's possible to project it on such huge screens. Video projection doesn't come close but how can it when the best video projection system uses two projectors combining to resolve just over 4K. Basically, not even 35mm quality. A lot of INTERSTELLAR was shot anamorphic 35mm and blown up onto the IMAX print. Those sections still looked better than faux IMAX video. John.
It's a great film in every format Robert. IMAX is three times the size of standard 70mm though so that probably gives you an indication of how it might look when seen in the real McCoy. John.
I went to UK last Dec n had the BEST CINEMA experience here. I even visited HMV at Oxford street n bought a few 4K discs. We don't have any blu-rays anymore here in Malaysia. I rly wished I found your channel before going though. I would've learned more about cinema culture in UK n maybe I could visit more Cinemas. I've been binging your videos every day since I missed going to BFI. Here's hoping that I get to visit there again n to other cinemas u shared in your channel
You'll have to start saving up to fly over again. Perhaps look up the Bradford Pictureville cinema too and most notably the Widescreen Weekend they have every October. I've yet to get up to that myself but a trip to London when a genuine IMAX film is on (i.e. 15/70) that might coincide with Widescreen Weekend a few days later would be right up your alley. There is another genuine IMAX cinema in the Science Museum just outside of the West End of London and the Bradford IMAX is about to re-open early next year and apparently they're going to restore the 15/70 projector to mean it will be the fourth IMAX house in Britain. The third is in Manchester. We're rather spoilt compared to most nations other than Canada and USA. India has one but can only show science films due to how it was established and Australia has one. There's one in eastern Europe and that's about it. John.
Hello john, that’s awesome you were able to see interstellar again. I’m very much looking forward to Oppenheimer plan to make a big weekend of it. Have a great one as always.
I want to see INTERSTELLAR again John so I'm trying to convince the IMAX that they need a genuine 15/70 IMAX film festival weekend every year. I think people would fly in from all over the world for that. John.
That's because you didn't see it in genuine IMAX Paul. There are two different films with the same name really... one is the run of the mill version which gets video projected just about everywhere (some people even watch it on a telly!) and the other is the real deal, full Monty, unparalleled 15/70 IMAX version. Identical cuts in every respect but one is unparalleled in the history of cinema and the other is a sort of poor relation. John.
Sell your children... rob the bank... do anything, but get over here this weekend! Seriously though, maybe see when something is being screened in 15/70 at a genuine IMAX somewhere and then arrange a holiday based around it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 haha I'd do all the above and it would be worth it for those two plus hours of heaven!. Fingers crossed I can make it for Oppenheimer this summer. My local IMAX only projects single laser so it can't produce the full 1.43 ratio despite the screen historically being an authentic IMAX screen constructed in the early 2000s I believe.
@@jbird_inc My general rule of thumb for IMAX is, "If it ain't shot 15/70 IMAX film and ain't projected 15/70 IMAX film, then it ain't IMAX." Video projection is just over 4K at best so simply isn't the same thing by a long way. But if it helps to keep the cinemas in business so they can show us the real thing occasionally then it's got to be done. John.
I‘m very happy to flight from Germany to see Oppenheimer there on 29th 😍. Loved the imax presentation of interstellar on science museum in March so much - i Just Need this experience one More time.
There really is nothing like it Pascal so I completely understand. I've been pressing the BFI IMAX to hold a genuine IMAX weekend on an annual basis. I think they'd get enthusiasts flying in from all over the world so it would be a win, win, win all around. I'd be there every damned year spending money, that's the trouble. John.
There aren't many genuine IMAX cinemas left now but there are some. Beware of ordinary looking cinemas bearing the IMAX name because they're usually video projection and not the real McCoy. But if you do get into a real one and ever see one of these Christopher Nolan films I think you'll be even more impressed than when you were 11. I never would have thought IMAX would have been suitable for feature films but we're all allowed to be wrong at least once! John.
@@chicklets4374 Funnily enough, i was put onto the Ontario IMAX by another comment a week or so ago and read all about it then. Looks like a very nice cinema but if I remember correctly they're only showing documentaries and not feature films. Feel free to correct me though of course. John.
@@moviecollector5920 They had a pretty active movie list for quite awhile unfortunately I only saw the documentaries all those years ago, it’s closed now for renovations but will reopen in 2024.
Hi John, it was a pleasure to meet you after the screening! It's difficult to put into words how incredible the cinematic experience was on Sunday! Cannot wait for Oppenheimer now! All the best, James.
I'll plan to do a proper video for OPPENHEIMER... but I suppose the film had better be good otherwise it might be a little counter productive. I wasn't planning to do anything at INTERSTELLAR but then young Roland came over to speak to me and summed things up so well I put the camera on him. I should have brought a pro camera then I could have had a light in his face but it turned out okay in the end as the important thing was what he had to say. You chaps finished that little sequence off very nicely and that caused me to think I needed to do something to camera there myself which was how the ending with me babbling on came about. I then got the opening shot on the way back in. It's funny how things turn out sometimes. I'll try to get a video out once I've booked a seat for OPPENHEIMER and then maybe a whole load of us can get together. I think that could be a lot of fun and a good excuse for thorough video coverage with lots of opinions. John.
@@moviecollector5920 It turned out great! I love the platter shot of Interstellar you got from your Tenet video. It's also a great memento for me now from the unforgettable day. Sounds like a great idea, I'll wait for some info before booking :).
@@peniljam I'm pestering the IMAX to do an annual 15/70 festival long weekend. i think they're sitting on a gold mine given the general state of cinema just about everywhere else so we'll see if they take the idea seriously and want to earn a bucket load of money by packing the house out for three days. I suppose a lot will depend on how well OPPENHEIMER does but I suspect it's going to be big in the few cinemas still able to screen genuine IMAX. John.
Hi John, I think that that is a great proposition. I've booked to catch Oppenheimer next Tues 8th Aug on 70mm Imax at The Printworks in Manchester and will probably mention the same to the guys running the show there too.
I watched Interstellar in true IMAX back in Nov 2014 here in Toronto. Was absolutely blown away by it...aside from the last 20 minutes which prevent it from becoming the masterpiece it could have been. Thanks for this tour.
Maybe when you see it again Mandeep, you'll be ready for the conclusion of the film and see it differently. I think a lot of us were a bit lost with the tesseract sequence so perhaps didn't fully appreciate what came afterwards. I still think the tesseract is a bit of a nonsense but who cares when a film looks this good and tells such a wonderful story in spite of it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I do enjoy all of the movie aside from that Tessarect sequence. BTW hope you have seen the latest Oppenheimer trailer...looks great!
@@TheBanwait8 Funnily enough, I just put the Smart TV on (I only use it for RUclips and a few things on disc) and there is the new OPPENHEIMER trailer awaiting me. Yippee! More good news is that the Bradford IMAX has put their 15/70 projector back in so we're back up to three genuine IMAX cinemas in the UK. The good news keeps on coming at the moment. As for that tesseract sequence, it is explained in the film even if it is a little hard to fathom. The solution I take from what we're told is that future humans have placed it there in the black hole because we are able to control time and space. To save the human race we have to save ourselves from the future and without Matthew McConnaughey's character being the poltergeist down the years in his daughter's bedroom then humans would not learn what is necessary to get off the dying earth and to survive in space via the control of gravity. Pretty deep. I prefer my own original take on it whereby anything travelling at the speed of light is everywhere in the universe simultaneously but in this case, it's an intelligent being travelling at the speed of light and is able to manipulate where he wants to be. None of it is important to the overall conclusion of the film though which, however you look at it, is pretty deep just like most of Christopher Nolan's movies. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I think I like your 2nd theory and can run with that when watching the movie. It's always good to know when a theater includes true IMAX in there theaters. Here in Toronto, our first one was at the Cinesphere at Ontario Place (first in world I think). It was defunct for many years and re-opened a few yrs ago. Recall going on school trips and summers to watch documentaries which blew my mind.....That Oppenheimer trailer really looks good.
@@TheBanwait8 OPPENHEIMER trailer appears to confirm it's a more conventional film than we're used to from Mr. Nolan so it's possible it's going to find a more appreciative general audience rather than just those of us who like to watch a film that makes us think... tesseract excepted perhaps! Brilliant that the original IMAX has opened in Toronto but a shame the chap on camera didn't seem to know as much as he should about the format. Apparently the lower quality video projector gives more defined imagery and the IMAX film is just 70mm. A bit of an education was necessary before putting him out there as his lack of knowledge seemed to cause a lack of enthusiasm. I suspect he knew that he didn't know what he was talking about. Thank you for pointing me to that video. RUclips seem to remove posts with hyperlinks in them now so if your post disappears shortly, that's what has happened. John.
I suppose we''re all expecting OPPENHEIMER to be another NOLAN classic but it had bloody well better be after all the effort they've all gone to to make it. I'll try to do a more thorough video review for it and hopefully meet a load of people from here on the day. John.
At the BFI IMAX Ramuk? I'd love to be there again but I hope that now it's been proven that people want to watch film, and in particular 15/70 genuine IMAX film, the BFI will put it on with the other Nolan films on an annual basis. When you're sitting on a money maker, why not use it? Have a great time. John.
@@moviecollector5920 it was a great experience. i was sat in p14 which was the second row from the back and a little off-centre, so I could see the tops of people's heads during the full imax scenes. what seats do you think are best?
@@ramuk- I actually think the row you were in is the best. I was right at the back for INTERSTELLAR in the middle section in the far left seat as you look at the screen. This was almost the exact opposite of where I'd seen it from nine years before and it was great to realize that my opinion from that front row, far right seat was correct even though I was looking at a screen like I was looking up at K2 at the time. The two back rows are probably best for anyone new to genuine IMAX but the front row does give an awe-inspiring experience. John.
Hi John! Thanks again for sharing this with us! Looks like you had a blast at this one. I've got my daughter in a stranglehold lol watching with me. My young movie partner has lots to learn and so many great films to experience and for me re-experience. Hoping she will join me at Oppenheimer when it's out here and fingers crossed by no Nolan screenings yet! Yet! Meanwhile thanks again and my best to you guys across the pond! See you in the next vid! D in BC!
Your daughter is getting a 'reel' education there by the sound of it Dave. There's nothing that matches genuine IMAX and I too am very much looking forward to OPPENHEIMER. I could watch these NOLAN genuine IMAX films continually as I don't think I'd ever tire of seeing the best film presentation format known to man. John.
Any film projection 35mm or 70mm,imax70mm,has its magic.Natural,organic quality that cannot be replicated by digital.And doesn't really matter whether its Dolby cinema,Imax laser..its just not the same.As Q.Tarantino said,"digital cinema is nothing but public television"
Is there an email list or a blog where I can find out about upcoming screenings of films with IMAX 15/70mm footage? I never saw Interstellar or Dunkirk in theatres and want to know if or when it gets screened again near me.
A great, touching video, John. You communicate with *awesome* clarity that Interstellar is a _true_ film by a _true_ filmmaker, and that 15/70 IMAX is the _true_ way to see it.
I wasn't actually planning to shoot a video there Erik but when young Roland came over and was so enthusiastic about his first even genuine IMAX screening, I thought I'd get on with it. Worked out okay I think. See you over here for OPPENHEIMER. I'll try to get a video out as soon as I've booked a seat so a bunch of us might be able to meet up. John.
Im glad you got to see it once more, with better seating. The movie grabs me the moment he leaves his family and it never stops. A marvelous film for sure.
More emotional this time possibly because I know the film much better. Quite upset a couple of times. This is what a cinema visit should be every time but rarely ever is, particularly now. John.
@@Channelfactory There is significant leg room in the back two rows. That's why they cost a little more I think. I could almost lie down in those, not so elsewhere but by the time a film starts in 15.70 IMAX, I don't much care about anything but what's on the screen in front of me. But yes, the rear two rows are best.
I have never been in a IMAX cinema or watched an IMAX movie. Sure i have Interstellar, Tenet and Dunkirk but only on bd and only watched them on my 55 inch samsung tv. But my god how i want to now after your videos John. I actually took myself giggling and smiling while watching your video😂 This is what movie watching is all about, exitement and joy🎉
Thank you Morten. I'd given up on cinema long before INTERSTELLAR turned up at the BFI IMAX in 2014 and it rekindled my interest. To see it again and confirm to myself that it was not only as impressive in 15/70 as I remembered but maybe even better was pure joy. There is hope for cinema yet but it's going to take getting the image quality back to where it was before the big downgrade in 2011 and the general decline that started more than ten years before that. Genuine IMAX is too good and to complex to be installed everywhere but it gives me hope that others in the industry stand a chance of seeing it and realizing that what they're pushing elsewhere is second rate. John.
I'm quite confused about something, this video is about imax 70mm but at 1:28 it shows people entering a screening of imax laser.. which is not imax 70mm so does this place has imax 70mm, or is it only imax laser?
It has both. 'Laser' is a word that makes people think they are seeing something special because they think the projection is somehow making a load of lasers create the projected image when, as we all know, it's only the light source. Impressing people with a word is all that's required to make many feel they are doing something special. Compared to the real McCoy it's a bit of a joke but most don't realize. It might achieve top 35mm capability at times but I think the anamorphic 35mm blow-up sequences on the IMAX print of INTERSTELLAR are better than any video projection I've ever seen... including a video projector using a laser lamp! John.
If you can get to a genuine IMAX cinema to see a genuine 15/70 print Colin then you'll never have seen anything quite like it before. Video projection is being passed off as IMAX in most places now so you have to be careful with what you choose to go and see. And many of the purpose built IMAX theatres have given up on their 15/70 film projectors which I consider to be a travesty but what can you do. Money talks and seems to govern all decision making today. John.
I'll try to get a video out as soon as I've booked a seat for OPPENHEIMER so perhaps a bunch of us can get together before and after. Might see you there with a little luck. John.
Excellent invitation, John! Lovely people, wonderful occasion!! I love the music especially. That was a very classy touch. Why didn't you use music before? I so wish we had similar presentations here. Oh well.. some day. Thank you for a great recommendation! Dmitri
I have used that music track before in one of the recent video Dmitri. It's probably been a bit more subtle when I've used the music tracks lately so you may not have noticed it or thought it was the real music in the auditorium, but I had to dub it in as I'd get a copyright strike if Ieft the actual music that was playing on the soundtrack. There's nothing like genuine IMAX and I think INTERSTELLAR makes the biggest impression in that format. TENET may be better image quality but the overall impact of iNTERSTELLAR seems to be the best of the two. DUNKIRK is a completely different type of film but many will consider that to be the best. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is the other one but I haven't seen that in the real McCoy. I don't consider it in the same league as the three other IMAX films he's done though. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Oh, those youtube strikes... Causing much more trouble than doing good. I would love to see Inception in IMAX! Thank you for sharing your opinion! If any of them are back at IMAX, we are there. Dmitri
This was the first film i saw in IMAX. I revisit the movie on 4k almost every year but the experience in IMAX... The shots, the score, the story. It was so... Grand.
Morning Aaron. The good news is that INTERSTELLAR now has a big following and many of the IMAX prints still exist in genuine IMAX cinemas around the world so it's possible to see it in the real McCoy occasionally. I think I could enjoy all the Nolan IMAX films once a year so I've been suggesting to the BFI IMAX that they have a 15/70 IMAX festival weekend on an annual basis. I don't suppose it will happen but if it does I can imagine people flying in from all over the world especially for it. John.
I'm glad you got to see another Christopher Nolan IMAX film John, thanks for mentioning that they have added additional screenings, I have booked a day off on Friday and got some tickets while I could, I can't wait! We will make a full day of it and have a day in London before the film in the evening, I enjoyed the film at home in 4K and expect I will appreciate it more on such a large screen, particularly the space sequences.
Well done Nick. You are in for a cinematic treat and I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did which will still mean it will be one of the best cinema screenings you'll have ever attended. Let us all know how you get on. By the way, the Hans Zimmer score was recorded just over the river at Temple Church so perhaps include a quick visit there as part of your itinerary. And FOPP and Forbidden Planet of course which are only a couple of hundred yards from each other on Shaftesbury Avenue. Don't spend too much though. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thanks John I will do, I'm really looking forward to it! Looking at the map I think Temple Church would be a bit out of our way, I was planning to go to FOPP as I have a couple of Xmas HMV vouchers burning a hole in my pocket, through Leicester square to the National Gallery, over the bridge to Southbank for a bit and then to the BFI.
@@nick1635 Temple church is just the other side of Waterloo Bridge so if you go back over the bridge at some point, it's just along to the right a little way. It's in between the river and Aldwych/Fleet Street. Nothing much to see but just relevant to see where the score was recorded perhaps after seeing the film. What a wonderful score too. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Well that was impressive John! Just the huge screen by itself was marvellous to look at, the trailers before the film looked more impressive on such a big scale, and Interstellar was well worth the journey to watch again. I appreciated it more the second time around, picking up on some of the foreshadowing plot points I missed the first time round. The print looked fabulous, there was some debris in the projector that repeatedly kept appearing over and over again for a large part of the films running time which was slightly distracting - I don't know if that is something a projectionist would normally spot and be able to flush out when the projection is running? On such a large screen the picture was still detailed and sharp, the outer space scenes in particular really impressed me. I will certainly visit again for Oppenheimer and without a doubt visit in November for Dune 2.
@@nick1635 Make sure Dune 2 is actually a 15/70 IMAX shoot and print though otherwise it might just be video projection. As for the reappearing dust, take a look at my TENET IMAX video again and you should see what causes that and why. It's when Cesar tells Daniel from Sweden and I all about the IMAX GT projector when we're down the front of it. John.
The last Nolan film I saw on 1570 was in Chongqing, China at a local IMAX theater back in 2012. Even my wife, who is not a film nerd like me, could visually tell the difference between the 35mm anamorphic blowup footage and 70mm IMAX. Now the audio was in the original English with Chinese subtitles. However, it took me a few minutes to realize that the subtitles were actually electronic subtitles (and not optically printed on the film) that were synced with the film and projected by a digital projector. Also, whenever the subtitles were displayed on screen, you could make out a faint grey shadow bleeding over the image, especially during darker scenes. I assume this is a more efficient and cost effective method to screen the film around the world without printing individual 1570 IMAX prints with corresponding foreign subtitles. In other words, ship the same 1570 IMAX print to any foreign market and just sync subtitles via a digital projector. Pretty smart if you ask me. Anyway, I wanted to watch Intersteller in 1570 a few years later but unfortunately, that IMAX theater had already switched over to a pure digital system. What a loss actually.
Brilliant information there Meng. I now wonder if the dodgy subtitles during the opening sequence of Death on the Nile in 70mm were video projected onto the screen because they were slightly blurry but the surrounding image was sharp as tack. Interesting and I have to learn more about this. 70mm prints are expensive enough and I think they only had 32 worldwide for Death on the Nile so it would make sense. Different prints just for subtitles would be an expense too far, particularly with 70mm IMAX prints so it's good business. Terrible that another IMAX cinema is no longer IMAX though but using the great name for video projection. Apparently, we only have two left in the UK now and they're both in the centre of London. We all need to use them when we can whenever they're showing a genuine IMAX print. Interstellar is like nothing else in genuine IMAX. The best cinema experience I've ever had... and I've had it twice! John.
@@moviecollector5920 Oh, I forgot to mention that I watched “The Dark Knight Rises” on IMAX back in 2012. Anyway that reminds me. A few years back, I had an colleague of mine who was involved in a film festival in the US and were planning to show a 35mm print of a certain Hong Kong film but they weren’t sure if was subtitled. He also told me, if worse came to worse, they would get someone to translate the film live to the audience, similar to live narration with silent films over 100 years ago. I then told him my IMAX experience with “The Dark Knight Rises” where they digitally projected the subtitles on the screen while the film played. Now, getting it to work is one challenge but syncing the subtitles would be another tackle. If I had the equipment, I’d be curious to test it out. Well in the end, the vintage 35mm print actually had hard embedded subtitles so there was no need for any DIY device or live narration. Haha
@@vangmx A lot of film equipment comes with sync' locks and things like that Meng so something like Crystal sync' or sync' pulse would have been used to lock the subtitles in. It's a darned fine idea and a big money saver. It also means there isn't an extra optical process to print the subtitles onto the prints so better image quality results. John.
You make great videos I’ve just started getting in to 70mm when I found out there was always a 70mm print theatre in my city and it only uses it for Chris Nolan’s films in the modern day. Sadly it’s not IMAX 70mm but I do have a IMAX theatre but it’s only IMAX with Laser. And Oppenheimer probably will be my first 70mm film, and I might watch in Dolby Atmos 4K 70mm instead of IMAX
The standard 70mm prints will be way, way better than any lower quality video projection so you're doing the right thing there. It won't be as good as genuine IMAX though but 70mm is still very special and you should always take the chance whenever a 70mm comes up. Video projection may take a giant leap forward soon though since Doug Trumbull established the big problem with it is the lack of a shutter. I'd been thinking it was the lack of light diffusion owing to not having a physical film between lamp and lens but didn't consider there wasn't a shutter to further diffuse the light to make the projected image look even more real. John.
I will literally be heartbroken if they ever get rid of IMAX After watching thousands of films over many decades at the cinema, I am utterly convinced that IMAX is the only true way to experience films bar none
Standard 70mm should be the industry standard with modern 35mm as the general release. It's all about money and basically there aren't enough people going to cinemas any longer. So video it is. And what crap most of that is compared to what we used to enjoy. IMAX restores my faith providing it's the real McCoy. John.
The IMAX / Dolby Cinema theater in West Palm Beach, Florida is closing down to make room for office buildings. I am very sad today. Thanks for the wonderful video showing a city that appreciates IMAX and film!
That's awful. Cinema is dying and if a genuine IMAX theatre is also closing down then that's a bad sign for cinema. It seems to be in terminal decline. John.
This is a Masterpiece, to watch it in a 70 mm Imax screen must ve a great experience. Too bad all the Imax theaters are digital where i live. Once again all your videos are delightful to see.
I hope word will spread and former genuine IMAX cinemas will get the real projectors back or have them repaired. They've let bean counters adversely affect their decision making and now there's a new IMAX film about to be released that should be massive and they're going to lose out. John.
The best movie presentation format in existence today and possibly the greatest ever - although genuine three-strip Cinerama may have pipped it to the top spot if it were still around. Have a great time at the OPPENHEIMER show. John.
dreams come true. I hope they bring Nolan's movies to the states. I haven't seen anything announced yet. I am happy to say that I saw it on opening weekend back then in a local IMAX. fingers crossed that I get to see it again in IMAX.
@@luisd7636 IMAX is usually a purpose built theatre but many older cinemas are claiming IMAX because they've got a 2K or 4K video projector with the IMAX brand on it. I think it's caused a big degradation to the great name but most people don't know the difference and don't appreciate it when they're told. I think it's all about staying in business but if it means we can still see the real McCoy in the genuine IMAX cinemas on occasion then it's not all bad. John.
@@moviecollector5920 i need to ask and look a little bit more into this now that you shared that info. i hope they do but im starting to have my doubts
I was there on opening night when Event Horizon opened Lborg. That was back in the days when London had great premiere cinema and The Empire was the top dog. Those days are gone now but I have some great memories. It wasn't a full house by any stretch but I thought the first hour was terrific. Fell apart after that like most modern horrors do but still a very good film. I've had the LaserDisc since shortly after that cinema screening. The LD is great. Haven't seen the 4K. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Waiting on Aliens 4k.. Our local Odeon screened Aliens last Thursday. What a film that is. Up with the best the 80's gave us.👌Cheers John.
@@cp070476 Clark Teddles recently shot a projection booth video in Sydney where both the Director's Cut of 'Alien' in 35mm and Aliens in 70mm were screened. Priceless. Apparently, that's the only surviving 70mm blow-up still in circulation so very special. I saw the 70mm here three times in 1986. The best sequel ever made methinks. I've been looking at one of my Super 8 prints of Aliens for a few months now and wishing I had the time to sit there and screen it again. John.
@@moviecollector5920 It's in top 5 films ever. Predator, Aliens, The Thing. That's me and my friends picks. They just don't make films like that anymore. Cheers John.
@@cp070476 They never did make films like that. The Special Edition spoiled it a bit but I don't ever watch that. The only other minor flaw is that the ending is the same as the original film. The same was true of the only other good Alien film, Alien Resurrection. All three blasted the alien out into space but no one ever seemed to notice.
I went to see Interstellar on Tuesday afternoon at the BFI IMAX this week John, its my favourite film of all time regardless but I didn't expect how good it would be on that IMAX screen, without doubt the greatest cinema experience I've ever had, the visuals were absolutely stunning and the sound was unbelievable, stand out scenes for me were the "Miller" scene and also when they fly into Gargantua with the "detach" scene, Mr Nolan isn't wrong when he states the only way to see the film is on 70mm IMAX - I can wholeheartedly agree with that!!
Stop it Lee otherwise I'll have to go and see it again. I've already seen it twice but I can tell everyone, twice isn't enough. I'd go and see it every year if there was a long weekend 15/70 festival in London annually. Two cinemas capable of it and perhaps throw in the standard 70mm cinemas and it would be a massive, world beating cinematic event. John.
Just got tickets for Oppenheimer on regular 70MM since we don’t really have an IMAX 70MM at Oregon. I do however have a regular 2K IMAX so if I love it that much then I’ll go see it the second time on that format. But our 70MM theater is pretty amazing overall since it used to be a Cinerama theater long ago and we have our own clean print of 2001. It’s always shown on the anniversary of the theater itself which happens to also be my birthday and even Tarantino visited there himself a couple times. Overall I can’t wait to see it and Nolan never disappoints. He also keeps releasing his films on my birthday so this is gonna be fun being 25 years around the nuclear sun lol
I don't think there can be any doubt that a 70mm print is going to blow any video projection out of the water Chris so if you do go to see it a second time then I'd suggest the 70mm twice rather than seeing it blown up huge from something about the sixteenth of the quality. 2K is just a bit more than Blu-ray so about a third of 35mm potential. Not that it's possible to equate computer files to real films but that's about the best estimate. John.
@@moviecollector5920for sure, it’s too bad I won’t be able to see the imax scenes on the big screen but I’ll take Film projection over digital any day.
You're such a lucky person to watch this in imax. Here's in Sydney, Australia we don't have imax but it's coming soon they said. Hopefully they'll release interstellar and experience the movie in imax
@@whatidontevenknow8790 Sadly there wasn't a single print of NOPE struck in 15/70 Jedd. I don't know why but something must have gone wrong. Perhaps the makers didn't know that the film had to be edited on film to facilitate genuine IMAX prints and finished it on video. The 4K disc looks great but how much better would it have looked in the real deal? John.
Saw this in in our local Ashford "IMAX" with my 29 year old daughter - I was really impressed - my daughter thought it was boring - ah well, each to their own
There isn't an IMAX in Ashford so that is one of the faux IMAX theatres with some sort of IMAX video projector. This is the problem with the name being applied to ordinary cinemas because people think they've seen IMAX when they haven't. The BFI, the Science Museum and the Printworks in Manchester are the three genuine IMAX cinemas I know of that still have genuine IMAX capability. Get up to the BFI next weekend and see what you've been missing. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yeah I know John, hence the inverted commas - Saw the new Avatar a dew months back on the same screen which did look pretty impressive, but I've already got wholesale agreement from a couple of old duffers to join this old duffer in London in the summer to see Oppenheimer. Thanks for the reply and great content by the way - love your channel.
@@stretcher5757 I recently watched the original Avatar in 3D at home because so many people wanted me to. I thought that if I liked it enough I might just make the effort to see the sequel in a cinema but after the first hour I was bored with it. Excellent 3D but I've seen so much better. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Sorry to report John but Manchester Printworks got rid of it's 15/70 and replaced it with Dual Laser. I saw Dunkirk there in 15/70 in 2017 but that was one of the last shown on it. Only BFI and Science Museum left now.
A few days ago, i set up an email reminder from fandango to tell me whenever interstellar comes out on IMAX here in chicago. Back then, I had lower back problems where if were to sit down for more than 20 mins it would just give me tons of pain. Luckily, thats all over with but i did miss out on interstellar. I was very crestfallen.
Make sure it's genuine IMAX though and not any of the faux IMAX formats. Video projection doesn't come close in any of its incarnations. Best of luck there's a genuine IMAX near you that's got a 15/70 print stored in-house. John.
@@moviecollector5920 that's also another problem I worry about. I will do research before going into a a faux screening. We are also getting a new imax cinema here just on the outskirts of chicago. It's said to be the biggest in all of my state that houses Chicago later this may 31st. About 94ft wide! Hopefully, they will do a genuine IMAX as a celebration of it's opening!
@@Hikikomorisama I hope it does turn out to be a real IMAX and the people behind it understand the importance of giving the audience the best, even if it's not 15/70 film all the time, just the chance to see something genuine IMAX occasionally would be wonderful. John.
I had the pleasure of seeing this in 70mm at the chinese theatre, it was the joint best cinematic expierence of my life. (Joint with seeing Breaking the Waves on 35mm)
TENET comes close and DUNKIRK too but I think this is number 1. Cannibal Holocaust was another of my most memorable cinema outings but for different reasons. Long live film! John.
Hey John, great video !!!, I’ve seen interstellar myself in standard 70mm which was a great experience. I’m not sure if you are aware of this maybe you are, I know Christopher Nolan’s films are finished photochemically which is great but large portions have to go through the computer for vfx/green screen, cgi shots. What I’m getting at is that even though his films are shot in IMAX and finished photochemically they still end up being digitized and the IMAX resolution gets compromised. The Dark Knight and Dark Knight rises went through a dmr process to blow up the non Imax scenes into the IMAX 70mm frame. He did this as well with interstellar, that’s digitizing the films. Many of the IMAX sequences end up getting digitized for special effects and downscaled to 5.6k resolution. It’s sad the resolution of the IMAX sequences in his films have to get downscaled for special effects. If you really think about it, only fragments of the IMAX sequences in his movies don’t end up downscaled and everything else does which is disappointing.
That's only partially true Spidey but I know what you're saying. The VistaVision effect as I call it does mean that the end sequences that have been computerized still look fabulous but most of what they do on Nolan films is done in camera and that is why they look stunning. Rear screen projection was a big thing in INTERSTELLAR but what is most surprising is how good the anamorphic 35mm sequences look. The 35mm blow-ups onto the IMAX film is better than anything I've seen that they video project that purports to be IMAX. TENET looks even better but I can't tell you all the nuances of how they achieved that because it's simply too much of a work of art to completely fathom out. Brilliant to see how the spacecraft sequence close-ups were done for INTERSTELLAR though to maintain that full IMAX quality. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I see, for me personally I think to get a true film experience, you would have to go back pre 2000’s era to watch a non digitized film. Everything was mostly done practical and cgi was just starting out in the late 80’s. Movies like the original Star Wars, Lawerence of Arabia, 2001 space odyssey are true film experiences in my opinion. Those films weren’t digitized and the resolution wasn’t compromised for computerized special effects. Oppenheimer will be the exception to this with very little vfx shots, this would be Nolan’s least digitized film and that’s great. His previous films have all pretty much have gone through the computer, so I don’t think it’s really worth seeing on film. I’ve seen some of his movies in IMAX 70mm and interstellar in standard 70mm which was great. I kind of still feel I’m getting cheated knowing that his movies have gone through a computer for effects even though it’s on film.
I am positive that Oppenheimer will be truly incredible, and even more so in 15/70 Having heard Nolan's speech and viewed the new trailer (shown on 5 perf 70mm) at CinemaCon today, it was truly breathtaking. The soundtrack alone was unbelievable.
The teaser trailer has been video projected prior to each 15/70 film at the IMAX but because it's not 15/70, it looks poor compared to what follows so it's great to hear the new trailer is breathtaking on standard 70mm Thomas. There's nothing to match genuine IMAX though so I'll see you at the BFI in late July!!! John.
@@moviecollector5920 I'm fairly confident that my nearest IMAX film location in Rhode Island will be running a print of Oppenheimer, so I don't think I'll be making a trip to the BFI unfortunately. I may get the chance to project a non-IMAX print myself, so we'll see what happens!
Aha, that was for TENET and I just slipped that snippet in. Have a look at my TENET IMAX video and you'll see it all in some detail. Got an invitation which was rather thrilling. John.
Hi John. Im yet to see a film at an imax cinema. Im going to change that with oppenheimer. Unfortunately London BFI is too far away for me. My nearest imax is York. With it be shown is 35mm?
Apart from the BFI and the Science Museum there is apparently only one other genuine IMAX left in the UK David and the third one is only because they've just put the 15/70 projector back in. That is the Bradford IMAX at the National Museum of Photography & Film. Perhaps that should be your destination for OPPENHEIMER. I don't think it will be particularly special in most cinemas who will video project it but there will be others with standard 70mm prints and even some 35mm but I don't know where they will be. Certainly the Odeon Leicester Square but there aren't many left with film capabilities which is why what most people see now is sub-standard to what we enjoyed 30 years ago and more. Not all film prints were top-notch of course but for those of us who lived in city centres we were invariably seeing master prints and it didn't get much better than that. John.
I don't know yet. I'm hoping I'll get some sort of forewarning of tickets going on sale but I wouldn't put money on it. I'd like to get a show booked and then put a video out so a whole load of us could meet up there by booking the same show. John.
Hi John on your recommendation I just received delivery of this film on 4k uhd blu-ray. I look forward to watching this film on my 50 inch uhd tv and blu-ray player soon. I also have Tenet and watched the film last week. I think you were right about the picture and sound quality of this disc. In my opinion this is the best i have seen and heard on 4k so far, it was so great it just blow my mind. It just goes to show what this format is capable of. Then again I have not been collecting the 4k format for very long, I have around 240 blu-rays in my collection plus dozens of dvd box sets and films. John are there any up and coming 4k realeases you can recommend on 4k uhd?
OPPENHEIMER! That's another Christopher Nolan genuine IMAX film that was shot and finished on film. It will probably be a pre-Christmas release on disc but you can be sure it's going to be a great looker owing to its 70mm IMAX origins. How these films look on disc is mainly down to how they looked when originally shot. Some 35mm shoots are being cocked-up though because they're not being finished on film and a lowly 2K video transfer of the negative is carried out from which to edit it. A disaster really but no one seems to care within the industry. 2K is probably about one-sixth the quality that 35mm is capable of and maybe less than that. The 35mm sequences in INTERSTELLAR look better than any video projection I've seen. Granted they were blown up onto the 15/70 IMAX frames but nevertheless, the quality was there to see. TENET is the best image quality I've ever seen in a cinema, closely followed by DUNKIRK with INTERSTELLAR probably at number 3. John.
I noticed one member of the audience bravely shouted "woo!" during a round of applause. That's not very British, is it? Must have been an American tourist.😂 (Interstellar was easily my favourite IMAX experience, too)
So true! I can remember when I first went to the cinema in America I was stunned when I heard them all clapping and shouting but what topped it off, during one of the scenes someone shouted "kill the babies too" absolutely hilarious! I love Americans
@@Hatebackgroundnoise 😅 I worked there a few years ago, and those yanks are like our less cynical cousins. However, I believe they're gradually becoming more like us miserable Brits, which is a shame because they are simply not equipped to deal with it.
@@Hatebackgroundnoise Normally we don't applaud very often at the flicks over here but just occasionally, when something is a bit special, we put our hands together. I think quite a few of us were excited to be sitting down to see INTERSTELLAR again in the real deal 15/70 so we were in a party mood. It doesn't happen normally. John.
I attended a showing at the IMAX a few weeks ago. I noticed in the centre of the screen something which looked like dirt on the print. There was one large bit of dirt surrounded by smaller bits. The funny thing is that it would be on the screen for about 5 to 6 seconds and then disappeared for 5 to 6 seconds. This continued for the whole film. Anyone else notice this or have an idea what it could be?
Have a look at my TENET IMAX video and you'll have the senior projectionist tell you what that is and why. We hardly had any this time but if the vacuum doesn't get it immediately then it will appear a few times. John.
10am. Be great if you can come along Mark. I think a few subscribers from here and making the trip. A couple of portable 35mm projectors to take a close look at and a pair of Elmo GS1200 Super 8 projectors with alternative light sources. One a xenon and the other HTI. The 4K video projector is already packed up too so it should be a lot of fun. John.
Wonderful news Rob. I managed to get seamstress Susie to do the HMV and FOPP cushions but no other news apart from the 35mm projector is now working well. Still need to knock the holes in the wall though. John.
Im still a bigger fan of 2001 but i saw that so young that i dont think any film will ever match that especially one in the same genre but interstellar is one phenomenally film. need to see it on imax film some day
I saw a few more homages to 2001 in INTERSTELLAR this time around that I'd missed before. Clearly 2001 is an influence on Mr. Nolan and the sequel 2010... hot dog with your baseball game anyone? John.
I’ve just booked to see interstellar on BFI imax next month but the only ticket I could get my hands on were front row in the corner.. do you think i’ve wasted my money? I’ve heard that you’ll basically not be able to see anything but I really didn’t want to miss out again. the tickets just sell out so fast!!
I watched it from the very front row, far right seat the first time I saw it when it was first released. It made for an out of this world, larger than life cinematic adventure. It's brilliant to see this genuine IMAX film from every seat. Have a great time. John.
@@moviecollector5920 most likely though, I’ll see it on regular 70mm at the Regency Village cinema Which is much closer to where I live. It’s a beautiful cinema built in 1931 and is THX certified with Dolby Atmos.
I hope the BFI IMAX screen this film every year from now on. It's that popular it's a surefire way to bring in a load of money to help keep them in business. Not many cinemas have such a film print at their disposal. John.
@@PainInTheS The print lives at the BFI IMAX so there's every chance I'll get to see it again one day. If money were no object and I wasn't running the BFCC this weekend I'd be down there to see it again. John.
Hi John, great shot of you walking upstairs (I wouldn't have the guts to do that 🥴🤩) actually it's great to see a cinema full of movie fans and not yobs who talk all the way through it 🤬🤩👍👍that alarm test!! 😁 Great insight to this experience John! Very well put together video mate 🤩🤩👍👍
Morning John. I think you've been working almost non-stop lately so I hope you're doing okay. We really must all get together for OPPENHEIMER so you simply have to get down for that. Don't bother with any of the faux IMAX theatres and make a week or weekend of it. I'm going to try to get a video out as soon as I get a seat booked so let's see what happens. That Keithy has got to get over from the land of the bogs and the little people too! John.
I've been suggesting to the BFI IMAX that they have an annual weekend 15/70 IMAX festival and it's viable because they have so many of the prints permanently kept on site. Subscribe to their email list which doesn't cost anything and then you'll get updates every week. John.
I missed this in IMAX unfortunately. My first real experience with 70mm IMAX was The Dark Night Rises in Providence, RI. That opening airplane sequence was absolutely spectacular. Oddly enough, I think it was actually the last movie I saw projected on film.
The BFI are screening INTERSTELLAR again today Tom but I don't think you'd make it over here in time now. You may find that a few of the purpose built, genuine IMAX theatres get their 15/70 projectors serviced and operating again for OPPENHEIMER so keep your ear to the ground as you may be able to experience the best movie exhibition format known to man again soon. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Damn, I'd be there if I could. Interstellar is definitely my favorite Nolan film. I used to live a 10 minutes away from a true IMAX theatre in Providence but I moved an hour away. Now I live 10 minutes away from a lie-MAX theatre which likely won't have 15/70 anytime soon. It's better than nothing, I guess, but maybe Oppenhiemer will be worth the trip to Providence.
@@Downhuman74 Check that Providence are actually getting a 15/70 IMAX print Tom and then you have simply got to make the trip. It's not far to see the best movie presentation format that man has ever invented and after years of putting up with lower quality video projections in cinemas, I expect you'll be astounded. John.
Completely off-topic; but I don't know where else to post this. You need to look at the Arrow 4K release of David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Awesome transfer with just the right amount of film grain and all those awesome practical effects (which fully stand up to scrutiny in UHD). Just be warned that if you haven't seen this film before (unlikely) the top menu graphics are full of spoilers.
No, I haven't ever seen it and I think that's because I didn't fancy it when it was current. As I recall, I think it looked a bit sick which isn't always a bad thing because I like some of David Cronenberg's films. I'd probably grown out of that sort of thing by the time of 'Naked Lunch' though. I did see the Arrow box in FOPP recently and it looks like the usual great Arrow release. I hope all those extras make the film even more special for you. John.
Trevor at Double Bill Movies recently purchased the £900 (ish) Optoma from Richer Sounds and he's chuffed to bits with it. Perhaps ask him what he thinks and see if you take a look at one anywhere. Keep your telly though because that will mean film nights are special and you can watch all the usual television fodder/tosh on your telly. We only tend to use our telly for RUclips but I wouldn't want to be projecting that all the time if at all so the telly still has a use. John.
I'll be watching Oppenheimer in the Manchester Printworks in 70mm IMAX. When Interstellar came out, I wasn't completely aware of exactly what IMAX was and didn't even know that the Printworks had one, so I only saw it on a standard screen.
You should get a second chance to see all of Nolan's genuine IMAX films and particularly INTERSTELLAR because it usually packs a house out whenever a 15/70 IMAX print gets an airing. OPPENHEIMER may be the sharpest imagery we've ever seen as some of it was shot in black and white so if the prints have genuine black and white stock spliced in then it should mean the best defined image of all time owing to the increased silver content of black and white film stock and the added clarity it gives. It seems like Bradford are not screening a 15/70 print and therefore it's only the two IMAX cinemas in central London and Manchester. Only three UK cinemas to see what might be one of the greatest cinematic events in history. Most will see low quality video projection. What a bummer! John.
@@moviecollector5920 They never seem to do it, even when the film is re-released. They Just regulate it to a standard screen. I can't see anything on upcoming events either. The only time I've really heard of them screening an older film in the IMAX is when they apparently screened Jaws last year, but I only heard about it the other day.
In July, I will drive over 13 hours (500+ miles) from Cheyenne Wyoming to Dallas Texas to see Oppenheimer in 15/70 IMAX film. Afterwards, I will probably attend a 70MM showing in Westminster Colorado (roughly 1.25 hours from my home). Two different experiences, both will certainly be unforgettable.
Wonderful Sam. This is how cinema should be - special. It's a shame it's been so cheapened for the mainstream which is all all that most youngsters have known. Film is surviving though so there's still hope. John.
No. I did review the 4K of the first film a couple of years ago though. Went to buy the second one in FOPP a couple of weeks ago but they'd sold out. John.
Great video, as always! Saw my first Imax movie here in Melbourne, Australia last year (Top Gun Maverick) and it was just about the best experience of watching a movie at a theatre that I can remember. To say that I am excited for Oppenheimer in Imax would be an understatement! Keep up these great videos!
Top Gun Maverick wasn't actually an IMAX film Tori but one of their video variants using the name. If it had have been a film I'd have ventured out of my home cinema to see it but waited to enjoy it on 4K disc because IMAX video is only 4K so can't see the point in the expense of getting to the BFI IMAX or the Ronson Theatre in the Science Museum to see almost the same thing. OPPENHEIMER in Melbourne will be a genuine IMAX though so you are in for a treat. Genuine 15/70 IMAX is the ultimate film exhibition format and extensions on the platters are required for this film to show it without a break. That means it will be about 3 hours long so be prepared for the cinematic experience of a lifetime... in lieu of INTERSTELLAR and TENET perhaps. But Melbourne are planning to put a 'NOLANATHON' on soon so keep an eye out for that first. Exciting times for film afficionados. John.
Great video, John! Great seeing and hearing yourself and others enthusiastically talking about IMAX 1570 film. The Melbourne IMAX has plans to screen interstellar in june I believe... so It looks like I'll be saving up some money and fly back down to the Melbourne IMAX. I just recently learnt that it's the worlds largest 1:43:1 screen (would have thought it would be in America or the BFI, and not us aussies). The Sydney IMAX which will be opening later this year will be about the same size screen as the BFI, and thankfully in 1:43:1! Brilliant! Also heard some news that "Dune: Parte Due" was shot ENTIRELY in IMAX, so it will fill that 1:43 screen from top to bottom for the entire feature! Cheers, Clark
Sounds like you're going to have a great IMAX year Clark, particularly if the Sydney IMAX gets the film projector back and the Dune sequel is shot genuine IMAX and not some lesser video camera solution using the name. Apparently IMAX are developing a new, smaller IMAX film camera so things might be looking good for the future after all. Wish you were here at the moment though - IMAX last weekend and the BFCC this weekend. Surprisingly, the house is actually rather tidy considering all the equipment, tools and films I've assembled to take along. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I believe the Sydney IMAX will not have 1570 projector due to the shear amount of dedicated space that would be needed to hold that big projector and large platter system, it would all have to be designed in the building plan. And seeing as how the building-plans were pressumibly designed back in 2016 (when the theater was demolished) I expect they would have planned to only have digital. Thankfully the Melbourne IMAX still has there's, although I can't travel down there everytime they show a 1570 screening, at least I can experience a couple times. Hope the BFCC goes well! Hopefully someone films a few short clips over there, I'm sure it will be great! (I believe Dune Part Two was shot entirely on those digital IMAX cameras and sadly not 1570) My newest Alien Double feature threading video has gotten almost 400 views within 2 days which is brilliant. The most views a video of mine has gotten in said amount of time. Cheers, Clark
@@ninoadams45 hope it works. It’s failed many times in the past couple of years apparently. Although with Oppenheimer, maybe their practices have improved and they’ve re-spliced the dodgy splices in interstellar.
I would have loved to see the snippets of interstellar on the imax screen in your video! But I understand the gravitas of copyright issues your videos would have to go through otherwise. Great video john!
Futuroscope in about 1993. This was a large film format amusement park near Poitier in France and it was sensational. OMNIMAX 3D with active LCD glasses. No other 3D comes close. Things really did come off the screen and go past you. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Intriguing. It's a shame it hasn't advanced significantly since then. Do you have any experience of 3D at home with a projector VS current cinema 3D? Like a lot of people I've got a DLP one but never bought active glasses for it.
@@jeffjefferson7384 I have run a couple of 3D movies at home recently but I have always, and still do, regard 3D as an occasional novelty. I prefer to watch a film without anything over my face and with the best possible image quality. 3D always reduces image quality somewhat so it's not really for me. It's completely ruined a couple of films in the cinema for me John.
@@moviecollector5920 Totally fair enough. RealD 3D in the cinema is usually rubbish (although have had 3-4 great experiences with IMAX 3D). What I find amazing is when the PL filter's been left on for 2D movies!
@@jeffjefferson7384 The 3D craze has almost died off now but it's the longest craze it's ever had. I think this one started in the early 2000's and many people were beginning to think it had become mainstream for a while there. Perhaps James Cameron's Avatar sequel will have given it a new lease of life but I think most of us tire of having the glasses on our faces a little. It's a novelty but a long lived novelty this time around. A shame really as usually ever ten of fifteen years it's fun to give it another go but this time I got a bit sick of it all. Must finally watch the Boxtrolls 3D Blu-ray though as that looks like it might be the best of the bunch that I have. Just got to find the time and generate the enthusiasm. John.
I only have a few 4K discs, and Interstellar is one of them (also thanks to positive reviews on youtube channels like yours). The story and McConaughey’s performance is nothing special in my opinion, but the soundtrack and the space-/black hole scenes are the best that I’ve ever watched at home. Can’t even imagine how this would look in an imax cinema!
The 4K disc is one of the best... it's nothing compared to the real McCoy though. Beg, borrow or steal to get to one of the shows this weekend. Matthew McConaughey is brilliant in it but maybe it doesn't work so well without him being 60ft tall! I'd pay to see this film every year at the BFI IMAX. It's the greatest cinema outing I've ever had and I've had that pleasure twice now. Nothing else quite matches it but TENET does come close. And DUNKIRK for that matter. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Cool, I’ll do some research if we have IMAX here in Oslo, and if it shows Interstellar some day. Tenet, Dunkirk is on my 4K shopping list now :)
@@FlyWithMe_666 Anything shot standard 70mm or IMAX 15/70 will be among the best of all 4K and Blu-ray releases owing to the superiority of the formats over anything 35mm or shot on video of any form. Always worth purchasing them even if you don't much fancy the film. NOPE is another and largely missed by everyone because it didn't have a single IMAX film print struck. Doesn't alter the superlative quality of the shrink downs to video though. John.
You'd think that they would do more showings of the 15/70 stuff seeing as they're the only place in the UK with it left. You're right when you see it at the BFI, it is something really special. I hope Oppenheimer will be film as well and not IMAX Laser, as its just not the same.
A 15/70 print of OPPENHEIMER is coming to the BFI IMAX Darren and I know because the cakestand platters are having extensions developed just to contain it and thereby screen it without a break. John.
The Science Museum in South Kensington also plays 15/70. They're the only other one in the UK (Bradford and Manchester having now had their's replaced with Digital).
@@davidjames579 Others have told me that Manchester still has IMAX 15/70 David so you've put that up in the air again, damn it! I'm glad to hear from you though because your comment on my last video went missing. I received an email notification but could not reply as it wasn't to be found anywhere. This is the comment which was great information and something I knew nothing about: "Thanks for the demonstrations, John. On a sidenote, I happened to read the memoirs of film director Tim Sullivan, who said that he shot his first feature, Jack And Sarah (1995) on Kodak 35mm. When it came to the Premiere he was distraught as the movie had been printed on Agfa stock, resulting in a "shocking" print. His DP was equally dismayed at how his work looked, and they both personally ensured the release prints went out on Kodak. timsullivan.co.uk/releasing-a-movie/" We had similar issues with releases on Super 8 whereby if the print stock was ever changed the quality of the prints could vary wildly. Kodak threw in the towel on Super 8 print stock about 1991, Agfa then became the standard (blue hue to just about everything from then on) and then in the early 2000's I think, Kodak re-entered the market and image quality all shifted again but I don't think those Kodak prints were as good as the best of those in the early 1990's. To be fair, studios were no longer providing original negatives so that could have been part of the issue. John.
I found this video just after receiving my June BFI Southbank FIlm on Film June event brochure. I don't think I'll make it for the Nolan Drak Knight Trilogy ll-nighter. There are too many 3D films shown from film during the day on 10th June for me to stay awake for that.
I think it's sold out anyway Brian but maybe they'll put another all-nighter on if you ask them nicely. Before then, see you at the BFCC on Saturday. John.
I’m so excited you were able to experience it again. However, it begs the question-why is it you only saw this once during its original theatrical run?
Because the IMAX was over 200 miles away Joe. 200 miles in England is a bit different to 200 miles in other countries mainly because we're overcrowded. John.
The problem with Bluray is compression and banding that is noticiable on an OLED screen. Since IMAX 70mm is analog, there's no banding, colors are perfect, and the noise or grain can hide any digital artifacts made during the movie's production. HDR maybe solves the color problem, but you still have A LOT of resolution available on IMAX film that no digital medium can match (yet).
You might have the brightness of your telly up too much if you're seeing banding. I haven't watched films on a telly for 17 years now but if there was a banding issue I would expect to see those problems with a far bigger projection. Maybe there's a reason why I don't that I can't think of but I've used several video projectors over the years and none have displayed banding with any Blu-ray. Ah, now that I think about it, there is a possibility with some projectors whereby if the 4K player is outputting a particular setting it can cause banding so that could be it. I had it early on with my Optoma UHD550X and the opening of the Blade Runner sequel where the grey sky had obvious banding. That caused me to investigate it, find the solution and correct it. It may be what you're experiencing. IMAX can't be compared to any video format, it's so far ahead that there's just no point. It's just a shame that IMAX try to pass of inferior video projection as IMAX now to save money. Cinerama tried to economise similarly in the late 1950's and where are they now? Showscan did the same thing. Suicidal is the word. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Well, i do notice that an OLED screen can be far brighter with way better contrast ratio than any projector. Maybe that is the issue. Imagine if there is a way that laser proyectors are the standard, the huge upgrade in image quality would be absurd. For now, Blade Runner Bluray on an OLED ends up looking way better than the big screen. Still, i had to add a little more grain so the banding isn't noticiable for the dark scenes. IMAX is so advanced that current projectors are the bottleneck. I watched Spiderman Across The Spiderverse recently from a movie theater and the colors and contrast do look worse than my OLED, specially the black level.
@@saricubra2867 The obvious thing to point out there is that a smaller screen always makes an image look better. That's what happens but nothing beats a big screen and the bigger the better. Television hasn't been an option for me since video projection finally became acceptable about 17 or 18 years ago and then ten years after that it was so good that there really was no need to bother with telly for watching movies. OLED always looks like an attempt to produce imbibition dye transfer Technicolor to me which is an admirable ambition because Technicolor was always the most popular colour format until its demise. It did always look a bit fake though and it's the same with OLED. Get the brightness down if you can and you may find it all looks more natural but still with exceptional, enhancec colour. Laser light sources in video projectors do cause brightness problems which I can confirm because I have them too so you're not alone. Reining the light output of my current projector in so that it doesn't ruin the image quality of some discs is a regular thing. John.
@@moviecollector5920 OLED is the best display tech in existance, QD OLED in particular covers RGB perfectly. Night&day difference. I'm more of an image quality fan than raw screen size (with exceptions of course). Projectors are so far behind in tech. The limited brightness is an image quality issue, just like hearing overcompressed music because speakers aren't good enough for dynamic range. What i enjoy more about IMAX besides the aspect ratio is the 3D and good HFR. But i do feel that the projectors hurt the image quality, kinda washed out looking.
@@moviecollector5920 By the way, i tried watching interstellar Blu Ray on an AMOLED phone, looks better than an LG C2 (at least it's 4K). Kinda an unpopular opinion, but you get better image quality on a phone nowadays than a movie theater projector and there's something wrong about that. Image if an entire movie theater screen is an OLED panel, i'm always dreaming about that...
I've been told the Bradford IMAX no longer has genuine IMAX Sky so worth checking before venturing over there again. I find it hard to believe that the UK moving picture museum has removed the best movie presentation format ever known but bean counters tend to run everything now... well, just about everything. Fortunately there are still two genuine IMAX cinemas left in the UK but both are in central London - the Science Museum and the BFI IMAX. John.
Quick question John. I don't really get the point of a 70mm print which has probably been sourced from a digital intermediate master used in post. I get that Nolan shot the movie in 35mm & 65mm, but in the end if the master is in digital 2K/4K what would be the gain of an Imax 70mm print instead of its digital counterpart. I would really appreciate to know more about it!
Wrong Spike. The Nolan films are shot and finished on film. That's why they look so good. Nolan isn't cajoled by anyone to accept lower standards and bloody good job too. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Ok! I was wondering if it was the case. That would explain the great amount of miniatures and practical effects on set. This is great !
@@spikewilliam And full size space ships with rear projection to make it feel totally convincing. Amazing film making. Christopher Nolan appreciates the magic of the movies and he does what he can to keep it alive. Most would have low quality animation done in a computer, Nolan works out how to achieve the same thing on set. That's the difference. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I used to work as a practical special effects artist (I'm a colorist now). This level of crafting is rare nowdays. I think that Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Eggers also work this Way. One of my former associates worked on The Lighthouse and everything was made practical/on location and shot on reel.
If there's a digital lossless distribution format of movies, maybe it can do more justice to the original material. Still, IMAX delives that massive aspect ratio.
There's nothing else like it. Cinerama might have been even better in some respects but only the original three-strip Cinerama that put you 'in the picture'.
@@xix94 It's a long story that started before video was foisted on cinemas. Late 1990's and a downturn in picture quality started. Some in the industry at the time were telling me it was because a lot of the printing was being done in Italy where it was cheaper but I'm not sure of that story. Star Wars Attack of the Clones was the worst thing I've even seen in a cinema but mine was the only complaint the premiere cinema got. It was shot HD video and projected with sub-standard video projection. Some of the effects shots looked to have been compiled in standard definition because the image went even more blurry at those points. The industry apparently got together to plan the shift to video projection and I suspect that was because they'd got away with the appalling quality of that Star Wars film. A road map confirmed image quality would be reduced so that when video projection finally came in people would think it was better. I saw some awful rubbish in the premiere cinemas up until 2006 whereupon I gave up on cinema. Occasional visits after than confirmed it was getting worse still. I only get out of my home cinema to see a movie now if I know it's being projected on film. Video still looks too harsh in cinemas. Always a relief when the main film comes on and we go back to the natural looking, sharper, better contrast imagery we always used to enjoy. John.
On November 4, 2014 I drove over 300 miles to see Interstellar in 15/70 IMAX near Boise, Idaho. Quite a unique experience given that I drove a considerable distance to see it in a small theater, surrounded by agricultural farms. Immediately after the movie, I drove another 1,200 miles to see it again in 15/70 IMAX at the Metreon in San Francisco. As you can imagine, the experience I had traveling across the western United States to see this film in 15/70 IMAX was an experience I’ll never forget. Over 1,800 miles in 48 hours, nearly 3,000 miles round-trip, it was truly an “interstellar” journey. I plan to do a similar trip for Oppenheimer this summer.
What a wonderful adventure. I've covered a lot of miles across the USA and I love those road trips. They''re different to here unless you're trying to get through Atlanta in the rush hour (which seems to be all day at times) or trying to traverse from one side of Los Angeles to the other. OPPENHEIMER looks like it's going to be another great Christopher Nolan film but another that has to be seen in the full Monty, genuine article 15/70 IMAX film. John.
That's hardcore
Yo that's amazing. I'm an hour away from San Francisco so I'm relatively close to the Metreon and I'll never complain about an hour commute after reading your journey
@@aninjaguardian If they've got an IMAX 15/70mm print of OPPENHEIMER at the Metreon then I think we all know where you'll be heading a few weeks time then. I'm still trying to sort out which screening to get to at the BFI IMAX over here. John.
I live in Boise and somewhere around 2016, the IMAX removed the 15/70mm projector. Even worse is that they only kept the xenon digital and never upgraded to laser.
Good luck on your trip!
Such a great video you shot for us all. Thank you so much. We all love you!
Ho ho! Thanks for the confidence boost M J. John.
I did the introduction speech for this screening plus all the previous Interstellar screenings we've had so far and every single time I mention that fact we are showing it on actual film, it always get a thunderous applause, and what better way to boo the people who haven't seen it before so I'm glad it came across great. It always gets the crowd going and yes everyone, please do join us when Oppenheimer comes out. Shout out also to Caesar who was in the projection booth for this screening.
It was a good fun introduction Tom but I couldn't get in touch to let you know what I planned to do with it once I knew it had come out in a usable fashion. I thought I'd better cut it down having not spoken to you but it was such a good advert for the BFI IMAX that it simply had to be included. Well done for telling everyone it was on 'film' because the TENET introduction told us it was 'IMAX with laser' which had a few of us worried. Take a look at my TENET IMAX video from about six weeks ago and you'll see Cesar in that one. He was very good on camera and we had a lot of fun making that video. Tianna was very good too.
We had a wonderful time on Sunday. The IMAX has restored my faith in cinema which I regard as being in terminal decline owing to all the lower standard video projection everywhere today. But it's still possible to see the best occasionally and I think the BFI are sitting on something very special now. What is required is a genuine IMAX 15/70 festival there every year. People would fly in from all over the world because they just can't see quality like this any longer.
Thank you to everyone involved with these IMAX screenings. See you for OPPENHEIMER if I can't find an excuse to get up before... THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is foremost in my mind!
John.
I’ll be there I can’t wait I need to see this movie on 70mm film
@@CriticFella If you can get to see it in 15/70 IMAX CriticFella then you'll be seeing the ultimate film format and if you see it at the BFI IMAX then you'll be seeing a perfect print which was struck directly from the original camera negative. Even the 35mm blow-up sections are better than any video projection you're likely to see anywhere in the world today. No surprise really as 4K video probably isn't up to 35mm potential quality. John.
Hi John, did you record my whole speech? If so I’d love a copy of it if that’s possible please.
@@TomSmithFilms I did Tom. I'll be able to get that sorted out sometime but bear with me as I'm not getting spare time at all lately and am months behind on where i should be by this time of year. Try dropping me an email from bfcc biz (with the full stop missing from that link). I'm the only John on there but reply on here to let me know when you've sent an email as it's an alias, forwarding address and not the real address so if anything goes wrong I'll get it up here in disguised form and then take it down again once we make contact. John.
Thank you, John, for sharing what sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How lucky you are. Michael -SA
Well I've done it twice now Michael and I'd very much like to be able to do it again. You should fly over for a show this weekend. Sod the cost! John.
I would give my right arm to experience what you have had the privilege to.
I have a deep respect for Christopher Nolan and agree whole heartedly INTERSTELLAR must surely rank as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Finally giving 2001 a run for it's money {in my humble opinion being an even greater film} and if I were in any way in a position to do so I would fly over to see it. But thank you for the your enthusiasm your passion and love of cinema. Believe me the experience you had was palpable in your wonderful video. So for those of us who never will thank you for allowing us to see it through your eyes. Thank you. John. Michael - South Africa
@@thelookuplookdown I'm badgering the people at the BFI IMAX to do an annual genuine IMAX 15/70 weekend festival Michael so you never know, we may all get together there one day. I think enthusiasts would fly in from all over the world for that. Thank you for your enthusiastic comment too which is great encouragement. John.
@@moviecollector5920 From your lips to God's ear. Michael -SA
Don’t know why, but your videos always warm my heart. Must be your passion
Of you're a film lover just like me Alvise. I spend days on a high after I see a great film, particularly when it's in genuine IMAX. John.
I saw this movie in IMAX and was an incredible experience, cried my eyes out, the docking sequence was Jaw Dropping!
I'd never been emotional watching it before but it got me this time. It's a masterpiece that keeps getting better and better every time you see it... particularly in genuine IMAX. John.
That Docking sequence is one of the best moments in cinema ever. Truly masterful.
I was so preoccupied by the visual experience I missed the emotional aspect, but on my second viewing at home I definitely had tears come to my eyes. Just wrapping your mind around losing time with people you love is heartbreaking.
@@innerlightfilms And that is why it affected me more this time around too James. Where both a couple of old softies really.
@@moviecollector5920 that must be it! 🙂
That’s amazing. It’s my favorite film of all time.
A lot of people tell me the same thing M J. and I can understand why. Has to be seen in the real McCoy to fully appreciate how good it is though. John.
@@moviecollector5920 understood. If I had known it was playing there at BFI, I would have considered the trip for it! I’ll check to see if it’s playing stateside. It’s one of those movies where I am glad they didn’t create a sequel because I like to imagine what Cooper and Brand do next myself!
Hi Movie Collector. Loving this video (IMAX EXPEERIENCE). Thank you very much. All the best.
Good to hear from you Fred. Shame I didn't do something similar when you were at The Empire and it was in its heyday. Those were the days. John.
Hi John.
It was a pleasure to meet you and the others after the showing.
I, like you, came to see this when it originally came out. I brought my 11 year old son. It made a great impression on us both.
After years of home cinema upgrades etc, you kid yourself that “This is as good or better than a cinema”. Then you come and see (and hear) this masterpiece on film and you realise that it doesn’t even come close. Total immersion on a Sunday morning.
A religious experience indeed. Magic.
You have a way of summing these things up so well Jim. If the image quality of genuine IMAX isn't enough, that sound system in there make you want to weep when you come home and put your high end home system on. I think my house would fall down if I had bass response to match the BFI IMAX though so there's not a lot that can be done about it. A wonderful film in the ultimate format. i can't remember exactly what Stan said now but something along the lines of "This is cinema!" and that really does say it all. It's just a shame cinema is usually so poor just about everywhere else now. When I look back at the 1990's and how cinema seemed to be getting better and better for most of that decade, and I now think about the crap presentation and poor image quality generally on offer, I find it all rather demoralizing. Most people can't remember, or were not alive, when cinema was at its height. But just occasionally the best can still be enjoyed when a genuine IMAX film is being screened. Bring on OPPENHEIMER and I'll see you there.
John.
@@moviecollector5920Have you seen Dolby threater and Imax Dual Laser I love Imax 15/70 but it's a dead format? 0:07 lucky if you see it every 3 years since it's not coming backed they need to make Imax digital to equal film right now Imax Laser is good Enough.
Thank you John for your concise, informed and heartfelt posts. Please keep them coming.
I hope too Michael. Thank you for the encouragement. John.
Me and a friend came over from The Netherlands to attend the screening. We were also there that Sunday morning. Absolutely amazing and incomparable film experience. Was our first imax 70mm (or any 35/65/70mm film) experience. It's such an amazing experience. Funny enough we had near front right side front row seats, like you had when you saw it the first time.
Or the one side it's sad when you think about that you might never see the uncropped 70mm frames ever again. On the other side. That made the experience even better, because it gave a lot of scenes a complete new perspective for me.
Will definitely consider coming back to see Oppenheimer :)
I'm going to try to get a video out when I manage to get tickets for OPPENHEIMER in the hope that a whole load of us film enthusiasts can get together at the same screening so let's see how well that works. As for INTERSTELLAR, what an unbelievable film it is when you see it in the full majesty of the genuine article rather than a video projection purporting to be IMAX. The fact that the BFI IMAX have just added another two screenings tells me that even they're surprised by the popularity of the film almost ten years on. It looks to me like people are telling cinemas that when they pay to see a film in a cinema they actually want to see a film. I think cinema is in terminal decline and they need to do something different to get people off their sofas and away from their televisions or IPhones. Film does seem to be a way to do it until someone else can come up with superior video projection. Shame Douglas Trumbull died recently as he was onto something whereby he put a shutter into video projectors and voila, the film look was back... apparently.
John.
Lucky John, great experience I can't imagine. This film is a masterpiece and I love it.
Thanks and keep on with those wonderful videos.
It's a great film however you look at it Juanjo but genuine 15/70 IMAX takes it onto a different plain. Pure cinematic magic that is almost too good to be true. John.
Wow John! Happy you got to see Interstellar in the IMAX theater again! You're so lucky sir! All the best wishes.
I think we need an annual festival of these genuine IMAX films just so we can see them regularly. I'd never tire of them Andre. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I can't agree more. I'd like to also see maybe Top Gun: Maverick and Inception? hahaha
@@ANDRE1mang There were 15/70 blow-up prints of INCEPTION but it wasn't genuine IMAX Andre. It was shot using large format film for much of it but I can't remember entirely (VistaVision I think) so will still look excellent just nowhere not close to a genuine IMAX print. Maverick was shot entirely on video so no film prints of that one but it is one of the best quality movies ever shot on video with the 2.40:1 'Scope ratio sequences looking better than the faux IMAX 1.90:1 sequences. DUNKIRK and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES are the other two genuine IMAX films to see besides TENET and INTERSTELLAR. John.
Hi John,
Have been watching your channel for many months now since I’ve started collecting physical media. I’m only 23, so your videos on the technical aspects of filmmaking and exhibition have been very informative. After watching this video, I was able to hunt down a theater about 100 miles from home where I can see Oppenheimer in 15/70 IMAX. Just pre-ordered tickets for it. They were almost sold out. Very excited. Keep up the great work, John!
Oh, you are in for a treat there Tim. I don't think tickets have gone on sale here but I expect them to be in huge demand when they do. It's possible that OPPENHEIMER could re-generate interest in film because it should be a massive box office success and anyone who sees it video projected is surely going to hear how much better it is in the real McCoy. Let me know how you get on. John.
Thank you for sharing your experience 👏
One day I will visit an IMAX theater. It's on my bucket list 😄
Just make sure it's a genuine IMAX and showing a genuine IMAX 15/70 film otherwise the impact won't be the same and the quality won't be anything exceptional. John.
Awesome video! Back in the early 2000s we had a newly opened IMAX cinema in downtown Frankfurt, Germany. These were 50 minute long presentations. Both in 2D and in 3D. I absolutely loved it and went several times there. The wide angle shots are so amazing. It's like watching a great 35mm print at the center, but with your field of vision all covered with a crystal clear image, sides, up and down. You can watch an IMAX film many times and still discover new details each time. Needless to say: when they switched to digital, I didn't go anymore.
Video projection is a major reason why cinema is dying. Granted, the audience isn't there any longer but the big downgrade in 2011 is a major cause of that. Genuine IMAX is still the best cinematic presentation format in the world today and it gets me out of my home cinema and back into a real one. Rarely does anything else now. John.
I've booked in for the May Day showing, Interstellar is my favourite movie of the last 10 years and am giddy with excitement for watching this in it's premium format.
I think you're going to see a whole new film if you haven't seen it in the real McCoy before. Have a great time. Wish I could be there too. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I was lucky to have a really good seating position (halfway up and dead centre) with the screen taking up not just my horizontal vision but vertically too. The scenes filmed in the full IMAX ratio were breathtaking. I have seen this film many, many times and this felt like I was watching it new with so much more image to view from the full IMAX ratio, with this and the crystal clear audio which delivered that stunning Hans Zimmer masterpiece of a soundtrack it was a cinema experience that is seared into my mind, truly one of the greatest movie moments of my life!
@@justaregulargamer1860 That is exactly the sort of response I was wishing for! Well bloody done. The impact this particular IMAX film had on you was the same as me. I wondered if it wouldn't be so good, or make such a big impression, this time around but if anything, it was even better.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I agree the movie exceeded my expectations too. That high screen accentuated the vertically of many of those scenes and I suspect Nolan had the IMAX format in mind when creating much of this brilliant film.
@@justaregulargamer1860 For sure he had genuine IMAX in mind because Warner Bros. wanted him to shoot the last Batman film in 3D and he said he'd make it for them in IMAX. That really started the process of all these genuine IMAX films even though there were a few IMAX sequences in the second Batman film. It's the unrivalled clarity of 15/70 IMAX that means it's possible to project it on such huge screens. Video projection doesn't come close but how can it when the best video projection system uses two projectors combining to resolve just over 4K. Basically, not even 35mm quality. A lot of INTERSTELLAR was shot anamorphic 35mm and blown up onto the IMAX print. Those sections still looked better than faux IMAX video.
John.
Haven't seen this in IMAX, but I did get a chance to see it in standard 70mm. A great film for a theatrical presentation!
It's a great film in every format Robert. IMAX is three times the size of standard 70mm though so that probably gives you an indication of how it might look when seen in the real McCoy. John.
I went to UK last Dec n had the BEST CINEMA experience here. I even visited HMV at Oxford street n bought a few 4K discs. We don't have any blu-rays anymore here in Malaysia. I rly wished I found your channel before going though. I would've learned more about cinema culture in UK n maybe I could visit more Cinemas. I've been binging your videos every day since I missed going to BFI. Here's hoping that I get to visit there again n to other cinemas u shared in your channel
You'll have to start saving up to fly over again. Perhaps look up the Bradford Pictureville cinema too and most notably the Widescreen Weekend they have every October. I've yet to get up to that myself but a trip to London when a genuine IMAX film is on (i.e. 15/70) that might coincide with Widescreen Weekend a few days later would be right up your alley. There is another genuine IMAX cinema in the Science Museum just outside of the West End of London and the Bradford IMAX is about to re-open early next year and apparently they're going to restore the 15/70 projector to mean it will be the fourth IMAX house in Britain. The third is in Manchester. We're rather spoilt compared to most nations other than Canada and USA. India has one but can only show science films due to how it was established and Australia has one. There's one in eastern Europe and that's about it.
John.
Hello john, that’s awesome you were able to see interstellar again. I’m very much looking forward to Oppenheimer plan to make a big weekend of it. Have a great one as always.
I want to see INTERSTELLAR again John so I'm trying to convince the IMAX that they need a genuine 15/70 IMAX film festival weekend every year. I think people would fly in from all over the world for that.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 if I’m ever able to make a trip over there I would schedule that in absolutely 👍
Hi John I seen this film and to this day can’t remember a single thing about it.
Thanks for sharing.
That's because you didn't see it in genuine IMAX Paul. There are two different films with the same name really... one is the run of the mill version which gets video projected just about everywhere (some people even watch it on a telly!) and the other is the real deal, full Monty, unparalleled 15/70 IMAX version. Identical cuts in every respect but one is unparalleled in the history of cinema and the other is a sort of poor relation.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yeah it would be good to see it in IMAX,haven’t been to the Cinema in quite some time.
@@paulallenMacca I'm not sure there is an IMAX anywhere in Ireland Paul so you'll have to get the boat over here. See you for OPPENHEIMER then!
John.
Oh how I wish I could see one of Nolan's films on 15/70 film in the BFI IMAX. One day perhaps.
Sell your children... rob the bank... do anything, but get over here this weekend! Seriously though, maybe see when something is being screened in 15/70 at a genuine IMAX somewhere and then arrange a holiday based around it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 haha I'd do all the above and it would be worth it for those two plus hours of heaven!. Fingers crossed I can make it for Oppenheimer this summer.
My local IMAX only projects single laser so it can't produce the full 1.43 ratio despite the screen historically being an authentic IMAX screen constructed in the early 2000s I believe.
@@jbird_inc My general rule of thumb for IMAX is, "If it ain't shot 15/70 IMAX film and ain't projected 15/70 IMAX film, then it ain't IMAX." Video projection is just over 4K at best so simply isn't the same thing by a long way. But if it helps to keep the cinemas in business so they can show us the real thing occasionally then it's got to be done. John.
I‘m very happy to flight from Germany to see Oppenheimer there on 29th 😍. Loved the imax presentation of interstellar on science museum in March so much - i Just Need this experience one More time.
There really is nothing like it Pascal so I completely understand. I've been pressing the BFI IMAX to hold a genuine IMAX weekend on an annual basis. I think they'd get enthusiasts flying in from all over the world so it would be a win, win, win all around. I'd be there every damned year spending money, that's the trouble. John.
Thanks for the video!!
I remember seeing a movie at Ontario Place in the 70’s when they were showcasing IMAX , I was 11 and it truly hooked me 😀
There aren't many genuine IMAX cinemas left now but there are some. Beware of ordinary looking cinemas bearing the IMAX name because they're usually video projection and not the real McCoy. But if you do get into a real one and ever see one of these Christopher Nolan films I think you'll be even more impressed than when you were 11. I never would have thought IMAX would have been suitable for feature films but we're all allowed to be wrong at least once!
John.
I had no idea!
Btw thanks for your content I really appreciate it!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinesphere
@@chicklets4374 Funnily enough, i was put onto the Ontario IMAX by another comment a week or so ago and read all about it then. Looks like a very nice cinema but if I remember correctly they're only showing documentaries and not feature films. Feel free to correct me though of course. John.
@@moviecollector5920 They had a pretty active movie list for quite awhile unfortunately I only saw the documentaries all those years ago, it’s closed now for renovations but will reopen in 2024.
Hi John, it was a pleasure to meet you after the screening! It's difficult to put into words how incredible the cinematic experience was on Sunday! Cannot wait for Oppenheimer now! All the best, James.
I'll plan to do a proper video for OPPENHEIMER... but I suppose the film had better be good otherwise it might be a little counter productive. I wasn't planning to do anything at INTERSTELLAR but then young Roland came over to speak to me and summed things up so well I put the camera on him. I should have brought a pro camera then I could have had a light in his face but it turned out okay in the end as the important thing was what he had to say. You chaps finished that little sequence off very nicely and that caused me to think I needed to do something to camera there myself which was how the ending with me babbling on came about. I then got the opening shot on the way back in. It's funny how things turn out sometimes.
I'll try to get a video out once I've booked a seat for OPPENHEIMER and then maybe a whole load of us can get together. I think that could be a lot of fun and a good excuse for thorough video coverage with lots of opinions.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 It turned out great! I love the platter shot of Interstellar you got from your Tenet video. It's also a great memento for me now from the unforgettable day.
Sounds like a great idea, I'll wait for some info before booking :).
@@peniljam I'm pestering the IMAX to do an annual 15/70 festival long weekend. i think they're sitting on a gold mine given the general state of cinema just about everywhere else so we'll see if they take the idea seriously and want to earn a bucket load of money by packing the house out for three days. I suppose a lot will depend on how well OPPENHEIMER does but I suspect it's going to be big in the few cinemas still able to screen genuine IMAX.
John.
Hi John, I think that that is a great proposition. I've booked to catch Oppenheimer next Tues 8th Aug on 70mm Imax at The Printworks in Manchester and will probably mention the same to the guys running the show there too.
I watched Interstellar in true IMAX back in Nov 2014 here in Toronto. Was absolutely blown away by it...aside from the last 20 minutes which prevent it from becoming the masterpiece it could have been. Thanks for this tour.
Maybe when you see it again Mandeep, you'll be ready for the conclusion of the film and see it differently. I think a lot of us were a bit lost with the tesseract sequence so perhaps didn't fully appreciate what came afterwards. I still think the tesseract is a bit of a nonsense but who cares when a film looks this good and tells such a wonderful story in spite of it. John.
@@moviecollector5920 I do enjoy all of the movie aside from that Tessarect sequence. BTW hope you have seen the latest Oppenheimer trailer...looks great!
@@TheBanwait8 Funnily enough, I just put the Smart TV on (I only use it for RUclips and a few things on disc) and there is the new OPPENHEIMER trailer awaiting me. Yippee! More good news is that the Bradford IMAX has put their 15/70 projector back in so we're back up to three genuine IMAX cinemas in the UK. The good news keeps on coming at the moment. As for that tesseract sequence, it is explained in the film even if it is a little hard to fathom. The solution I take from what we're told is that future humans have placed it there in the black hole because we are able to control time and space. To save the human race we have to save ourselves from the future and without Matthew McConnaughey's character being the poltergeist down the years in his daughter's bedroom then humans would not learn what is necessary to get off the dying earth and to survive in space via the control of gravity. Pretty deep. I prefer my own original take on it whereby anything travelling at the speed of light is everywhere in the universe simultaneously but in this case, it's an intelligent being travelling at the speed of light and is able to manipulate where he wants to be. None of it is important to the overall conclusion of the film though which, however you look at it, is pretty deep just like most of Christopher Nolan's movies.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I think I like your 2nd theory and can run with that when watching the movie. It's always good to know when a theater includes true IMAX in there theaters. Here in Toronto, our first one was at the Cinesphere at Ontario Place (first in world I think). It was defunct for many years and re-opened a few yrs ago. Recall going on school trips and summers to watch documentaries which blew my mind.....That Oppenheimer trailer really looks good.
@@TheBanwait8 OPPENHEIMER trailer appears to confirm it's a more conventional film than we're used to from Mr. Nolan so it's possible it's going to find a more appreciative general audience rather than just those of us who like to watch a film that makes us think... tesseract excepted perhaps! Brilliant that the original IMAX has opened in Toronto but a shame the chap on camera didn't seem to know as much as he should about the format. Apparently the lower quality video projector gives more defined imagery and the IMAX film is just 70mm. A bit of an education was necessary before putting him out there as his lack of knowledge seemed to cause a lack of enthusiasm. I suspect he knew that he didn't know what he was talking about. Thank you for pointing me to that video. RUclips seem to remove posts with hyperlinks in them now so if your post disappears shortly, that's what has happened.
John.
Great review John as usual, realy looking forward to the new film 🎥
I suppose we''re all expecting OPPENHEIMER to be another NOLAN classic but it had bloody well better be after all the effort they've all gone to to make it. I'll try to do a more thorough video review for it and hopefully meet a load of people from here on the day. John.
im going to watch this later today very excited!
At the BFI IMAX Ramuk? I'd love to be there again but I hope that now it's been proven that people want to watch film, and in particular 15/70 genuine IMAX film, the BFI will put it on with the other Nolan films on an annual basis. When you're sitting on a money maker, why not use it? Have a great time.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 it was a great experience. i was sat in p14 which was the second row from the back and a little off-centre, so I could see the tops of people's heads during the full imax scenes. what seats do you think are best?
@@ramuk- I actually think the row you were in is the best. I was right at the back for INTERSTELLAR in the middle section in the far left seat as you look at the screen. This was almost the exact opposite of where I'd seen it from nine years before and it was great to realize that my opinion from that front row, far right seat was correct even though I was looking at a screen like I was looking up at K2 at the time. The two back rows are probably best for anyone new to genuine IMAX but the front row does give an awe-inspiring experience. John.
Hi John! Thanks again for sharing this with us! Looks like you had a blast at this one. I've got my daughter in a stranglehold lol watching with me. My young movie partner has lots to learn and so many great films to experience and for me re-experience. Hoping she will join me at Oppenheimer when it's out here and fingers crossed by no Nolan screenings yet! Yet! Meanwhile thanks again and my best to you guys across the pond! See you in the next vid! D in BC!
Your daughter is getting a 'reel' education there by the sound of it Dave. There's nothing that matches genuine IMAX and I too am very much looking forward to OPPENHEIMER. I could watch these NOLAN genuine IMAX films continually as I don't think I'd ever tire of seeing the best film presentation format known to man.
John.
Any film projection 35mm or 70mm,imax70mm,has its magic.Natural,organic quality that cannot be replicated by digital.And doesn't really matter whether its Dolby cinema,Imax laser..its just not the same.As Q.Tarantino said,"digital cinema is nothing but public television"
I agree with Mr. Tarantino Romualds. Well said. John.
Is there an email list or a blog where I can find out about upcoming screenings of films with IMAX 15/70mm footage? I never saw Interstellar or Dunkirk in theatres and want to know if or when it gets screened again near me.
You can sign up to BFI IMAX emails on this page Seth: www.bfi.org.uk/bfi-imax
A great, touching video, John.
You communicate with *awesome* clarity that Interstellar is a _true_ film by a _true_ filmmaker, and that 15/70 IMAX is the _true_ way to see it.
I wasn't actually planning to shoot a video there Erik but when young Roland came over and was so enthusiastic about his first even genuine IMAX screening, I thought I'd get on with it. Worked out okay I think. See you over here for OPPENHEIMER. I'll try to get a video out as soon as I've booked a seat so a bunch of us might be able to meet up.
John.
Im glad you got to see it once more, with better seating. The movie grabs me the moment he leaves his family and it never stops. A marvelous film for sure.
More emotional this time possibly because I know the film much better. Quite upset a couple of times. This is what a cinema visit should be every time but rarely ever is, particularly now. John.
@@moviecollector5920would you say the seats at the back are the best then
@@Channelfactory There is significant leg room in the back two rows. That's why they cost a little more I think. I could almost lie down in those, not so elsewhere but by the time a film starts in 15.70 IMAX, I don't much care about anything but what's on the screen in front of me. But yes, the rear two rows are best.
I have never been in a IMAX cinema or watched an IMAX movie. Sure i have Interstellar, Tenet and Dunkirk but only on bd and only watched them on my 55 inch samsung tv. But my god how i want to now after your videos John. I actually took myself giggling and smiling while watching your video😂 This is what movie watching is all about, exitement and joy🎉
Thank you Morten. I'd given up on cinema long before INTERSTELLAR turned up at the BFI IMAX in 2014 and it rekindled my interest. To see it again and confirm to myself that it was not only as impressive in 15/70 as I remembered but maybe even better was pure joy. There is hope for cinema yet but it's going to take getting the image quality back to where it was before the big downgrade in 2011 and the general decline that started more than ten years before that. Genuine IMAX is too good and to complex to be installed everywhere but it gives me hope that others in the industry stand a chance of seeing it and realizing that what they're pushing elsewhere is second rate.
John.
I'm quite confused about something, this video is about imax 70mm but at 1:28 it shows people entering a screening of imax laser.. which is not imax 70mm
so does this place has imax 70mm, or is it only imax laser?
It has both. 'Laser' is a word that makes people think they are seeing something special because they think the projection is somehow making a load of lasers create the projected image when, as we all know, it's only the light source. Impressing people with a word is all that's required to make many feel they are doing something special. Compared to the real McCoy it's a bit of a joke but most don't realize. It might achieve top 35mm capability at times but I think the anamorphic 35mm blow-up sequences on the IMAX print of INTERSTELLAR are better than any video projection I've ever seen... including a video projector using a laser lamp!
John.
Your passion and enthusiasm for film is infectious John.
I am ashamed to say that i have never seen an IMAX presentation. Reckon i am missing out
If you can get to a genuine IMAX cinema to see a genuine 15/70 print Colin then you'll never have seen anything quite like it before. Video projection is being passed off as IMAX in most places now so you have to be careful with what you choose to go and see. And many of the purpose built IMAX theatres have given up on their 15/70 film projectors which I consider to be a travesty but what can you do. Money talks and seems to govern all decision making today.
John.
Wonderful video. I will deffo try to get to the venu this year hopefully oppenheimer. Excelsior sir
I'll try to get a video out as soon as I've booked a seat for OPPENHEIMER so perhaps a bunch of us can get together before and after. Might see you there with a little luck. John.
Excellent invitation, John! Lovely people, wonderful occasion!! I love the music especially. That was a very classy touch. Why didn't you use music before?
I so wish we had similar presentations here. Oh well.. some day.
Thank you for a great recommendation!
Dmitri
I have used that music track before in one of the recent video Dmitri. It's probably been a bit more subtle when I've used the music tracks lately so you may not have noticed it or thought it was the real music in the auditorium, but I had to dub it in as I'd get a copyright strike if Ieft the actual music that was playing on the soundtrack. There's nothing like genuine IMAX and I think INTERSTELLAR makes the biggest impression in that format. TENET may be better image quality but the overall impact of iNTERSTELLAR seems to be the best of the two. DUNKIRK is a completely different type of film but many will consider that to be the best. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is the other one but I haven't seen that in the real McCoy. I don't consider it in the same league as the three other IMAX films he's done though.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Oh, those youtube strikes... Causing much more trouble than doing good.
I would love to see Inception in IMAX!
Thank you for sharing your opinion! If any of them are back at IMAX, we are there.
Dmitri
This was the first film i saw in IMAX. I revisit the movie on 4k almost every year but the experience in IMAX... The shots, the score, the story. It was so... Grand.
Morning Aaron. The good news is that INTERSTELLAR now has a big following and many of the IMAX prints still exist in genuine IMAX cinemas around the world so it's possible to see it in the real McCoy occasionally. I think I could enjoy all the Nolan IMAX films once a year so I've been suggesting to the BFI IMAX that they have a 15/70 IMAX festival weekend on an annual basis. I don't suppose it will happen but if it does I can imagine people flying in from all over the world especially for it. John.
I'm glad you got to see another Christopher Nolan IMAX film John, thanks for mentioning that they have added additional screenings, I have booked a day off on Friday and got some tickets while I could, I can't wait! We will make a full day of it and have a day in London before the film in the evening, I enjoyed the film at home in 4K and expect I will appreciate it more on such a large screen, particularly the space sequences.
Well done Nick. You are in for a cinematic treat and I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did which will still mean it will be one of the best cinema screenings you'll have ever attended. Let us all know how you get on.
By the way, the Hans Zimmer score was recorded just over the river at Temple Church so perhaps include a quick visit there as part of your itinerary. And FOPP and Forbidden Planet of course which are only a couple of hundred yards from each other on Shaftesbury Avenue. Don't spend too much though.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Thanks John I will do, I'm really looking forward to it! Looking at the map I think Temple Church would be a bit out of our way, I was planning to go to FOPP as I have a couple of Xmas HMV vouchers burning a hole in my pocket, through Leicester square to the National Gallery, over the bridge to Southbank for a bit and then to the BFI.
@@nick1635 Temple church is just the other side of Waterloo Bridge so if you go back over the bridge at some point, it's just along to the right a little way. It's in between the river and Aldwych/Fleet Street. Nothing much to see but just relevant to see where the score was recorded perhaps after seeing the film. What a wonderful score too. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Well that was impressive John! Just the huge screen by itself was marvellous to look at, the trailers before the film looked more impressive on such a big scale, and Interstellar was well worth the journey to watch again. I appreciated it more the second time around, picking up on some of the foreshadowing plot points I missed the first time round. The print looked fabulous, there was some debris in the projector that repeatedly kept appearing over and over again for a large part of the films running time which was slightly distracting - I don't know if that is something a projectionist would normally spot and be able to flush out when the projection is running? On such a large screen the picture was still detailed and sharp, the outer space scenes in particular really impressed me.
I will certainly visit again for Oppenheimer and without a doubt visit in November for Dune 2.
@@nick1635 Make sure Dune 2 is actually a 15/70 IMAX shoot and print though otherwise it might just be video projection. As for the reappearing dust, take a look at my TENET IMAX video again and you should see what causes that and why. It's when Cesar tells Daniel from Sweden and I all about the IMAX GT projector when we're down the front of it. John.
The last Nolan film I saw on 1570 was in Chongqing, China at a local IMAX theater back in 2012. Even my wife, who is not a film nerd like me, could visually tell the difference between the 35mm anamorphic blowup footage and 70mm IMAX. Now the audio was in the original English with Chinese subtitles. However, it took me a few minutes to realize that the subtitles were actually electronic subtitles (and not optically printed on the film) that were synced with the film and projected by a digital projector. Also, whenever the subtitles were displayed on screen, you could make out a faint grey shadow bleeding over the image, especially during darker scenes. I assume this is a more efficient and cost effective method to screen the film around the world without printing individual 1570 IMAX prints with corresponding foreign subtitles. In other words, ship the same 1570 IMAX print to any foreign market and just sync subtitles via a digital projector. Pretty smart if you ask me. Anyway, I wanted to watch Intersteller in 1570 a few years later but unfortunately, that IMAX theater had already switched over to a pure digital system. What a loss actually.
Brilliant information there Meng. I now wonder if the dodgy subtitles during the opening sequence of Death on the Nile in 70mm were video projected onto the screen because they were slightly blurry but the surrounding image was sharp as tack. Interesting and I have to learn more about this. 70mm prints are expensive enough and I think they only had 32 worldwide for Death on the Nile so it would make sense. Different prints just for subtitles would be an expense too far, particularly with 70mm IMAX prints so it's good business. Terrible that another IMAX cinema is no longer IMAX though but using the great name for video projection. Apparently, we only have two left in the UK now and they're both in the centre of London. We all need to use them when we can whenever they're showing a genuine IMAX print.
Interstellar is like nothing else in genuine IMAX. The best cinema experience I've ever had... and I've had it twice!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Oh, I forgot to mention that I watched “The Dark Knight Rises” on IMAX back in 2012. Anyway that reminds me. A few years back, I had an colleague of mine who was involved in a film festival in the US and were planning to show a 35mm print of a certain Hong Kong film but they weren’t sure if was subtitled. He also told me, if worse came to worse, they would get someone to translate the film live to the audience, similar to live narration with silent films over 100 years ago. I then told him my IMAX experience with “The Dark Knight Rises” where they digitally projected the subtitles on the screen while the film played. Now, getting it to work is one challenge but syncing the subtitles would be another tackle. If I had the equipment, I’d be curious to test it out. Well in the end, the vintage 35mm print actually had hard embedded subtitles so there was no need for any DIY device or live narration. Haha
@@vangmx A lot of film equipment comes with sync' locks and things like that Meng so something like Crystal sync' or sync' pulse would have been used to lock the subtitles in. It's a darned fine idea and a big money saver. It also means there isn't an extra optical process to print the subtitles onto the prints so better image quality results. John.
i was filmed close to calgary AB here, beautiful landscape
You basically live on an alien planet there JB. Beautiful. And even more so in genuine IMAX. John.
Loved this film
70mm was epic
Well said Bella. John.
You make great videos I’ve just started getting in to 70mm when I found out there was always a 70mm print theatre in my city and it only uses it for Chris Nolan’s films in the modern day. Sadly it’s not IMAX 70mm but I do have a IMAX theatre but it’s only IMAX with Laser. And Oppenheimer probably will be my first 70mm film, and I might watch in Dolby Atmos 4K 70mm instead of IMAX
The standard 70mm prints will be way, way better than any lower quality video projection so you're doing the right thing there. It won't be as good as genuine IMAX though but 70mm is still very special and you should always take the chance whenever a 70mm comes up. Video projection may take a giant leap forward soon though since Doug Trumbull established the big problem with it is the lack of a shutter. I'd been thinking it was the lack of light diffusion owing to not having a physical film between lamp and lens but didn't consider there wasn't a shutter to further diffuse the light to make the projected image look even more real.
John.
I will literally be heartbroken if they ever get rid of IMAX
After watching thousands of films over many decades at the cinema, I am utterly convinced that IMAX is the only true way to experience films bar none
Standard 70mm should be the industry standard with modern 35mm as the general release. It's all about money and basically there aren't enough people going to cinemas any longer. So video it is. And what crap most of that is compared to what we used to enjoy. IMAX restores my faith providing it's the real McCoy. John.
@Movie Collector Yup I 💯 % agree with you John. I look forward to every one of your video's
The IMAX / Dolby Cinema theater in West Palm Beach, Florida is closing down to make room for office buildings. I am very sad today. Thanks for the wonderful video showing a city that appreciates IMAX and film!
That's awful. Cinema is dying and if a genuine IMAX theatre is also closing down then that's a bad sign for cinema. It seems to be in terminal decline. John.
Would love to get to the bfi IMAX.... maybe one day..... Thanks for sharing 👍
See you there for OPPENHEIMER Roy. Let me know when you've got your flight booked. John.
@@moviecollector5920 It's definitely temping John.....il have think about it 😝
@@RoyMurphy1 Shame Concorde isn't still flying - you'd get here, see the film and get back in time for tea!
@@moviecollector5920 true.....but I'm only an hour away as it is.....😁😁
This is a Masterpiece, to watch it in a 70 mm Imax screen must ve a great experience. Too bad all the Imax theaters are digital where i live. Once again all your videos are delightful to see.
I hope word will spread and former genuine IMAX cinemas will get the real projectors back or have them repaired. They've let bean counters adversely affect their decision making and now there's a new IMAX film about to be released that should be massive and they're going to lose out.
John.
Going to see Oppenheimer in IMAX 70MM I am so Excited :)
The best movie presentation format in existence today and possibly the greatest ever - although genuine three-strip Cinerama may have pipped it to the top spot if it were still around. Have a great time at the OPPENHEIMER show. John.
dreams come true. I hope they bring Nolan's movies to the states. I haven't seen anything announced yet. I am happy to say that I saw it on opening weekend back then in a local IMAX. fingers crossed that I get to see it again in IMAX.
Was that a genuine IMAX Luis? 15/70 print?
@@moviecollector5920 I honestly do not know. i did not know about those type of IMAX details back then
@@luisd7636 IMAX is usually a purpose built theatre but many older cinemas are claiming IMAX because they've got a 2K or 4K video projector with the IMAX brand on it. I think it's caused a big degradation to the great name but most people don't know the difference and don't appreciate it when they're told. I think it's all about staying in business but if it means we can still see the real McCoy in the genuine IMAX cinemas on occasion then it's not all bad. John.
@@moviecollector5920 i need to ask and look a little bit more into this now that you shared that info. i hope they do but im starting to have my doubts
Thanks for sharing
You're welcome Craig.
IMAX Looks pretty dam good John. Just recently bought Event Horizon 4k.. Wondered you thought about it? Good film.
I was there on opening night when Event Horizon opened Lborg. That was back in the days when London had great premiere cinema and The Empire was the top dog. Those days are gone now but I have some great memories. It wasn't a full house by any stretch but I thought the first hour was terrific. Fell apart after that like most modern horrors do but still a very good film. I've had the LaserDisc since shortly after that cinema screening. The LD is great. Haven't seen the 4K.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Waiting on Aliens 4k.. Our local Odeon screened Aliens last Thursday. What a film that is. Up with the best the 80's gave us.👌Cheers John.
@@cp070476 Clark Teddles recently shot a projection booth video in Sydney where both the Director's Cut of 'Alien' in 35mm and Aliens in 70mm were screened. Priceless. Apparently, that's the only surviving 70mm blow-up still in circulation so very special. I saw the 70mm here three times in 1986. The best sequel ever made methinks. I've been looking at one of my Super 8 prints of Aliens for a few months now and wishing I had the time to sit there and screen it again.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 It's in top 5 films ever. Predator, Aliens, The Thing. That's me and my friends picks. They just don't make films like that anymore. Cheers John.
@@cp070476 They never did make films like that. The Special Edition spoiled it a bit but I don't ever watch that. The only other minor flaw is that the ending is the same as the original film. The same was true of the only other good Alien film, Alien Resurrection. All three blasted the alien out into space but no one ever seemed to notice.
absolute cinema
Possibly the ultimate... but that's open to debate. John.
I went to see Interstellar on Tuesday afternoon at the BFI IMAX this week John, its my favourite film of all time regardless but I didn't expect how good it would be on that IMAX screen, without doubt the greatest cinema experience I've ever had, the visuals were absolutely stunning and the sound was unbelievable, stand out scenes for me were the "Miller" scene and also when they fly into Gargantua with the "detach" scene, Mr Nolan isn't wrong when he states the only way to see the film is on 70mm IMAX - I can wholeheartedly agree with that!!
Stop it Lee otherwise I'll have to go and see it again. I've already seen it twice but I can tell everyone, twice isn't enough. I'd go and see it every year if there was a long weekend 15/70 festival in London annually. Two cinemas capable of it and perhaps throw in the standard 70mm cinemas and it would be a massive, world beating cinematic event.
John.
Just got tickets for Oppenheimer on regular 70MM since we don’t really have an IMAX 70MM at Oregon. I do however have a regular 2K IMAX so if I love it that much then I’ll go see it the second time on that format. But our 70MM theater is pretty amazing overall since it used to be a Cinerama theater long ago and we have our own clean print of 2001. It’s always shown on the anniversary of the theater itself which happens to also be my birthday and even Tarantino visited there himself a couple times. Overall I can’t wait to see it and Nolan never disappoints. He also keeps releasing his films on my birthday so this is gonna be fun being 25 years around the nuclear sun lol
I don't think there can be any doubt that a 70mm print is going to blow any video projection out of the water Chris so if you do go to see it a second time then I'd suggest the 70mm twice rather than seeing it blown up huge from something about the sixteenth of the quality. 2K is just a bit more than Blu-ray so about a third of 35mm potential. Not that it's possible to equate computer files to real films but that's about the best estimate.
John.
@@moviecollector5920for sure, it’s too bad I won’t be able to see the imax scenes on the big screen but I’ll take Film projection over digital any day.
You're such a lucky person to watch this in imax. Here's in Sydney, Australia we don't have imax but it's coming soon they said. Hopefully they'll release interstellar and experience the movie in imax
And we're all hoping the genuine IMAX 15/70 projectors go back into Sydney. If it's video only, probably not worth your time. John.
Because of this we’ve missed out on seeing Dunkirk, Tenet, and Nope on the best viewing experience possible. We’ve been starved of this for too long.
@@whatidontevenknow8790 Sadly there wasn't a single print of NOPE struck in 15/70 Jedd. I don't know why but something must have gone wrong. Perhaps the makers didn't know that the film had to be edited on film to facilitate genuine IMAX prints and finished it on video. The 4K disc looks great but how much better would it have looked in the real deal?
John.
Saw this in in our local Ashford "IMAX" with my 29 year old daughter - I was really impressed - my daughter thought it was boring - ah well, each to their own
There isn't an IMAX in Ashford so that is one of the faux IMAX theatres with some sort of IMAX video projector. This is the problem with the name being applied to ordinary cinemas because people think they've seen IMAX when they haven't. The BFI, the Science Museum and the Printworks in Manchester are the three genuine IMAX cinemas I know of that still have genuine IMAX capability. Get up to the BFI next weekend and see what you've been missing.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yeah I know John, hence the inverted commas - Saw the new Avatar a dew months back on the same screen which did look pretty impressive, but I've already got wholesale agreement from a couple of old duffers to join this old duffer in London in the summer to see Oppenheimer. Thanks for the reply and great content by the way - love your channel.
@@stretcher5757 I recently watched the original Avatar in 3D at home because so many people wanted me to. I thought that if I liked it enough I might just make the effort to see the sequel in a cinema but after the first hour I was bored with it. Excellent 3D but I've seen so much better. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Sorry to report John but Manchester Printworks got rid of it's 15/70 and replaced it with Dual Laser. I saw Dunkirk there in 15/70 in 2017 but that was one of the last shown on it. Only BFI and Science Museum left now.
A few days ago, i set up an email reminder from fandango to tell me whenever interstellar comes out on IMAX here in chicago. Back then, I had lower back problems where if were to sit down for more than 20 mins it would just give me tons of pain. Luckily, thats all over with but i did miss out on interstellar. I was very crestfallen.
Make sure it's genuine IMAX though and not any of the faux IMAX formats. Video projection doesn't come close in any of its incarnations. Best of luck there's a genuine IMAX near you that's got a 15/70 print stored in-house. John.
@@moviecollector5920 that's also another problem I worry about. I will do research before going into a a faux screening. We are also getting a new imax cinema here just on the outskirts of chicago. It's said to be the biggest in all of my state that houses Chicago later this may 31st. About 94ft wide! Hopefully, they will do a genuine IMAX as a celebration of it's opening!
@@Hikikomorisama I hope it does turn out to be a real IMAX and the people behind it understand the importance of giving the audience the best, even if it's not 15/70 film all the time, just the chance to see something genuine IMAX occasionally would be wonderful.
John.
I had the pleasure of seeing this in 70mm at the chinese theatre, it was the joint best cinematic expierence of my life. (Joint with seeing Breaking the Waves on 35mm)
TENET comes close and DUNKIRK too but I think this is number 1. Cannibal Holocaust was another of my most memorable cinema outings but for different reasons. Long live film! John.
Can’t wait to see Oppenheimer in IMAX, the theater is only a 20 minute drive.
I'd like to have an apartment on the roof of the BFI!!! John.
Hey John, great video !!!, I’ve seen interstellar myself in standard 70mm which was a great experience. I’m not sure if you are aware of this maybe you are, I know Christopher Nolan’s films are finished photochemically which is great but large portions have to go through the computer for vfx/green screen, cgi shots. What I’m getting at is that even though his films are shot in IMAX and finished photochemically they still end up being digitized and the IMAX resolution gets compromised. The Dark Knight and Dark Knight rises went through a dmr process to blow up the non Imax scenes into the IMAX 70mm frame. He did this as well with interstellar, that’s digitizing the films. Many of the IMAX sequences end up getting digitized for special effects and downscaled to 5.6k resolution. It’s sad the resolution of the IMAX sequences in his films have to get downscaled for special effects. If you really think about it, only fragments of the IMAX sequences in his movies don’t end up downscaled and everything else does which is disappointing.
That's only partially true Spidey but I know what you're saying. The VistaVision effect as I call it does mean that the end sequences that have been computerized still look fabulous but most of what they do on Nolan films is done in camera and that is why they look stunning. Rear screen projection was a big thing in INTERSTELLAR but what is most surprising is how good the anamorphic 35mm sequences look. The 35mm blow-ups onto the IMAX film is better than anything I've seen that they video project that purports to be IMAX. TENET looks even better but I can't tell you all the nuances of how they achieved that because it's simply too much of a work of art to completely fathom out. Brilliant to see how the spacecraft sequence close-ups were done for INTERSTELLAR though to maintain that full IMAX quality.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I see, for me personally I think to get a true film experience, you would have to go back pre 2000’s era to watch a non digitized film. Everything was mostly done practical and cgi was just starting out in the late 80’s. Movies like the original Star Wars, Lawerence of Arabia, 2001 space odyssey are true film experiences in my opinion. Those films weren’t digitized and the resolution wasn’t compromised for computerized special effects. Oppenheimer will be the exception to this with very little vfx shots, this would be Nolan’s least digitized film and that’s great. His previous films have all pretty much have gone through the computer, so I don’t think it’s really worth seeing on film. I’ve seen some of his movies in IMAX 70mm and interstellar in standard 70mm which was great. I kind of still feel I’m getting cheated knowing that his movies have gone through a computer for effects even though it’s on film.
salut voila un belle vidèo sur se film belle vidèo comme toujour
Merci bien comme toujours Alain. Rendez-vous ici pour Oppenheimer en véritable IMAX 15/70 lors de sa sortie.
John.
I am positive that Oppenheimer will be truly incredible, and even more so in 15/70
Having heard Nolan's speech and viewed the new trailer (shown on 5 perf 70mm) at CinemaCon today, it was truly breathtaking. The soundtrack alone was unbelievable.
The teaser trailer has been video projected prior to each 15/70 film at the IMAX but because it's not 15/70, it looks poor compared to what follows so it's great to hear the new trailer is breathtaking on standard 70mm Thomas. There's nothing to match genuine IMAX though so I'll see you at the BFI in late July!!! John.
@@moviecollector5920 I'm fairly confident that my nearest IMAX film location in Rhode Island will be running a print of Oppenheimer, so I don't think I'll be making a trip to the BFI unfortunately. I may get the chance to project a non-IMAX print myself, so we'll see what happens!
@@SplicesAndCelluloid If the print you might project turns out to be 35mm Thomas then send it over when you're done with it please!
@@moviecollector5920 There should actually be some 35 prints going international!
How did you get behind the scenes ??
Aha, that was for TENET and I just slipped that snippet in. Have a look at my TENET IMAX video and you'll see it all in some detail. Got an invitation which was rather thrilling. John.
Hi John. Im yet to see a film at an imax cinema. Im going to change that with oppenheimer. Unfortunately London BFI is too far away for me. My nearest imax is York. With it be shown is 35mm?
Apart from the BFI and the Science Museum there is apparently only one other genuine IMAX left in the UK David and the third one is only because they've just put the 15/70 projector back in. That is the Bradford IMAX at the National Museum of Photography & Film. Perhaps that should be your destination for OPPENHEIMER. I don't think it will be particularly special in most cinemas who will video project it but there will be others with standard 70mm prints and even some 35mm but I don't know where they will be. Certainly the Odeon Leicester Square but there aren't many left with film capabilities which is why what most people see now is sub-standard to what we enjoyed 30 years ago and more. Not all film prints were top-notch of course but for those of us who lived in city centres we were invariably seeing master prints and it didn't get much better than that.
John.
Great video as always, can't wait for Oppenheimer. Can I expect you to be at the BFI July 21 for the release?
I don't know yet. I'm hoping I'll get some sort of forewarning of tickets going on sale but I wouldn't put money on it. I'd like to get a show booked and then put a video out so a whole load of us could meet up there by booking the same show. John.
Hi John on your recommendation I just received delivery of this film on 4k uhd blu-ray. I look forward to watching this film on my 50 inch uhd tv and blu-ray player soon. I also have Tenet and watched the film last week. I think you were right about the picture and sound quality of this disc. In my opinion this is the best i have seen and heard on 4k so far, it was so great it just blow my mind. It just goes to show what this format is capable of. Then again I have not been collecting the 4k format for very long, I have around 240 blu-rays in my collection plus dozens of dvd box sets and films. John are there any up and coming 4k realeases you can recommend on 4k uhd?
OPPENHEIMER! That's another Christopher Nolan genuine IMAX film that was shot and finished on film. It will probably be a pre-Christmas release on disc but you can be sure it's going to be a great looker owing to its 70mm IMAX origins. How these films look on disc is mainly down to how they looked when originally shot. Some 35mm shoots are being cocked-up though because they're not being finished on film and a lowly 2K video transfer of the negative is carried out from which to edit it. A disaster really but no one seems to care within the industry. 2K is probably about one-sixth the quality that 35mm is capable of and maybe less than that. The 35mm sequences in INTERSTELLAR look better than any video projection I've seen. Granted they were blown up onto the 15/70 IMAX frames but nevertheless, the quality was there to see. TENET is the best image quality I've ever seen in a cinema, closely followed by DUNKIRK with INTERSTELLAR probably at number 3.
John.
I noticed one member of the audience bravely shouted "woo!" during a round of applause. That's not very British, is it? Must have been an American tourist.😂 (Interstellar was easily my favourite IMAX experience, too)
There were 180 different nationalities in there! Must have been one American among them!!! John.
So true! I can remember when I first went to the cinema in America I was stunned when I heard them all clapping and shouting but what topped it off, during one of the scenes someone shouted "kill the babies too" absolutely hilarious! I love Americans
@@Hatebackgroundnoise 😅 I worked there a few years ago, and those yanks are like our less cynical cousins. However, I believe they're gradually becoming more like us miserable Brits, which is a shame because they are simply not equipped to deal with it.
@@Hatebackgroundnoise Normally we don't applaud very often at the flicks over here but just occasionally, when something is a bit special, we put our hands together. I think quite a few of us were excited to be sitting down to see INTERSTELLAR again in the real deal 15/70 so we were in a party mood. It doesn't happen normally. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Films don't usually have a formal introduction, either. Perhaps they should. It felt like more of an occasion.
I attended a showing at the IMAX a few weeks ago. I noticed in the centre of the screen something which looked like dirt on the print. There was one large bit of dirt surrounded by smaller bits. The funny thing is that it would be on the screen for about 5 to 6 seconds and then disappeared for 5 to 6 seconds. This continued for the whole film.
Anyone else notice this or have an idea what it could be?
Have a look at my TENET IMAX video and you'll have the senior projectionist tell you what that is and why. We hardly had any this time but if the vacuum doesn't get it immediately then it will appear a few times. John.
Hi John, what time does the bfcc start on Saturday?
10am. Be great if you can come along Mark. I think a few subscribers from here and making the trip. A couple of portable 35mm projectors to take a close look at and a pair of Elmo GS1200 Super 8 projectors with alternative light sources. One a xenon and the other HTI. The 4K video projector is already packed up too so it should be a lot of fun.
John.
@Movie Collector thanks. Yes I should be coming. Looking forward to it.
@@ravenelektra Excellent. Hope to see you there. We're picking a van up today to get all the equipment and everything else there. There's a lot of it!
Lovely, very jealous. My screen can’t really match that. John, I have big news. Seamstress has given approval. Rebuild starts in one week!!!
Wonderful news Rob. I managed to get seamstress Susie to do the HMV and FOPP cushions but no other news apart from the 35mm projector is now working well. Still need to knock the holes in the wall though. John.
Im still a bigger fan of 2001 but i saw that so young that i dont think any film will ever match that especially one in the same genre but interstellar is one phenomenally film. need to see it on imax film some day
I saw a few more homages to 2001 in INTERSTELLAR this time around that I'd missed before. Clearly 2001 is an influence on Mr. Nolan and the sequel 2010... hot dog with your baseball game anyone?
John.
I’ve just booked to see interstellar on BFI imax next month but the only ticket I could get my hands on were front row in the corner.. do you think i’ve wasted my money? I’ve heard that you’ll basically not be able to see anything but I really didn’t want to miss out again. the tickets just sell out so fast!!
I watched it from the very front row, far right seat the first time I saw it when it was first released. It made for an out of this world, larger than life cinematic adventure. It's brilliant to see this genuine IMAX film from every seat. Have a great time.
John.
I saw interstellar at the TCL Chinese theater in imax 70 back in 2014.
Time for a repeat then Mr. Amtrak. Failing that, OPPENHEIMER is imminent so I hope you'll get a chance to see that in the real McCoy. John.
@@moviecollector5920 most likely though, I’ll see it on regular 70mm at the Regency Village cinema Which is much closer to where I live. It’s a beautiful cinema built in 1931 and is THX certified with Dolby Atmos.
Oh wow....I wouldn't pass on that either.....wish I had that chance!
I hope the BFI IMAX screen this film every year from now on. It's that popular it's a surefire way to bring in a load of money to help keep them in business. Not many cinemas have such a film print at their disposal. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Interstellar is such a great movie....definitely deserves this treatment. Lovely you have experienced it again!
@@PainInTheS The print lives at the BFI IMAX so there's every chance I'll get to see it again one day. If money were no object and I wasn't running the BFCC this weekend I'd be down there to see it again. John.
Hi John, great shot of you walking upstairs (I wouldn't have the guts to do that 🥴🤩) actually it's great to see a cinema full of movie fans and not yobs who talk all the way through it 🤬🤩👍👍that alarm test!! 😁 Great insight to this experience John! Very well put together video mate 🤩🤩👍👍
Morning John. I think you've been working almost non-stop lately so I hope you're doing okay. We really must all get together for OPPENHEIMER so you simply have to get down for that. Don't bother with any of the faux IMAX theatres and make a week or weekend of it. I'm going to try to get a video out as soon as I get a seat booked so let's see what happens. That Keithy has got to get over from the land of the bogs and the little people too!
John.
Such a shame I did not know they had reruns of Nolan's films. 😢 I'll be watching Oppenheimer on 3 August.
I've been suggesting to the BFI IMAX that they have an annual weekend 15/70 IMAX festival and it's viable because they have so many of the prints permanently kept on site. Subscribe to their email list which doesn't cost anything and then you'll get updates every week.
John.
I missed this in IMAX unfortunately. My first real experience with 70mm IMAX was The Dark Night Rises in Providence, RI. That opening airplane sequence was absolutely spectacular. Oddly enough, I think it was actually the last movie I saw projected on film.
The BFI are screening INTERSTELLAR again today Tom but I don't think you'd make it over here in time now. You may find that a few of the purpose built, genuine IMAX theatres get their 15/70 projectors serviced and operating again for OPPENHEIMER so keep your ear to the ground as you may be able to experience the best movie exhibition format known to man again soon.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Damn, I'd be there if I could. Interstellar is definitely my favorite Nolan film. I used to live a 10 minutes away from a true IMAX theatre in Providence but I moved an hour away. Now I live 10 minutes away from a lie-MAX theatre which likely won't have 15/70 anytime soon. It's better than nothing, I guess, but maybe Oppenhiemer will be worth the trip to Providence.
@@Downhuman74 Check that Providence are actually getting a 15/70 IMAX print Tom and then you have simply got to make the trip. It's not far to see the best movie presentation format that man has ever invented and after years of putting up with lower quality video projections in cinemas, I expect you'll be astounded. John.
Completely off-topic; but I don't know where else to post this. You need to look at the Arrow 4K release of David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Awesome transfer with just the right amount of film grain and all those awesome practical effects (which fully stand up to scrutiny in UHD). Just be warned that if you haven't seen this film before (unlikely) the top menu graphics are full of spoilers.
No, I haven't ever seen it and I think that's because I didn't fancy it when it was current. As I recall, I think it looked a bit sick which isn't always a bad thing because I like some of David Cronenberg's films. I'd probably grown out of that sort of thing by the time of 'Naked Lunch' though. I did see the Arrow box in FOPP recently and it looks like the usual great Arrow release. I hope all those extras make the film even more special for you.
John.
Can you recommend some affordable 4k projectors? I'm thinking of replacing my 4k tv with one.
Trevor at Double Bill Movies recently purchased the £900 (ish) Optoma from Richer Sounds and he's chuffed to bits with it. Perhaps ask him what he thinks and see if you take a look at one anywhere. Keep your telly though because that will mean film nights are special and you can watch all the usual television fodder/tosh on your telly. We only tend to use our telly for RUclips but I wouldn't want to be projecting that all the time if at all so the telly still has a use.
John.
I'll be watching Oppenheimer in the Manchester Printworks in 70mm IMAX.
When Interstellar came out, I wasn't completely aware of exactly what IMAX was and didn't even know that the Printworks had one, so I only saw it on a standard screen.
You should get a second chance to see all of Nolan's genuine IMAX films and particularly INTERSTELLAR because it usually packs a house out whenever a 15/70 IMAX print gets an airing. OPPENHEIMER may be the sharpest imagery we've ever seen as some of it was shot in black and white so if the prints have genuine black and white stock spliced in then it should mean the best defined image of all time owing to the increased silver content of black and white film stock and the added clarity it gives. It seems like Bradford are not screening a 15/70 print and therefore it's only the two IMAX cinemas in central London and Manchester. Only three UK cinemas to see what might be one of the greatest cinematic events in history. Most will see low quality video projection. What a bummer!
John.
@@moviecollector5920 They never seem to do it, even when the film is re-released. They Just regulate it to a standard screen. I can't see anything on upcoming events either.
The only time I've really heard of them screening an older film in the IMAX is when they apparently screened Jaws last year, but I only heard about it the other day.
In July, I will drive over 13 hours (500+ miles) from Cheyenne Wyoming to Dallas Texas to see Oppenheimer in 15/70 IMAX film. Afterwards, I will probably attend a 70MM showing in Westminster Colorado (roughly 1.25 hours from my home). Two different experiences, both will certainly be unforgettable.
Wonderful Sam. This is how cinema should be - special. It's a shame it's been so cheapened for the mainstream which is all all that most youngsters have known. Film is surviving though so there's still hope. John.
Have you got the new Superman collection set in 4k?
No. I did review the 4K of the first film a couple of years ago though. Went to buy the second one in FOPP a couple of weeks ago but they'd sold out. John.
Great video, as always! Saw my first Imax movie here in Melbourne, Australia last year (Top Gun Maverick) and it was just about the best experience of watching a movie at a theatre that I can remember. To say that I am excited for Oppenheimer in Imax would be an understatement! Keep up these great videos!
Top Gun Maverick wasn't actually an IMAX film Tori but one of their video variants using the name. If it had have been a film I'd have ventured out of my home cinema to see it but waited to enjoy it on 4K disc because IMAX video is only 4K so can't see the point in the expense of getting to the BFI IMAX or the Ronson Theatre in the Science Museum to see almost the same thing. OPPENHEIMER in Melbourne will be a genuine IMAX though so you are in for a treat. Genuine 15/70 IMAX is the ultimate film exhibition format and extensions on the platters are required for this film to show it without a break. That means it will be about 3 hours long so be prepared for the cinematic experience of a lifetime... in lieu of INTERSTELLAR and TENET perhaps. But Melbourne are planning to put a 'NOLANATHON' on soon so keep an eye out for that first. Exciting times for film afficionados.
John.
Great video, John! Great seeing and hearing yourself and others enthusiastically talking about IMAX 1570 film.
The Melbourne IMAX has plans to screen interstellar in june I believe... so It looks like I'll be saving up some money and fly back down to the Melbourne IMAX. I just recently learnt that it's the worlds largest 1:43:1 screen (would have thought it would be in America or the BFI, and not us aussies).
The Sydney IMAX which will be opening later this year will be about the same size screen as the BFI, and thankfully in 1:43:1! Brilliant!
Also heard some news that "Dune: Parte Due" was shot ENTIRELY in IMAX, so it will fill that 1:43 screen from top to bottom for the entire feature!
Cheers,
Clark
Sounds like you're going to have a great IMAX year Clark, particularly if the Sydney IMAX gets the film projector back and the Dune sequel is shot genuine IMAX and not some lesser video camera solution using the name. Apparently IMAX are developing a new, smaller IMAX film camera so things might be looking good for the future after all.
Wish you were here at the moment though - IMAX last weekend and the BFCC this weekend. Surprisingly, the house is actually rather tidy considering all the equipment, tools and films I've assembled to take along.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I believe the Sydney IMAX will not have 1570 projector due to the shear amount of dedicated space that would be needed to hold that big projector and large platter system, it would all have to be designed in the building plan. And seeing as how the building-plans were pressumibly designed back in 2016 (when the theater was demolished) I expect they would have planned to only have digital. Thankfully the Melbourne IMAX still has there's, although I can't travel down there everytime they show a 1570 screening, at least I can experience a couple times.
Hope the BFCC goes well! Hopefully someone films a few short clips over there, I'm sure it will be great!
(I believe Dune Part Two was shot entirely on those digital IMAX cameras and sadly not 1570)
My newest Alien Double feature threading video has gotten almost 400 views within 2 days which is brilliant. The most views a video of mine has gotten in said amount of time.
Cheers,
Clark
Just got my tix for Melbournes October session... 😲😲😲
@@ninoadams45 hope it works. It’s failed many times in the past couple of years apparently. Although with Oppenheimer, maybe their practices have improved and they’ve re-spliced the dodgy splices in interstellar.
@ClarkTeddles really hope so too! 🤞🤞.. i missed out on septembers sessions so another chance has been given
I would have loved to see the snippets of interstellar on the imax screen in your video! But I understand the gravitas of copyright issues your videos would have to go through otherwise. Great video john!
And they'd never let me in the cinema again. Plus IMAX would probably sue me. John.
Looking forward to your Oppenheimer 70mm review! Btw, what are the best non-Nolan 70mm/IMAX experiences you've had?
Futuroscope in about 1993. This was a large film format amusement park near Poitier in France and it was sensational. OMNIMAX 3D with active LCD glasses. No other 3D comes close. Things really did come off the screen and go past you. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Intriguing. It's a shame it hasn't advanced significantly since then. Do you have any experience of 3D at home with a projector VS current cinema 3D? Like a lot of people I've got a DLP one but never bought active glasses for it.
@@jeffjefferson7384 I have run a couple of 3D movies at home recently but I have always, and still do, regard 3D as an occasional novelty. I prefer to watch a film without anything over my face and with the best possible image quality. 3D always reduces image quality somewhat so it's not really for me. It's completely ruined a couple of films in the cinema for me John.
@@moviecollector5920 Totally fair enough. RealD 3D in the cinema is usually rubbish (although have had 3-4 great experiences with IMAX 3D). What I find amazing is when the PL filter's been left on for 2D movies!
@@jeffjefferson7384 The 3D craze has almost died off now but it's the longest craze it's ever had. I think this one started in the early 2000's and many people were beginning to think it had become mainstream for a while there. Perhaps James Cameron's Avatar sequel will have given it a new lease of life but I think most of us tire of having the glasses on our faces a little. It's a novelty but a long lived novelty this time around. A shame really as usually ever ten of fifteen years it's fun to give it another go but this time I got a bit sick of it all. Must finally watch the Boxtrolls 3D Blu-ray though as that looks like it might be the best of the bunch that I have. Just got to find the time and generate the enthusiasm.
John.
I only have a few 4K discs, and Interstellar is one of them (also thanks to positive reviews on youtube channels like yours). The story and McConaughey’s performance is nothing special in my opinion, but the soundtrack and the space-/black hole scenes are the best that I’ve ever watched at home. Can’t even imagine how this would look in an imax cinema!
The 4K disc is one of the best... it's nothing compared to the real McCoy though. Beg, borrow or steal to get to one of the shows this weekend. Matthew McConaughey is brilliant in it but maybe it doesn't work so well without him being 60ft tall! I'd pay to see this film every year at the BFI IMAX. It's the greatest cinema outing I've ever had and I've had that pleasure twice now. Nothing else quite matches it but TENET does come close. And DUNKIRK for that matter.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Cool, I’ll do some research if we have IMAX here in Oslo, and if it shows Interstellar some day. Tenet, Dunkirk is on my 4K shopping list now :)
@@FlyWithMe_666 Anything shot standard 70mm or IMAX 15/70 will be among the best of all 4K and Blu-ray releases owing to the superiority of the formats over anything 35mm or shot on video of any form. Always worth purchasing them even if you don't much fancy the film. NOPE is another and largely missed by everyone because it didn't have a single IMAX film print struck. Doesn't alter the superlative quality of the shrink downs to video though. John.
@@moviecollector5920 👍
You'd think that they would do more showings of the 15/70 stuff seeing as they're the only place in the UK with it left. You're right when you see it at the BFI, it is something really special. I hope Oppenheimer will be film as well and not IMAX Laser, as its just not the same.
A 15/70 print of OPPENHEIMER is coming to the BFI IMAX Darren and I know because the cakestand platters are having extensions developed just to contain it and thereby screen it without a break. John.
The Science Museum in South Kensington also plays 15/70. They're the only other one in the UK (Bradford and Manchester having now had their's replaced with Digital).
@@davidjames579 Others have told me that Manchester still has IMAX 15/70 David so you've put that up in the air again, damn it! I'm glad to hear from you though because your comment on my last video went missing. I received an email notification but could not reply as it wasn't to be found anywhere. This is the comment which was great information and something I knew nothing about: "Thanks for the demonstrations, John. On a sidenote, I happened to read the memoirs of film director Tim Sullivan, who said that he shot his first feature, Jack And Sarah (1995) on Kodak 35mm. When it came to the Premiere he was distraught as the movie had been printed on Agfa stock, resulting in a "shocking" print. His DP was equally dismayed at how his work looked, and they both personally ensured the release prints went out on Kodak. timsullivan.co.uk/releasing-a-movie/"
We had similar issues with releases on Super 8 whereby if the print stock was ever changed the quality of the prints could vary wildly. Kodak threw in the towel on Super 8 print stock about 1991, Agfa then became the standard (blue hue to just about everything from then on) and then in the early 2000's I think, Kodak re-entered the market and image quality all shifted again but I don't think those Kodak prints were as good as the best of those in the early 1990's. To be fair, studios were no longer providing original negatives so that could have been part of the issue.
John.
This film is a true masterpiece.
One of the greatest ever. John.
I found this video just after receiving my June BFI Southbank FIlm on Film June event brochure. I don't think I'll make it for the Nolan Drak Knight Trilogy ll-nighter. There are too many 3D films shown from film during the day on 10th June for me to stay awake for that.
I think it's sold out anyway Brian but maybe they'll put another all-nighter on if you ask them nicely. Before then, see you at the BFCC on Saturday.
John.
Are you watching "Oppenheimer" at BFI on 21st of July'23 @00:01 show?
I haven't sorted out tickets at all yet. Trying to get a group together but it's not going well so far. John.
I’m so excited you were able to experience it again. However, it begs the question-why is it you only saw this once during its original theatrical run?
Because the IMAX was over 200 miles away Joe. 200 miles in England is a bit different to 200 miles in other countries mainly because we're overcrowded. John.
The problem with Bluray is compression and banding that is noticiable on an OLED screen. Since IMAX 70mm is analog, there's no banding, colors are perfect, and the noise or grain can hide any digital artifacts made during the movie's production.
HDR maybe solves the color problem, but you still have A LOT of resolution available on IMAX film that no digital medium can match (yet).
You might have the brightness of your telly up too much if you're seeing banding. I haven't watched films on a telly for 17 years now but if there was a banding issue I would expect to see those problems with a far bigger projection. Maybe there's a reason why I don't that I can't think of but I've used several video projectors over the years and none have displayed banding with any Blu-ray. Ah, now that I think about it, there is a possibility with some projectors whereby if the 4K player is outputting a particular setting it can cause banding so that could be it. I had it early on with my Optoma UHD550X and the opening of the Blade Runner sequel where the grey sky had obvious banding. That caused me to investigate it, find the solution and correct it. It may be what you're experiencing.
IMAX can't be compared to any video format, it's so far ahead that there's just no point. It's just a shame that IMAX try to pass of inferior video projection as IMAX now to save money. Cinerama tried to economise similarly in the late 1950's and where are they now? Showscan did the same thing. Suicidal is the word.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 Well, i do notice that an OLED screen can be far brighter with way better contrast ratio than any projector. Maybe that is the issue.
Imagine if there is a way that laser proyectors are the standard, the huge upgrade in image quality would be absurd.
For now, Blade Runner Bluray on an OLED ends up looking way better than the big screen. Still, i had to add a little more grain so the banding isn't noticiable for the dark scenes.
IMAX is so advanced that current projectors are the bottleneck.
I watched Spiderman Across The Spiderverse recently from a movie theater and the colors and contrast do look worse than my OLED, specially the black level.
@@saricubra2867 The obvious thing to point out there is that a smaller screen always makes an image look better. That's what happens but nothing beats a big screen and the bigger the better. Television hasn't been an option for me since video projection finally became acceptable about 17 or 18 years ago and then ten years after that it was so good that there really was no need to bother with telly for watching movies. OLED always looks like an attempt to produce imbibition dye transfer Technicolor to me which is an admirable ambition because Technicolor was always the most popular colour format until its demise. It did always look a bit fake though and it's the same with OLED. Get the brightness down if you can and you may find it all looks more natural but still with exceptional, enhancec colour. Laser light sources in video projectors do cause brightness problems which I can confirm because I have them too so you're not alone. Reining the light output of my current projector in so that it doesn't ruin the image quality of some discs is a regular thing.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 OLED is the best display tech in existance, QD OLED in particular covers RGB perfectly.
Night&day difference. I'm more of an image quality fan than raw screen size (with exceptions of course). Projectors are so far behind in tech.
The limited brightness is an image quality issue, just like hearing overcompressed music because speakers aren't good enough for dynamic range.
What i enjoy more about IMAX besides the aspect ratio is the 3D and good HFR. But i do feel that the projectors hurt the image quality, kinda washed out looking.
@@moviecollector5920 By the way, i tried watching interstellar Blu Ray on an AMOLED phone, looks better than an LG C2 (at least it's 4K).
Kinda an unpopular opinion, but you get better image quality on a phone nowadays than a movie theater projector and there's something wrong about that.
Image if an entire movie theater screen is an OLED panel, i'm always dreaming about that...
Iwent To IMAX Bradford 2 Months ago to watch this
I've been told the Bradford IMAX no longer has genuine IMAX Sky so worth checking before venturing over there again. I find it hard to believe that the UK moving picture museum has removed the best movie presentation format ever known but bean counters tend to run everything now... well, just about everything. Fortunately there are still two genuine IMAX cinemas left in the UK but both are in central London - the Science Museum and the BFI IMAX.
John.
Will Interstellar ever get an imax home release?
I expect there's an enthusiast or two somewhere with an IMAX projector and a 15/70 print but they'd have to live in darned big houses. John.
Quick question John. I don't really get the point of a 70mm print which has probably been sourced from a digital intermediate master used in post. I get that Nolan shot the movie in 35mm & 65mm, but in the end if the master is in digital 2K/4K what would be the gain of an Imax 70mm print instead of its digital counterpart. I would really appreciate to know more about it!
Wrong Spike. The Nolan films are shot and finished on film. That's why they look so good. Nolan isn't cajoled by anyone to accept lower standards and bloody good job too. John.
@@moviecollector5920 Ok! I was wondering if it was the case. That would explain the great amount of miniatures and practical effects on set. This is great !
@@spikewilliam And full size space ships with rear projection to make it feel totally convincing. Amazing film making. Christopher Nolan appreciates the magic of the movies and he does what he can to keep it alive. Most would have low quality animation done in a computer, Nolan works out how to achieve the same thing on set. That's the difference.
John.
@@moviecollector5920 I used to work as a practical special effects artist (I'm a colorist now). This level of crafting is rare nowdays. I think that Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Eggers also work this Way. One of my former associates worked on The Lighthouse and everything was made practical/on location and shot on reel.
@@spikewilliam I still haven't seen The Lighthouse but I will. I seem to recall that was a 16mm shoot so please correct me if I'm wrong. John.
If there's a digital lossless distribution format of movies, maybe it can do more justice to the original material. Still, IMAX delives that massive aspect ratio.
There's nothing else like it. Cinerama might have been even better in some respects but only the original three-strip Cinerama that put you 'in the picture'.
You ever considered going to the largest Imax in the world Leonberg IMAX
I'm thinking of a world tour. But I'd have to coordinate it so that they're screening films as I don't do well with video in any cinema. John.
Video in cinema how does it effect you ??
@@xix94 It's a long story that started before video was foisted on cinemas. Late 1990's and a downturn in picture quality started. Some in the industry at the time were telling me it was because a lot of the printing was being done in Italy where it was cheaper but I'm not sure of that story. Star Wars Attack of the Clones was the worst thing I've even seen in a cinema but mine was the only complaint the premiere cinema got. It was shot HD video and projected with sub-standard video projection. Some of the effects shots looked to have been compiled in standard definition because the image went even more blurry at those points. The industry apparently got together to plan the shift to video projection and I suspect that was because they'd got away with the appalling quality of that Star Wars film. A road map confirmed image quality would be reduced so that when video projection finally came in people would think it was better. I saw some awful rubbish in the premiere cinemas up until 2006 whereupon I gave up on cinema. Occasional visits after than confirmed it was getting worse still. I only get out of my home cinema to see a movie now if I know it's being projected on film. Video still looks too harsh in cinemas. Always a relief when the main film comes on and we go back to the natural looking, sharper, better contrast imagery we always used to enjoy.
John.
When are you seeing Oppenheimer at BFI?
I don't know yet Ruturaj. I may finally have the time to get on the case today. Are you going? John.
@@moviecollector5920 Yes, I am catching this one on the 26th at 8.15am show
@@rutuv I shall keep a note of that just in case I happen to be there around that time. John.