Yay! I’m happy my post sparked interest even though we’re slightly moved away from the topic but nevertheless this discussion is super exciting too 😄
So check this out, Dunkirk had not 2, or 3, but 4 (!) theatrical aspect ratios, what a mess!!! AND a 5th one, 16:9 1.77 for the home releases.
Aspect Ratio
1.43 : 1 (most scenes: IMAX 70mm and IMAX Laser venues)
1.78 : 1 (most scenes: IMAX version - Blu-ray & DVD)
1.90 : 1 (most scenes: IMAX digital venues)
2.20 : 1
2.20 : 1 (70mm prints & DCP ratio: constant width venues)
2.39 : 1 (35mm prints & DCP ratio: constant height venues)
So yeah 1.43 isn’t exclusive to 70mm IMAX, Laser ones can do it too.
I think LieMAX screens are 1.85 (aka 1.89 / 1.90) maximum.
Did y’all know that the original theatrical release of Star Wars (i dislike referring to it as “ANH” or “Ep IV” haha) in 70mm was 2.20 whereas the 35mm one was 2.35 (aka 2.39)? I just found out about this 1h ago. Is that because of the 6 audio tracks taking extra space on the sides?
Man, I wish I had the opportunity to experience 15/70mm IMAX or 5/70 film, but I don’t see that happening. 😦 There’s ONE cinema left in France with a 5/70 horizontal projector, in Normandy. There is AT LEAST one 4K Laser IMAX theater for the time being, in Montpellier. I don’t see myself going to any. Not even the Cinémathèque in Paris has a 70mm projector anymore AFAIK. 😦
Man, I even wish I was able to go to 35mm screenings but those seem nowhere to be found either. 😦
I found out yesterday that this theater in London has an amazing program every month with tons of great movies in 35 and 70mm…!! So jealous! HOLY SHIT TERMINATOR 2 IN 70mm TOMORROW!!!
My best chance of watching something special is the local Dolby Cinema theater, if I’m feeling like a big spender AND they show some movie that i might be interested in, in 2D AND English audio. Perhaps Black Panther? Hard to say as they tend to be 3D / dubbed. 😦
I also found out that some recent movies are shown in 1.85 in IMAX (including LieMAX) theaters and 2.35 in all other theaters, including Dolby Cinema (!!) ones. So IMAX has exclusive rights to… 26% more picture even though other theaters could display that too. Wth… lol!?
“When you see Blade Runner 2049 in IMAX this weekend, you’ll experience more of the action than in any other format. Only in IMAX will the entire film be specially formatted and presented in an expanded 1.9:1 aspect ratio. This means that the movie will fill more of the screen, and fans will see 26% more of the image in IMAX than standard theatres.”
@ Collipso: TFA had one single IMAX sequence and you can see the difference between the regular scope version and the full IMAX 1.43 images here
If IMDB is right, there were no IMAX Laser versions back then and thus 1.43 was 15/70mm only.
By the way, a picture of an IMAX or Dolby screen most likely isn’t going to be able to represent what the image quality was actually like, especially if it’s a picture snapped on a phone.
Yeah, i know. The Baltimore Senator ones are super nice though. I was kinda hoping for something similar.
And yes, The Last Jedi is a fixed 2.35 scope ratio for all theaters, even though they shot more than one sequences in IMAX as you can see from those .gifs Oddly those pics are 16:9 with horizontal black bars, and the scope sequences in those pictures are 2.65 and the IMAX ones are 1.95 so I’m guessing those gifs aren’t showing the right aspect ratios.