I think even Christopher Nolan would agree that when it comes to movie theaters the presentation is important. It could be playing in 70mm IMAX but if the presentation is bad – like it was when I saw “The Odyssey” – it hurts the experience.
I recently waited until the day that I was able to get tickets to see “The Odyssey” in 70mm IMAX (although I was tempted to go see it projected in Dolby Vision on opening weekend). I ended up disappointed because the presentation was terrible. (I don’t like giving bad reviews about places, so I won’t name the movie theater.)
Before I went to the movie, I read that the 70mm IMAX presentations didn’t have any previews other than an extended look at “Dune 3” which will also be presented on 70mm IMAX (it might be the next movie to be projected in that format). However, the theater I was in showed several previews via digital projection. The digital projector was somewhat out of alignment – they probably had to move it because of the 70mm IMAX projector – however the projector light was good (it may have been Laser IMAX projection), and the sound was good.
When it switched to 70mm IMAX projector, the presentation got worse. The light was noticeably darker. I’m not sure what sound was played for the digital projector or for the 70mm IMAX projector, but the sound wasn’t as good for the 70mm IMAX film.
Plus, there was a shadow on the top edge and left edge of the frame and on the right edge the picture played onto the masking. I only saw a slight bit of dirt, but I could tell where at least 3 of the reel changes were because the picture shifted slightly. You’ll never see that happen on a digital projector.
One more thing, there was a light that shined on to the wall above the picture occasionally. I’m not sure if it was reflected from the projector or it was a light from an upstairs room, but it was also distracting.
I know that seeing the movie in 70mm IMAX meant seeing the movie the way it was filmed but I don’t think that I should sacrifice presentation to see it that way. I also don’t think anything essential would be missed if I see the movie in regular 70mm or even in digital projection (see differences in photo above).
I was surprised to learn that the movie is NOT playing in Dolby Atmos – it’s not even playing in 7.1 surround sound. Maybe that’s why the trailers sound was better than the feature sound. I believe it is one of the ONLY MOVIES TO play 5.1 audio in a Dolby Cinema theater). Does Christopher Nolan care about picture but not about sound?
I will probably see the movie again in a different format before I can give my review of the movie. The presentation of how I saw the movie affected my review.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 