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70mm, 35mm screenings for INTERSTELLAR


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I can't find it now but just read an article yesterday about how owners of newly converted digital theaters are angry with Nolan giving 70mm film screenings first dibs on showing the film. They're actually calling it a move backward because hey, digital is newer technology right. The author seems to be under the impression that they are projecting the camera original. Comical but annoying.

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if 2 or 3 more movies open the summer blockbuster scene with IMAX and 70mm prints, then it might just become a trend.

 

Agreed. INTERSTELLAR will probably be the only 15/70 movie for the next 6 months. Going forward

to time span of December 2015 - March 2016, there are 3 celluloid film-centric Hollywood level films that could fight for a 15/70 IMAX release (Batman vs Superman, Star Wars Episode VII and The Hateful Eight).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I was kind of interested in checking this out on film and was considering paying whatever it costs in order to support it but sadly this seems to be turning out to be rather difficult.

 

Christopher Nolan is smart to be doing the November 5th pre release thing, or maybe it is from bitter experience, but here in the UK the film won't be available on the 5th and it is hard to know where you can get to see it on film as a result. Some venues appear to be even deliberately muddying the waters here in the UK. :(

 

I guess this is why he is doing it this way to offer people a choice but over here it's proving difficult to be able to make that choice due to people trying to hide it.

 

Freya

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Well I was kind of interested in checking this out on film and was considering paying whatever it costs in order to support it but sadly this seems to be turning out to be rather difficult.

 

Christopher Nolan is smart to be doing the November 5th pre release thing, or maybe it is from bitter experience, but here in the UK the film won't be available on the 5th and it is hard to know where you can get to see it on film as a result. Some venues appear to be even deliberately muddying the waters here in the UK. :(

 

I guess this is why he is doing it this way to offer people a choice but over here it's proving difficult to be able to make that choice due to people trying to hide it.

 

Freya

 

I've read of some theaters listing a 3D version...

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https://www.imax.com/theatres/t/bfi-imax-british-film-institute/
Interstellar: The IMAX Experience
Release Date: November 7, 2014. Rated: PG-13. Studio: Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Interstellar: The IMAX Experience will open on November 5 in select IMAX 70MM film theatres domestically. View 70MM Film Theatres Here

Interstellar chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

The IMAX release of Interstellar will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

 

 

<sarcasm> Sounds like I'm sure to see a 70mm film print if I book there then. </sarcasm>

 

Freya

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Okay I found this on the Odeon site which seems to suggest you can see it in 70mm at Leicester Square on the 6th November and that only BFI IMAX & Manchester Printworks will have 15perf 70mm IMAX:

 

SEE IT FIRST WITH ODEON ODEON Leicester Square will be exclusively screening 'Interstellar' one night early. Tickets are on sale now.
70mm performances of 'Interstellar'

BFI IMAX & Manchester Printworks guests
Please note that at the BFI IMAX and Manchester printworks cinemas 'Interstellar will be playing in 15perf 70mm IMAX format.

ODEON Leicester Square
ODEON Leicester Square will be playing 'Interstellar' in 70mm format.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok... so... question...

 

I am very excited about this having been shot largely in 15/70 IMAX (with even some VistaVision horizontal 35mm mixed in). And, I'm very excited that it will be presented in 15/70, 5/70 and 35mm formats around the globe. But, my big question is how did they get from A to B on a heavy CGI movie. Did they scan that original 65mm IMAX camera negative or is this actually a photochemical process?

 

If it IS a mixture of straight photochemical processes and CGI, how do they do that? How do they intermix?

 

If it was scanned and was entirely done via DI, on what scanner, and how do they then output back to film at a high enough resolution to justify the 70mm projection?

 

If it was entirely photochemical, how many steps did most of the images go through? Is what we are seeing projected 4th or 5th generation, in which case probably only a 35mm worth of information left?

 

I am very curious about David Mullen's input on this, but welcome any information as I am VERY curious.

Edited by David Cunningham
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My understanding is that there is yet to be a 70mm scanner truly capable of resolving the information on the film... so, I'm not saying can they scan the 70mm IMAX film... I'm saying is the trade off for loss due to scanning and then loss due to printing better or worse than the loss due to copy after copy process involved in a true photochemical release print.

 

I never realized the beauty of film projection until I shot my own 16mm Vision3 50D footage and had it time printed immediately after processing. The result was stunning! And this was on an old Kodak Pageant 16mm projector. I love E100D reversal for it's colors and look, but the Vision3 series printed to Vision print film is amazingly sharp, detailed and accurate.... Just a beautiful thing to watch.

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As a follow-up... from what I have heard Interstellar did use a combination of photochemical and CGI where shots without computer aid are 100% photochemical, blown up or down to the appropriate size print. I'm sure the projection we are seeing in theaters is 4th or 5th generation since the original camera negative... but, especially in 70mm, I bet it looks great.

 

I hope that their solution was to blow up the original 35mm camera negatives to 70mm before cutting and editing and that all print internegatives were created from the same 70mm source be it IMAX, 5/70 or 35mm final print.

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I saw The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX. While the IMAX portions looked phenomenal, the IMAX screen stretched 35mm anamorphic past its limits. I wished that those portions were shot on 65mm 5-perf, so it would hold up better on such a large screen.

Edited by Ravi Kiran
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Unfortunately, I do not have a 70mm (5 perf or IMAX) showing in my area. I know for a fact that there are 5/70 theaters in my area (including the Somerville Theater where I will be viewing the 35mm version). But, it must not have been deemed worth the extra cost by those theaters or they were not selected. I dunno.

 

So, I will have to settle for 35mm.

 

The one thing I will give the 35mm showing is that all original 35mm camera negatives were used to create a photochemical workflow for the 35mm print. Only the 65mm IMAX was scanned, DI'd and printed back to 35mm negative. The original scan of the IMAX 65mm was 8K and was printed back to 35mm IN at 4K. Then someone cut it all together into a single negative that could be used to create 35mm prints.

 

What is interesting about that to me is I may ultimately be viewing more resolution in the original 35mm portions than the IMAX original portions. 35mm should be pushing the envelope at or even past 6K. So, printing to it in only 4K is not taking full advantage of the potential. The "generation loss" of internegatives, etc in the photochemical workflow is probably ending up with about a 4K result, so it probably doesn't matter. But, still an interesting thought.

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I really wish I had a source for the 70mm version. This version is all photochemical (except for CGI of course).

 

The 65mm IMAX was optically squeezed down to 5 perf 70mm and the 35mm anamorphic optically enlarged to 5 perf 70mm. Only the CGI (presumably done only in IMAX at 8K) was digitally printed back to negative.

 

What I find odd is a 6K scan of the original 35mm negative was used to produce the 70mm 15-perf IMAX negative/print. That seems counter-intuitive to me. Why would you take a "lousy" 6K scan and print it to 15-perf IMAX? Why not just optically enlarge? The only thing I can think of is because no one else had ever done that before so the option just wasn't available. Still seems silly.

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