It’s an epic tale about a journey home from the legendary Trojan War that has been shared orally for centuries, and translated to print and the screen. And, now, filmmaker Christopher Nolan is bringing “The Odyssey” to its latest new format: IMAX.
The film is shot entirely in IMAX format.
But what does this mean?
Northeastern Global News spoke with filmmaker Michelle Carr and Steve Granelli, both members of the communications studies department at Northeastern University, about IMAX from the perspective of audiences, filmmakers, and the movie industry.
Will IMAX give an old tale new life? How about Hollywood?
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What is IMAX and why is it a novel format for Hollywood?
IMAX, or Image Maximum, is 70-millimeter film, which means the aspect ratios, or the proportional ratios between the image’s width and height, are bigger, Carr explained, allowing for a clearer picture. A standard film strip is 35 mm.
“It’s the highest quality that we have available to us as filmmakers,” said Carr, who will be teaching the new film and creative media major launching this fall at Northeastern. “The picture quality is top-notch, super clear, super crisp, almost lifelike.”
IMAX also presents some challenges, however.
For one, it’s “very very expensive,” said Carr, who once worked as an assistant to the facilities manager at the British Film Institute’s IMAX theater in London.
The cameras also present logistical and set problems that must be overcome.
“These IMAX cameras … they’re huge, they’re massive, they’re very loud,” Granelli said.
Carr said that the cameras for ‘The Odyssey’ were encased in a soundproof box to overcome this challenge, enabling the actors to be heard on set.
These drawbacks mean that feature filmmakers have historically used IMAX film only for certain scenes, or segments they feel can benefit from the format’s crisp picture and expansive image size. Granelli mentioned Nolan’s 2008 film ‘The Dark Knight,’ which tells the story of Batman and the Joker’s battle for control of Gotham City, used the film in multiple scenes including its opening scene of a violent and dramatic bank robbery.
Why IMAX and ‘The Odyssey?’
‘The Odyssey,’ however, is the first feature-length film in history to be shot entirely with 70mm IMAX film cameras.
Granelli said it was a good choice of material.
“There probably isn’t a better movie that would be suited to IMAX screenings – just the overall grandness, not only of the story, but of the set pieces, of the locations, of everything,” Granelli said. “For years, people have wondered how you could possibly turn ‘The Odyssey’ into a film just because there’s so much that you have to encapsulate.”
The nearly three-hour film tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus’ 10-year journey home from the Trojan War.
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Granelli and Carr also agreed that Nolan was an ideal director to tell the story.
“There’s very few, very few filmmakers that are as tied to the visual presentation the way Nolan is,” Granelli said, noting the filmmaker is praised by actors, and movie critics.
Carr said that, for Nolan, “it’s ‘the bigger the better.’”
“For him, it’s let’s see what we can do, let’s see how we can push the boundaries, push the technology and make it bigger and better than anything we’ve ever seen,” Carr said.
What is the audience experience in IMAX films?
An IMAX theater screen is typically built and curved around the audience (who are often in seats that are embedded with speakers) to create what Carr called “a more immersive experience.”
“Not only is it a visual experience, it’s also an audio experience and it’s also a physical experience,” Carr said. “People want an experience where they feel like they’re part of the film.”
But it’s unlikely that all moviegoers will have the full immersion. Granelli points out that not all IMAX theaters and their screens are the same size.
“There aren’t too many IMAX 70-millimeter screens across the country, and no one knows this,” Granelli said. Based in Boston, Granelli said that the nearest IMAX 70-millimeter theater showing ‘The Odyssey’ is in Providence, Rhode Island. Demand for seeing ‘The Odyssey’ in its ultimate intended format helped tickets to sell out for showings nationwide a year in advance.
Does ‘The Odyssey’ in IMAX set a new standard for moviegoing that will change Hollywood?
It’s got the buzz and ticket demand, a prestigious filmmaker, an epic story that has stood the test of time, a cast including Oscar winners Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron, and it’s pushing the limits of film technology.
But Carr and Granelli differed on whether The Odyssey would solve challenges facing Hollywood, such as declining ticket sales and the rise of streaming services as the preferred format for watching new releases.
“This might be the future of getting people back into theaters in the sense that it’s something different that can’t be emulated at home,” Carr said. “To go with the times and to make (moviegoing) more of an experience, directors are going to have to think of new ways of getting people back in the theater. And IMAX is a way to do that.”
Granelli wasn’t so sure that having movies as ‘events’ was a silver bullet for Hollywood.
“That everyday experience of going to the movies is going to be the thing that sustains the movie business, not an eventized Cristopher Nolan film every three to four years,” Granelli said.
Ideally, Granelli said, there is a place for both epics on IMAX and smaller, more intimate films at the local multiplex.
Not that he predicted “The Odyssey” would bomb. Granelli noted that the movie is a visual spectacle, which promotes repeat viewing; IMAX tickets are more expensive than regular movie tickets, which will help revenue; and it’s got all the ingredients to be an award winner.
“I don’t think it’s going to be the highest-grossing movie of the year,” Granelli said, predicting the film would ultimately make more than $500 million at the domestic box office, but probably not out-earn the upcoming Avengers movie.
“But I also think it’s going to be the most awarded, it’ll probably be the most well-remembered, I imagine it will be the most talked-about film starting now and then through awards season next year,” he said.
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