Christopher Nolan fans are embarking on epic journeys to see his adaptation of The Odyssey in the director's preferred format: Imax 1570 film. Only 41 cinemas worldwide are equipped to project this highest-resolution format, and just seven are outside North America. The sole southern hemisphere venue is Imax Melbourne, which has seen a surge of international travelers from Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, and Los Angeles.
The Odyssey: A Technical Marvel
The Odyssey is the first feature film ever shot entirely on 1570 cameras, which are heavy, loud, and require frequent reloading. During filming, the film stock had to be changed every three minutes. Nolan worked with Imax to develop a soundproofing blimp for the 180kg camera to enable dialogue recording on 1570 for the first time. The enormous reel runs more than 17km and weighs 240kg.
Imax Melbourne's technical manager Dan Drobik describes the reel as a precious commodity. The cinema's screen is the largest 1.43:1 screen in the world, measuring 32m wide by 23m high, roughly the height of a seven-story building.
Record-Breaking Ticket Sales
Tickets for The Odyssey went on sale a year ago, selling more than 17,000 in under 24 hours. To date, over 30,000 tickets have been sold, making it Imax Melbourne's eighth biggest film of all time before its official release.
Jeremy Fee, Imax Melbourne's general manager, says, "We are only one of 41 cinemas across the globe [where] you can see it in the way that Nolan created the film. We're seeing more people travel than ever. We have people who built their holidays around their Odyssey screening."
Fan Pilgrimages
Christian Wächter, 45, and his wife Romy Demeter, 42, traveled from Germany to Indonesia for work but are heading to Melbourne specifically to see The Odyssey on 1570 twice. "People have asked, why would you take that plane to Melbourne and see a movie? Because it's the biggest 1570 screen in the world," Wächter says. He compares the expense to sports fans attending major events: "They spend thousands and we're just paying a small amount, but for a cultural experience."
Demeter notes that her 87-year-old grandmother laughed when told about their trip, while Wächter's 70-year-old father "cannot really grasp it." However, their sister and friends understand the fervor.
The 1570 Experience
Projectionist Dan Drobik compares 1570 film to digital as audiophiles compare vinyl to CDs. "[1570] is the highest resolution you can project in, but it still has that sense of warmth and feeling to it that is lost to a degree with some digital content." Projecting 1570 is fiddly and expensive; Drobik must stay near the projector for every screening, listening for anything unusual. Despite the isolation, he finds it humbling that people travel so far for the format.
Since Oppenheimer's release three years ago, the number of 1570-capable cinemas has risen from 30 to 41 globally, partly due to Nolan's influence. Other auteur filmmakers are also returning to film formats like 35mm, 70mm, and VistaVision.
Fee observes a growing awareness among younger audiences: "For this film in particular, even more so than Oppenheimer, is a huge groundswell of people understanding the difference between film formats. Film formats are almost leading the discussion in terms of where to seek out a film."
1570 screenings of older Nolan films like Interstellar now sell out more than when they were released, as audiences recognize the rarity and importance of the experience. Wächter sums up the sentiment: "He shoots and finishes his film with this format in mind. This is the way you should watch that movie – nothing else makes sense."
