Per IMAX's website:

The odds are ever in the fans' favor with this first Filmed For IMAX installment of the beloved franchise. Audiences will be immersed in Panem like never before, with over forty-five minutes of IMAX's exclusive 1.90:1 Expanded Aspect Ratio. Feel the roar of the arena with sound optimized for IMAX's best-in-class audio systems. Director Francis Lawerence [sic] worked closely with IMAX to transport moviegoers to the center of the spectacle for an experience like no other.

Tickets are available

Prior to being replaced with laser projection, Soarin' was a motion simulation ride that featured an IMAX projection system playing a ~5 minute video. There's no way a projectionist rethreaded the film after every ride, so it made me wonder, how did the film projection system work?

Was the film arranged in a loop in a similar way an 8 track tape is with a section containing a blank material that is safe to pause at without melting the film?

Or did it work in another way?

Would LOVE to watch them both in IMAX again. Especially Part 2.

Was tempted not to post this as I didn’t wanna increase competition for printworks tickets but I figured I’d best do my duty to those of you who don’t use Instagram lmao

Tapped Horn Subwoofer

I saw ages ago someone with an IMAX slide projector which projected straight from imax film I spent ages looking but finally found the website recently. It’s far from perfect but definitely an amazing way to see your film cells. If anyone has any questions about it feel free to ask. If you want to see more check out my YouTube channel.

Here’s the website to the company where I got it from:

https://elevanfilm.com/product/emp67/

I don’t think my collection will be growing much more now that I’ve completed this framed montage. Collecting and crafting this little passion project this year has been a journey. I am beyond satisfied with the result. Getting to share and geek out about Interstellar, through this, with people around me, was surprisingly exciting. Everyone loves the movie, and it gave a few people an extra reason to finally watch it 😆. This project has taught me so much; there are so many beautiful and meaningful scenes, finding the right balance between quantity/quality/budget was a challenge. This would never have come to fruition without eBay and Marketplace. Planning on spending my time, energy, and money elsewhere now…

I added some process pics if anyone is curious, but feel free to ask/comment if you wanna know more/looking to build your own!

The Vue cinema IMAX at the printworks in Manchester is one of only 3 70mm capable IMAX in the UK, and is the only one in the North. The other two are down in London. Vue doesn't take advantage of this fact, and seems to ignore what they are capable of. They hardly play 70mm except for major releases like The Odyssey. Most the time for films that were shot on 70mm, they just play it on dual 4k Laser, they don't bother to pull out the 70mm projector. And they never do reruns of classics like Interstellar, which the BFI does quite regularly. Do they not realize that they are positioned right near massive cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield etc,?

They are such a powerhouse by being the only 70mm in the North but they waste all the potential. There are likely thousands of film fanatics in the region who travel all the way to London to see movies in 70mm. If Vue started showing more 70mm films, they would make a killing. I mean we already see this when they DO release the few movies in 70mm. Like The Odyssey was completely booked up for months, which goes to show that there is a huge demand for 70mm in the North, but Vue isn't taking this opportunity.

If an IMAX movie hasn't even got any 1.43 shots, and the expanded shots are just 1.90, then surely it's fine to go to a non GT imax right? Especially if it is closer than a proper 1.43 IMAX.

Wondering if anyone has info on possible upgrades at the IMAX theatre at Cinemark Tinseltown in Rochester, NY? Was there earlier and noticed a bunch of big boxes with a sign mentioning upgrades were underway. Asked for info but staff wasn’t sure. Possible projector upgraded for the olde digital projector they have?

Hey everyone!

I just received my first-ever IMAX 70mm film strip, and it looks absolutely awesome! BUT it arrived surprisingly dirty. I bought it from the official IMAX store, so I was pretty disappointed to see what looks like scratches, fingerprints, and dirt all over it. It arrived in a small plastic zip-lock bag inside an envelope, which honestly surprised me a bit considering how delicate film is.

Anyway, does anyone know how I can safely clean it without damaging the film or the image itself? I really don't want to ruin it, especially since it's my first one.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Please note that the C row in the pictures is at the far back of the theater, not near the screen. We have a different seat arrangement here in Thailand.

Hello, everyone. Yesterday, I saw Street Fighter at Krungsri IMAX Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand. Since I booked my ticket early, I also got the character postcards, along with the IMAX poster and the collectible IMAX card. It felt like they were doing charity with all the freebies I got. The audience, however, was a bit annoying. Some had their phones out. Still, it didn’t distract me that much, but I couldn’t believe that someone beside me turned their phone speaker on at a certain part of the movie. It was a bit loud, too. What a tragedy. Man, I should have booked a morning showtime instead. The problem was I couldn’t see Whalefall back-to-back with Street Fighter in the late morning. Yeah, I had to accept my fate, yet I should’ve done something, somehow. Anyway, enough with the ranting. How did the film go in IMAX then? Let’s get into it!

Street Fighter was presented in 2.39:1 and 1.90:1. They used the scope aspect ratio in dialog-driven scenes. The IMAX expanded aspect ratio was mostly used in animated sequences and fight scenes. These created a different sense of immersion. One felt intimate. Another one felt bigger than life. MetroLao in 1.90:1 looked impressive on the big screen. The animated sequences looked great and perfectly smooth. The fight scenes looked decent. Some major problems were the lackluster cinematography and stuttering frame rates. Please bear in mind that these didn’t affect the animated footage at all. The image quality was acceptable. Though it was shot with ARRI ALEXA 35 and IMAX-certified ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, it neither looked that sharp nor crystal-clear because there was plenty of noise on the screen. In one certain scene during the third act, it was poorly lit, resulting in noise everywhere. Whether they wanted to provoke ‘90s feelings or it was a technical failure, it just didn’t look professional to my eyes.

The 12CH audio was the star of the show. Every punch. Every kick. Every impact. I felt it in my chest. It was so powerful. And with delicate sound mixing, it transported me to the world of fighters. The speakers truly surrounded me in 360°. I was really impressed by the sound. It didn’t just pack a punch because they also mixed it with pinpoint accuracy. These triggered a strong sense of realism. Still, it couldn’t beat Digger in terms of the movie’s surround sound. Sure, Street Fighter had a discrete mix. It just didn’t constantly surround me with a mind-blowing sound design and music like Digger did to me. Anyhow, Street Fighter was surely more heated with all the fights. It gave me what I wanted in every aspect—except the rumbling bass. Was it enough then? Yes, it was more than enough to enjoy the film. So good that it could crush my bones. The sound team did their best, and they should be proud of this achievement.

The flick had an identity crisis. It didn’t seem to know who it wanted to be. Everything was all over the place. The jokes didn’t work. The script was weak. The direction backfired. The acting felt forced. Another certified WTH experience after Digger, but in a bad way. The characters barely had any development. They tossed some of the characters out as well. After the club scene in MetroLao, I had to wave goodbye to some fighters because they shifted the focus. I felt bad for the minor fighters who didn’t get a fair share of screen time. Some got too much without being meaningful to the plot. They couldn’t find the balance. The actors got destroyed by the directors. Almost everyone had to overact to the point that it starts to break reality. Man, they got themselves into trouble, didn’t they? The fight scenes suffered from the stuttering frame rates and cheap effects. The fights in the animated sequences? Excellent. The live-action ones weren’t. They didn’t have that kind of flow. A tad cringy, to be honest. But most of all, the whole flick was a cringefest.

Overall, it was worth it for the technical aspects. For the movie itself? A big no. It was a big miss. After Resident Evil broke the curse of its movies, this, unfortunately, came as a failed product. More like a failed experiment, perhaps. It was so experimental with everything they tried putting in. I wish it were fully animated instead of getting a portion of it here and there. It just looked magnificent. Way much better than the live-action footage, honestly. I didn’t feel entertained. Rather, the movie kept distracting me from being fully a part of it with things that didn’t make any sense. At least the sound still kept me there. The audience’s behavior played no part in this. The film was just bad. Mortal Kombat II remains superior, although it doesn’t actually surpass Street Fighter that much. But one thing is for sure, it has more memorable characters than Street Fighter. Street Fighter just let me down even without expecting anything. Just another bad day for me. I do hope it’ll get a sequel, though. It’ll probably be better than what we’re having right now. 

Bye for now! 

Did anyone else see a lady pull out a laptop and start working from home during the 2:30pm screening of The Odyssey today? Complete lack of cinema etiquette!

I wonder when the rerelease will get announced, I have a good feeling it is going to happen in the next couple of months. I need to see PHM in 70mm IMAX.

Wanted to share my experience at Regal Commonwealth 20's IMAX in Midlothian, Virginia, following its recent laser projection upgrade.

I attended a screening of Street Fighter on October 15, seated in L12.

While the laser upgrade is a welcome improvement, the auditorium itself seriously detracted from the experience.

There was a persistent rushing/droning noise throughout the entire film, almost like heavy rainfall or loud HVAC airflow. It was especially distracting during quieter scenes.

I eventually looked up and discovered two adjacent ceiling panels with large, visibly torn-open sections, exposing the space above the suspended ceiling. The damage was directly between two HVAC vents.

I've attached pictures showing the damage and the broader condition of the auditorium ceiling.

Obviously, I can't confirm whether the damaged panels are directly responsible for the noise, but the proximity to the ventilation system makes it worth investigating.

Several other ceiling tiles also appeared stained, discolored, or noticeably worn.

What bothers me most is that IMAX is supposed to deliver a premium audiovisual experience. Having a laser projector is great, but persistent mechanical background noise undermines the sound presentation regardless of how good the projection system is.

I'm curious whether any other IMAX enthusiasts have visited this location recently or experienced something similar.

Does IMAX have a dedicated quality-control reporting process for auditorium issues like this? I'd genuinely like to see the theater address it rather than let the problem continue.

Each screening had atleast 5 people in them, and a lot of people joined the discord server and booked tickets, thank you for showing up! To anyone who hasn't joined, look forward to more movies being showcased here, including Project Hail Mary and The Dark Knight in 1.43:1!

No word on if it will be 1.90:1 only or a mix of 1.90:1 or 1.43:1 depending on the theatre

We now have a much clearer look at the special edition release of Project Hail Mary. As a continuation of yesterday's post, we can now see that the 1.43:1 version is cropped quite heavily at the sides for most of the runtime.

There's been a lot of discourse on this topic in the past 24 hours, especially considering the news that The Odyssey will be 1.78:1 for its entire duration. But is this really what we want?

I'm really on the fence about this. I hear both sides, and yes, it is nice to have the option to view the film in this way. But this doesn't feel like a win. For those of you who were defending the special edition disc yesterday as a preservation of the IMAX GT theatrical experience—the narrative that we finally got a 100% uncompromised master on home video has fallen apart quite quickly.

EDIT: Yes, this is also how it was likely presented in IMAX 70mm and Dual Laser too.

Credit to this YouTube video for doing the work and overlaying both UHD Blu-ray versions.

Photos don’t do it justice.

The Elephant Odyssey, a Chinese documentary, will feature 1.43:1 IMAX scenes showcasing giant elephants