Director Christopher Nolan recently revealed "Oppenheimer" is his longest film yet. Now, we know just how long the film is — literally. The movie is set to run in 30 IMAX theaters, and the reel of 70mm film is a whopping 11 miles long, Nolan told The Associated Press.
Due to popular demand, “Oppenheimer” has extended its 70mm run at Imax theaters nationwide through the end of August. The previous end date, which was already an extension of the film's original run in Imax 70mm format, was Aug. 17. Tickets for Christopher Nolan's atomic bomb drama are already on sale through Aug.
How would I describe seeing the 70mm IMAX film print of Oppenheimer? Well, if you've ever looked through ground glass on a medium or large format camera when doing photography, imagine viewing that image at the scale of a small building. Scenes shot in the 1.43:1 IMAX film format are astoundingly beautiful.
Oppenheimer was shot using a combination of 65mm film (5 perforations) and IMAX 65mm film (15 perforations). If you go to an IMAX 70mm screening, you'll see the scenes shot in IMAX format full-screen (and the rest will have black bars at the top and bottom).
We can confirm that Oppenheimer runs for 180 minutes and 9 seconds, or just over three hours if you prefer. That epic runtime means that the new movie is Nolan's longest-ever movie, ahead of Interstellar's 168 minutes and 48 seconds and The Dark Knight Rises's 164 minutes and 39 seconds.
Oppenheimer: Behind the Scenes and Filming Secrets!
Why is Oppenheimer 3 hours long?
When "Oppenheimer" is released on July 21, 2023, it will be his longest ever, running three hours long. It's probably because J. Robert Oppenheimer's story doesn't end with the Manhattan Project. The movie stars Cillian Murphy ("Inception") as Oppenheimer, along with Emily Blunt ("Sicario"), Robert Downey Jr.
When presented on 70mm IMAX, the sequences shot on 15 perf IMAX are printed full quality in their native format - the highest quality imaging format ever devised, offering ten times the resolution of standard formats, and filling the giant IMAX screens from top to bottom.
70mm has a higher resolution than both 35mm and 4K DCP. It captures a bigger, brighter picture, complete with a broader color range and detailed, vibrant visuals.
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Nolan has said that 70mm print film is the best way to watch the film, either in IMAX 70mm—at three cinemas in the UK—or classic 70mm, which you can see at six UK cinemas including our own Pictureville Cinema.
He explained that IMAX 70-millimeter negatives are roughly 10 times the size of those for 35-millimeter film, for decades the theatrical standard that digital projection aspired to supplant, resulting in a crisper, clearer image.
I like to use the performance that was given in the moment rather than the actor re-voice it later, which is an artistic choice that some people disagree with, and that's their right. Nolan's other excuse is that the IMAX cameras he uses for his movies can be noisy, interfering with quieter scenes.
The whole film is shot using IMAX cameras, so watching it on a screen that supports the expanded aspect ratio and enhanced picture quality makes it a visual treat, and the sound design in the film is begging to be appreciated through a proper cinema sound system.
As a movie shot entirely on 70mm film or 70mm IMAX film, Oppenheimer is available in a much higher resolution than others. A movie like Avengers: Infinity War, shot on IMAX Digital cameras, maxes out at 2K or 4K resolutions. But anything shot on 70mm film has a digital equivalent of 6K.
70mm film is a higher quality film than digital, providing a richer visual experience and extremely detailed images. However, the equipment to transport, store, and play 70mm film is expensive, bulky, and difficult to manipulate.
Dune 2 on 70mm film lacks the sharpness, vibrancy and contrast of digital or proper imax film… and that is an improvement. I know, confusing, but I now understand why the cinematographer called this an artistic choice. The movie feels slightly vintage.
IMAX 70mm is the only way to guarantee you'll see the full, uncropped Oppenheimer. In theaters that don't have the capabilities to project the full Oppenheimer, the film will be cropped, which is why some people refer to non-IMAX 70mm prints as “croppenheimer.”
The 35mm version preserves the quality of the 70mm version, but with a different aspect ratio. The digital IMAX version is projected in 4K laser with the print made from 8K scans of the film. These versions will be the most accessible options because most theaters aren't equipped to project 70mm.
Summary. The R rating for Oppenheimer was earned through heavy themes, sex scenes, nudity, and mature language throughout the movie. Christopher Nolan ventured into new territory with Oppenheimer by delivering his most adult film, featuring graphic sex scenes and nudity.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is 192 minutes. “Dune” was 155 minutes. “The Batman” clocked in at 176 minutes, a franchise record. Matt Belloni at Puck reported that Christopher Nolan's “Oppenheimer” will be around 180 minutes, his longest.
Oppenheimer's IQ is 135. This estimation assumes he would be among the top 1% of living physicists during his era. The estimation follows the methods and assumptions utilized for Albert Einstein, offering a credible insight into Oppenheimer's intellectual caliber.
Oppenheimer asks Einstein if he recalls when they worried a chain reaction from the bomb might destroy the world; Einstein remembers. “I believe we did,” Oppenheimer replies. Though the exchange came from Nolan's imagination, it really ends the movie with a bang. This article has been updated.
The movie was made with a theatrical release in mind even at a time when Hollywood has become more focused on streaming. Oppenheimer is the latest blockbuster to boast a long runtime that requires audiences to sit in the theaters for over three hours after previews are taken into account.
