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.
So, IMAX is very cool. With a big screen, surround sound, and lots of high-tech stuff, you'll remember the whole movie experience, even if it's three hours long and depressing, like Nolan's Oppenheimer. It would be worth it if you could manage it.
It has moments that are totally worth seeing in IMAX but it's very rarely an IMAX worthy movie in my opinion, even though I also thought it was good. I think IMAX, for me, is for spectacle, and 95% of Oppie isn't spectacle.
Oppenheimer was filmed in a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film. For the first time ever, sections were filmed in IMAX black and white analogue photography during backwards time shifting in the story.
Oppenheimer will be proudly presented at select IMAX 70mm film locations delivering a distinctive and unique way to experience the film, the way director Christopher Nolan intended. Only in IMAX theatres will sequences shot with IMAX film cameras expand vertically to fill the entire screen.
IMAX 70mm explained by Christopher Nolan | Oppenheimer
What is the best screen to see Oppenheimer?
Yes, Nolan seems to suggest IMAX – any IMAX, really – would be the best way to watch “Oppenheimer.” Which makes sense, because Nolan shot “Oppenheimer” with IMAX film cameras.
But it's perfectly fine to have your first experience with Oppenheimer on a standard or at least non-IMAX screen. (In addition to IMAX 70mm and IMAX Digital, the film is also playing in traditional 70mm, traditional 35mm, and Dolby Cinema formats.)
“Oppenheimer” was shot using some of the highest resolution film cameras that exist. Like “Dunkirk ” and “Tenet,” “Oppenheimer” was filmed entirely on large format film stock, meaning a combination of IMAX 65mm and Panavision 65mm (think David Lean/"Lawrence of Arabia"), that's then projected in 70mm.
Well, that comes down to personal preference but here's where Nolan likes to sit. "When I'm in a theater that's Cinemascope ratio, I like to be right near the front, middle of the third row," he said. "When I'm in a stadium, IMAX 1.43:1, then I actually like to be a little behind the center line right up at the middle.
[Two Takes on Oppenheimer] Oppenheimer's Intense 3-Hour Runtime Doesn't Waste a Single Second. Power, exploitation, cowardice, regret and the lack thereof – Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, is a harrowing film that explores these themes over the course of a tense 3 hours.
For the movie to work best, that moment has to have an impact as profound as the blast itself. I wouldn't go so far as to say that if you haven't seen Oppenheimer in 70 mm IMAX, you haven't seen it at all, or even that it's worth waiting to see it until you can watch it that way.
Nolan is well known for his innovative use of sound, so I should have been aware going in that the movie would be loud — in the general decibel level of 74-104.
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.
For that I absolutely ENCOURAGE that if you can you see Oppenheimer in IMAX 70MM. It's how the movie was shot and meant to be presented, it's visual fidelity and detail is unrivaled and closest medium to mirroring the human eye. IMAX 70MM resolution would equate to 16K digital.
Why Oppenheimer is a must-watch in IMAX. 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.
The quality and power of your cinema's audio system is of equal importance to the 70mm print in terms of the best way to see Oppenheimer, so IMAX is definitely recommended. The 'thinking-man's Blockbuster director' (as I see Nolan) pioneered the modern gritty realism style of escapism, for better or worse.
For all it's worth, Oppenheimer is a great movie and, in many ways, has lived up to and even surpassed my exceptions. Starting with what is the most striking part of the film, which is the film's cinematography. The cinematography in this film feels dramatic like there is a sense of importance in every shot.
Oppenheimer explodes onto 4K UHD with a stunning HDR transfer that showcases the film's dual aspect ratios, allowing us to revel in the myriad IMAX sequences and appreciate the innovative storytelling technique of this brilliant biopic.
As we've established, the front row of an IMAX isn't great due to the giant screen. You'll be craning your neck and looking left and right to get everything in – it's not comfortable. Some go to the other extreme and go for the back row.
Some IMAX theaters do use traditional 3D with smaller glasses, so you'll want to contact your local IMAX theaters to see whether they use the larger glasses or not. For many people who wear glasses, bigger truly is better. Forget about those cheap plastic glasses the theater provides you.
