70mm Oppenheimer

[Scotty Wright]

I get the same popup but it’s about the breakdowns at AMC Rivercenter’s IMAX. Apparently the sound system died partway through a screening and it took about 24hrs for whatever replacement part to get shipped in and swapped out. They’re still working on it.

Heard about 7 or 8 IMAX’s across North America had projection issues in the last couple days. Even citywalk had an issue (that was fixed) during their press screening on Tuesday before release. Hats off to those techs. Lot of upset folks, but largely seems to be fixable problems thanks to quick response from onsite projectionists and IMAX HQ.

[Ryan Gallagher]

The article link works on mobile without the paywall for me, but otherwise…


Source: https://www.expressnews.com/entertai...o-18254499.php

“
The sound board failed about 40 minutes into the first IMAX 70mm screening of “Oppenheimer” on Thursday at the Rivercenter AMC theater in San Antonio.

The theater, located in the Shops at Rivercenter, is one of only 19 in the country showing the movie in the IMAX format preferred by the film’s director, Christopher Nolan.

At least three screenings had to be canceled before the problem could be resolved.

A theater employee said a part was being shipped via FedEx to San Antonio, and an IMAX technician was standing by to repair the sound board. Screenings of the hotly anticipated biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is known as the father of the atomic bomb, could be back on as soon as Friday night.

Audience members watching the movie when sound went out received vouchers for another movie and were invited to see “Oppenheimer” in the theater’s digital IMAX auditorium.

People holding tickets to canceled screenings received refunds.

A sound check had been performed before the movie opened, a theater employee said.

True IMAX theaters use 70mm film that is run through a projector horizontally, creating a picture that is much bigger and has a higher resolution than at conventional theaters, immersing audiences in an image that fills the front wall of the theater.

Digital IMAX — there’s also one at the Santikos Palladium — uses two side-by-side projectors to increase resolution and places an oversize screen closer to the audience to mimic the immersive experience.

The Palladium also is showing “Oppenheimer” using a 70mm film projector that can handle the same large-format film that was used to shoot the movie. That produces a bigger, better picture, but not one that expands during certain spectacular scenes the way IMAX movies do.

“Oppenheimer” 70mm IMAX screenings are sold out through the weekend at the AMC Rivercenter. Some tickets are available for the first screening on Monday. The IMAX auditorium capacity is about 425.

The theater has the movie booked for at least a month.
”

[Frank Cox]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...imer-1.6914823

Regina IMAX theatre hits snag showing Oppenheimer in its best film form

Regina is one of 30 places in the world where the movie can be shown in the 1570 film format

CBC News · Posted: Jul 21, 2023 11:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 22

Actor Cillian Murphy as the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who director Christopher Nolan calls 'the most important man in the world.' (Warner Bros. ) The release of one of the summer's biggest blockbuster movies hit a hiccup in the Regina IMAX theatre this week.
Oppenheimer — the biopic following J. Robert Oppenheimer, a key physicist who helped create the first nuclear weapons — was supposed to be shown in its high-quality 1570 millimetre form in the world's 30 IMAX theatres when it opened on Thursday, but in Regina technical difficulties forced it to be shown in the more common digital laser form.
There were some challenges with the film system on Thursday and Friday, said Sandy Baumgartner, the Saskatchewan Science Centre CEO.
"We hope to be back up and running with the 1570 film this weekend," he said.
Trevor Ewen, the chief projectionist in Regina, said it took about 15 to 17 hours of assembling 18 kilometres of film, sectioned into the 53 small reels, to prepare to show Oppenheimer. Each reel holds about two to three minutes of movie.
The 1570 refers to the 15 perforations along the edge of the frame in length and 70 mm in height — which is distinct from the standard 70 mm film which has five perforations per frame, according to IMAX Melbourne, producing an unmatched image quality.

Of the 30 theatres showing Oppenheimer in the 1570 film form, six are in Canada. Christopher Nolan shot the film specifically for IMAX film projectors.
Baumgartner said all ticket purchasers are being notified ahead of time that it's possible they won't be shown the movie in the 1570 film format.
"Most people are quite happy to see it in whatever format, but like I said there are those that are huge fans of Christopher Nolan and this format and we'll do everything in our power to make sure that they see it in that format," Baumgartner said.

Sandy Baumgartner, CEO of the Saskatchewan Science Centre, said people still enjoyed the Oppenheimer movie despite the issues that prevented it from being shown in the high quality 1570 film format. (Will Draper/CBC)
In an emailed statement, the Saskatchewan Science Centre said: "We know some people were disappointed, and we've been in touch with those who were disappointed, but the vast majority of people were extremely pleased with the projection quality of the laser system."
Baumgartner couldn't elaborate on the technical aspects that led to the movie being forced to run in its laser digital form, but said it was getting error messages as they tried to run the system.
Projectionist Ewen said that some equipment wasn't communicating properly.
Mingling new technology with the older film technology is a complicated process, according to Ewen, but it has its benefits.

Movie fans flocked to Regina to see Oppenheimer in 70mm. Then the projector stopped working

The new film Oppenheimer is being screened in the Imax 70-millimetre format on only 30 screens worldwide. One of them is in Regina, where technical difficulties meant the 18-kilometre-long print wasn't shown on opening night. Trevor Ewan, chief projectionist at the Kramer Imax Theatre, tells As It Happens host Nil Köksal about the struggles they've faced — and why they all might be worth it.

The digital laser form plays 4K resolution.

"Christopher Nolan has said publicly that film is about 18K, it is much sharper, it is much clearer, although it is more prone to damage," Ewen told Nil Köksal, co-host of CBC's As It Happens.

[Carl Martin]

anyone know what's going on at the irvine spectrum in california? they initially listed a full slate of imax showings starting opening night, but now the (real) imax shows don't start until this friday. equipment problem? print shipment delay?

[Jim Cassedy]

(edited) anyone know what's going on at the irvine spectrum in california?

I don't know about that particular location, but on Thurs nite a friend sent me screenshots and
links to a couple of stories about how some of the 15/70 imax locations were having a lot of trouble
because apparently, the film is physically too long to fit on some of their older IMAX platter systems,
so they had to build "platter enlargers' to slightly increase the diameter- - but then they also ran into a
problem with some of the same platters not being able to handle the extra weight of a 3hr film- - and
the added weight of the patter modifications. The article was a bit generic and didn't mention specific
locations, but there is also a video on You Tube titled: Why OPPENHEIMER IMAX Is Breaking Projectors.
You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/6PTzmPBql2k

[Brad Miller]

That's a total waste of time video. It's just some idiot kid repeating what has been all over the internet and news and then proclaiming that dirt, shaking and out of focus is what makes it so awesome.

That kid needs a good hard slap. Film done right should not have dirt, scratches and other damage.

[Ian Puffenberger]

anyone know what's going on at the irvine spectrum in california? they initially listed a full slate of imax showings starting opening night, but now the (real) imax shows don't start until this friday. equipment problem? print shipment delay?

It was said on Reddit that the "projector broke" upon starting the film on Thursday and they had to show it digitally. Which I suppose isn't terribly surprising given that most of these projectors haven't been turned on since Dunkirk six years ago.

[Mark Ogden]

According to the fellow that is running the IMAX shows at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, all 15/70 locations are getting an extra copy of reel #1, apparently in anticipation of the original reel getting torn up at some point. He has it ready to go on the wall of the booth. Does this happen often? I mean, the first few minutes getting beat to sh*t?

Chinese-2023-7-18-12.jpg

[Joe Redifer]

Went to see Oppenheimer in 70mm earlier today. During a bathroom break I popped into the booth as I tend to do. The DTS player was playing the audio. I looked closer and... well good thing I had my phone to take this pic! Seriously, WTF? WHY DOES IT SAY DTS Digital Cinema when 70mm is running? I think I've been out of the booth too long.

Barbenheimer.png

[Marco Giustini]

I think Patrick's analysis is sound. He's not saying the film should look dirty and scratched, just that it often does and it's part of the experience. He did say a pristine experience would be expected though. He should have stressed a bit more that scratches and dirt and unsteadiness should not be the norm.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Went to see Oppenheimer in 70mm earlier today. During a bathroom break I popped into the booth as I tend to do. The DTS player was playing the audio. I looked closer and... well good thing I had my phone to take this pic! Seriously, WTF? WHY DOES IT SAY DTS Digital Cinema when 70mm is running? I think I've been out of the booth too long.

Someone at the lab must have had some fun time... but it's a.. thing.

[David Ferguson]

The DTS player was playing the audio. I looked closer and... well good thing I had my phone to take this pic! Seriously, WTF?

Wow, is that a real pic Joe?? I want to beleive it is, but would the labs really allow out a DTS copy titled "Barbenheimer"?

There's a reddit thread covering all the issues with 15/70mm playback. It's a very sad read - can nobody do IMAX film right any more? So far, there are reported issues with 14 cinemas in that thread, some minor, some not so minor.

• Harkins Theatres Arizona Mills, Arizona
• Irvine Spectrum Center, California
• Regal Edwards Ontario Palace, California
• TCL Chinese Theatre, California
• AutoNation IMAX 3D Theater, Florida
• Regal Mall Of Georgia, Georgia
• Celebration Cinema Grand Rapids North, Michigan
• AMC Lincoln Square, New York
• Regal UA King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania
• AMC Rivercenter 11, Texas
• Vue Cinema Manchester - Printworks, United Kingdom
• Science Museum IMAX Cinema, United Kingdom
• Cineplex Vaughan, Canada
• Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, Canada

[Michael Zarits]

Obviously someone edited the headers.

[Lyle Romer]

Wow, is that a real pic Joe?? I want to beleive it is, but would the labs really allow out a DTS copy titled "Barbenheimer"?

There's a reddit thread covering all the issues with 15/70mm playback. It's a very sad read - can nobody do IMAX film right any more? So far, there are reported issues with 14 cinemas in that thread, some minor, some not so minor.

• Harkins Theatres Arizona Mills, Arizonay
• Irvine Spectrum Center, California
• Regal Edwards Ontario Palace, California
• TCL Chinese Theatre, California
• AutoNation IMAX 3D Theater, Florida
• Regal Mall Of Georgia, Georgia
• Celebration Cinema Grand Rapids North, Michigan
• AMC Lincoln Square, New York
• Regal UA King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania
• AMC Rivercenter 11, Texas
• Vue Cinema Manchester - Printworks, United Kingdom
• Science Museum IMAX Cinema, United Kingdom
• Cineplex Vaughan, Canada
• Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, Canada

The one at AutonNation IMAX doesn't seem to be an operation issue. Looks like a power surge knocked out the cooling system during one show and it was fixed for the next show. Fingers crossed that it remains working well for the next 7 shows, the 7th of which I will be attending.

When they are going to do these special IMAX film shows, they should resurrect the projectors a couple of weeks ahead of time and run a show or two per day of legacy IMAX stuff to test and flush out failures. The revenue to pay for this is certainly going to be there with a film like this. The 15/70 locations will likely sell out pretty much every showing for a few weeks.

[Kyle Mikolajczyk]

Finally saw it at the 15/70 theater at Providence Place, RI. It was quite the experience! There were no technical issues, except that it seemed to be out of focus? We all agreed that something was not right, way too soft at times. I just refuse to believe that they knowingly projected it out of focus, but I cannot fathom any other explanation besides the print its-self being out of focus.