This is not a review of the new Christopher Nolan-helmed blockbuster "Dunkirk" (you will have to wait for that), but rather a review of the various options one has for WATCHING the movie "Dunkirk." I spent much of the weekend researching this, BEFORE deciding when and where to see this epic war movie. At no other time in film history do I remember so many different formats for viewing one film.
This post was spurred by a conversation I had in San Francisco with a fellow film geek/nerd (self-described!) about the forced conversion in recent years of all U.S. movie theaters to digital projectors (fueled by Hollywood's bottom line, naturally). Film die-hards have not gone quietly, however, and more and more directors are utilizing 35mm, 70mm, and IMAX to enrich the look of their films.
With Christopher Nolan, he took it to a new level. I count six different ways to view DUNKIRK.
Here they are, from best to worst:
1. 70mm IMAX: This is the gold standard. Nolan filmed 80% of the movie with IMAX equipment, to capture the sheer vastness of the contemporaneous land, sea and air stories. The 70mm film adds to the richness of the images. Unfortunately for me, the only theaters in Texas showing the film in this format are 240 miles away (in Dallas and Fort Worth).
2. Laser-projected IMAX: You still get to see the film the way the director intended; the laser projection adds clarity and depth. (I would only have to drive 160 miles to Austin to see it in this format).
3. "True" IMAX (1.43:1 aspect ratio, using a 15/70 projector): fortunately, Houston has one of these screens showing "Dunkirk" (the Regal Marq-E). This was te format I chose to see it.
4. 70mm -- only in select theaters with 70mm projectors; this comes with all the depth and scope of, say, "Lawrence of Arabia", but they have to shrink the larger IMAX frame to fit on a smaller screen (70mm was last used by Quentin Tarantino in 2015 for "The Hateful Eight")/
5. "False" IMAX (or "LieMAX"): digitally-projected, with a 1.9:1 aspect ratio (but charging the same ridiculous price as "True IMAX" --- RIP OFF!)
6. In your regular multiplex, on a normal-sized screen, digitally projected -- you might as well wait for the ON DEMAND version!
Bottom line: you have got to see Dunkirk on a WIDE SCREEN. The one thing I will say about the movie itself: the director of "Inception" and "Interstellar" still loves to play with time! In this case, it works brilliantly!
