Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is playing in theaters, and while there are more than 10 theaters in the Houston-area showing the film this weekend, none are in what Nolan considers his preferred format: 70mm IMAX.
The famed director filmed his nearly three-hour adaptation of Homer’s epic with IMAX cameras, the first commercial film made entirely in IMAX. That means, to see the film on the largest screen with the highest resolution, moviegoers must see it in 70mm IMAX.
While 70mm IMAX shows movies in a 1.43:1 aspect ratio, regular IMAX shows movies in a 1.90:1 aspect ratio. Both formats differ from the classic moviegoing experience with 35mm film and an aspect ratio of 2.39:1.
The screen at the Regal Edwards Houston Marq*E and IMAX is the largest in the city, according to Emma Messer, the theater’s communications and philanthropy manager. While the theater won’t have 70mm IMAX, it uses “state-of-the-art laser projection.”
Both the Regal Edwards Houston Marq*E and IMAX and the Regal Greenway Grand Palace and IMAX have other ways to immerse audiences without 70mm IMAX. The theaters both have RPX showings, which are Regal’s large-format theaters with “immersive sound and enhanced picture quality.” They also have 4DX showings where effects such as moving seats sync with the action on screen.