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To IMAX or not to IMAX?

TroyTroy
edited October 2012 in Skyfall Posts: 342
I haven't been to see a film at a IMAX, but I hear it's great with a very large screen where you feel immersed in the film. A local IMAX will be showing Skyfall, so it would seem the ideal place to see it.

However I've read that Skyfall was not filmed in 'IMAX', but has been re-formatted somehow. I am worried that this may somehow distort the image, and that it would be best to see the film in the format it was made.

As I want the best possible experience to see Skyfall, does anyone have any thoughts on this....

Comments

  • VolanteVolante
    Posts: 774
    Maybe see it at a normal theatre then see it at an IMAX later? So if you don't like it in IMAX it hasn't ruined your experience of the film. Tickets aren't cheap, you wouldn't want to feel like you'd wasted your money and ruined the film. However, I have seen a film at IMAX that wasn't filmed in the format, but it was still pretty great. Not as good as the films made for IMAX, but still, pretty great.
  • RyanKintRyanKint
    Posts: 83
    LOL The IMAX tickets are CHEAPER than the normal tickets
  • VolanteVolante
    Posts: 774
    RyanKint wrote:
    LOL The IMAX tickets are CHEAPER than the normal tickets

    Really? Wow. In Sydney an IMAX feature film is $31, in a regular theatre it's around $12.
  • JamesCJamesC
    edited November 2020 Posts: 121
    1
  • katharine_craigkatharine_craig
    Posts: 9
    Definitely IMAX. I've seen Skyfall already and the only minus of early screening was that it was not on IMAX. As you all may have heard already, the cinematography by Roger Deakins was brilliant, beyond amazing. Some says it's Oscar-worthy and I hope it will get one of those!
    So if you had IMAX screen nearby, try it at least once. I've booked all my tickets in IMAX since the ticket is not that expensive here (about $11 for IMAX / $8 for regular).
  • VolanteVolante
    Posts: 774
    JamesC wrote:
    Were you at the OHMSS screening tonight Volante?

    Agreed the IMAX prices here are ridiculous, in TDKR the non IMAX scenes stood out like a sore thumb, most notably Alfred in the Batcave (not IMAX) then cutting straight to him in Italy (IMAX).

    I wasn't, to my great regret. Would've loved to have gone though.
  • TheBondFanTheBondFan
    Posts: 822
    Volante wrote:
    RyanKint wrote:
    LOL The IMAX tickets are CHEAPER than the normal tickets

    Really? Wow. In Sydney an IMAX feature film is $31, in a regular theatre it's around $12.

    Where I live, if you work in Microsoft (like my dad), you get a $3 ticket for a 8-story tall screen for you, friends, and family.
  • KlausHergesheimerKlausHergesheimer
    Posts: 152
    That's a very easy question. Do you want to watch James Bond or do you want to be James Bond? I would definitely rather experience the movie in IMAX because the picture and sound quality are 10x better than that of a normal theater.
  • rabar007rabar007
    Posts: 39
    KlausHergesheimer wrote:
    That's a very easy question. Do you want to watch James Bond or do you want to be James Bond? I would definitely rather experience the movie in IMAX because the picture and sound quality are 10x better than that of a normal theater.

    Although I definitely agree with you, I'm seeing it in regular theaters first and then IMAX some other time. I've been watching Bond films on regular screens since my first one (Die Another Day, unfortunately, as I'm only 21), so I want to keep doing that.

    Plus, if I end up disliking SF, I won't have spent twice as much on an IMAX screening!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    This can go here:
    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3167/benefits-of-imax./p2
  • tqbtqb
    Posts: 1,022
    Just curious- how much are imax tickets where you live?
    Here imax tickets are about $15, and regular tickets are about $12
  • imranbecksimranbecks Singapore
    Posts: 984
    Saw Skyfall back to back in both regular and IMAX format on opening day yesterday. It was also my first IMAX experience. There is a vast difference in sound and image quality due to the larger screen of the IMAX. During the shootout and explosions, the floors and seats in the IMAX hall literally vibrates! Its really amazing as you will be immersed in the movie. A great experience for me and what better way to watch at IMAX for the first time than with a Bond movie.

    IMAX tickets are quite expensive here in Singapore. S$20 our local currency for a 2D IMAX ticket and S$9.50 for a regular movie ticket.
  • JamesCJamesC
    edited November 2020 Posts: 121
    1
  • FLeiterFLeiter
    Posts: 315
    It opens here in the U.S. on Nov. 9th. Right now IMAX tix are about $15 for early shows and up to $25-30 for evening shows. Regular tix $6 early and $10-11 for evening. I plan on doing IMAX first and then go back in a couple days for the regular viewing. Like many who have spoken, haven't seen an IMAX movie except in a couple museums. Really excited about doing it and can't think of a BETTER ONE.
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    JamesC wrote:
    But does the image resolution suffer because it's stretched to an IMAX screen?

    Not for skyfall it dosent , the film looks incredibly clear
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Is the IMAX experience worth it? I'm going down to the Dulles area in VA next Friday (after seeing the film's midnight premiere), and they have tickets available for SF: The IMAX experience, but I'm not sure if I can warrant spending $19 a ticket on this.
  • MattedwardsukMattedwardsuk
    edited November 2012 Posts: 55
    Hi All,

    I've seen it in digital 4k and also in IMAX. For me the IMAX audio was far more immersive but the sharpness of the picture was better in the 4k digital projection.

    Also for some reason the CGI looked more convincing on the larger IMAX screen and generally stood out less than the digital version.
  • MalloryMallory
    Posts: 2,165
    It's easily worth it just for the sound, especially for the third act shennanigans.
  • MattedwardsukMattedwardsuk
    Posts: 55
    When that helicopter comes a rumblin....
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    Creasy47 wrote:
    Is the IMAX experience worth it? I'm going down to the Dulles area in VA next Friday (after seeing the film's midnight premiere), and they have tickets available for SF: The IMAX experience, but I'm not sure if I can warrant spending $19 a ticket on this.

    Mate there are moments of the film that u will notice in IMAX that u can barely see in a regular screen.
    the fight between bond and Patrice where the gun keeps going off light up there faces brilliantly in IMAX whereas its rubbish in comparison to normal . Also where bond orders more rounds after the drinking game with the scorpion- much clearer
    and as others have said the sound is amazing and the picture is that big that it feels like you are in the movie!
  • MalloryMallory
    Posts: 2,165
    Mattedwardsuk wrote:
    When that helicopter comes a rumblin....

    When Skyfall lodge crumbles... BANG
  • YtterbiumYtterbium
    Posts: 269
    I've seen it in a regular thearter, then in Imax. I paid attention but I did not notice any format difference. It was my first imax experience. It was comfortable, but I'm not sure it did add something to the movie. It was sure nice to be at a perfect distance from the screen, but nothing more. The only "input" of Imax were for the scences where things blow off. You then relize how accustomed we've been to random explosions and how it would feel like (my wallet sure add a strong blow too with the imax price ticket (in France)).

    But (IMO) Skyfall does not have a soundtrack which really stand up through Imax. The cinematography was nice, but was a awesome in Imax as in a regular thearter. The Title sequence looked aweful in both rooms.
  • JWPepperJWPepper You sit on it, but you can't take it with you.
    Posts: 512

  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I'm just asking if IMAX (such as the Udvar-Hazy Center) differs from the IMAX experience.
  • seroxxseroxx
    Posts: 27
    Seen it normal (Basel) and yesterday IMAX(Lucerne). No price difference (19CHF = approx 16 EUR). It doesn't fill the full IMAX screen but it's slightly bigger, say like 2,10:1 so it looks like a 4:3 TV letterboxed widescreen movie blown very big. It was easy to watch, probably due different scaning of original filmed images, lots of half-totals, stable cam-work. I didn't notice big difference from theatrical version. Istambul sequence was less washed-out in white (overexposed) then in normal theatre. All explosions were spectacular in IMAX, very big and dramatic. Sound was good but not overwhelming, it's not that kind of moviemaking, foley sometimes too quiet (bike chase) and quiet in general in swiss cinemas. If you like to loose your hearing try croatian Cinestar IMAX or cinema in Zagreb, run by an ignorant idiot playing it as loud as possible in a country without medical laws protectig it's citizens of extreme loudness and bring ear protection with you :-). Seats in Lucerne are small and people sit very close. Some people talk all the time like at home and the guy next to me was watching at his clock every 30 seconds and rubbed his chin and nose inbetween for 2 Hrs. This movie grows from it's very quiet moments and people in Basel made incredibly lots of noise with their picnics which ruins it completely. My advice would be - wait until the hype is gone and then go see it in peace. Or even better, enjoy it at your home cinema. IMAX version is in 2K here and it's not extremely sharp. Like pre-digital 70 mm copy. If I would choose where to watch first, it would be a digital version in a normal theatre.
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    I watch it in IMAX. The screen was huge and definitely more immersive. The sound is great also, due in part to me being at the back by the speakers.
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