Though you’ll probably have a tough time getting into sessions of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens at IMAX, it sure seems that it’ll be well worth it for those Sydneysiders who do manage to acquire tickets, with the announcement that IMAX Darling Harbour will be one of only 20 cinemas in the world to screen 2D 15/70 IMAX film prints of the hugely anticipated movie.
IMAX Darling Harbour, which has the distinction of being the largest IMAX screen in the world, is also the only cinema in Australia that will be showing the film in this special format, just as its filmmakers intended.
Though the majority of The Force Awakens was shot with 35mm film stock, 15-perf 70mm IMAX film stock was used in specific sequences to give them an added sense of epicness.
It’s gonna be huuuuuge
But how much bigger is it? Well, 15/70 film allows for an image that’s around ten times larger than 35mm.
The 15/70 format also gives the film a different shape and aspect ratio (1:33.1), allowing JJ Abrams & Co. to fill out the entire IMAX screen.
The film stock’s thickness also requires the film to be placed on horizontal platters, instead of the usual film reels associated with 35mm.
Films presented in the 15/70 format include Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.
