“We put a lot of effort into shooting the film in a way that we can get it out on these large-format screens. It is just a great way of giving people an experience that they can’t possibly get in the home,” said director Nolan in an interview with Associated Press. “We’re able to do things with the picture now that before we were only able to do with sound in terms of an oversized impact for the audience — an almost physical sense of response to the film.”
The past decade has seen cinemas increasingly written off as a graveyard industry. Where movie buffs once had to make a non-optional trip to the theatres to catch the latest blockbuster, the impact of video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have since given movie-goers cheaper and more convenient options. Following the imposition of social-distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, cinemas appeared consigned to the ash heap of history.
The release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, however, may signal a potential reprieve for cinemas going into the age of streaming. Filmed in 70mm Imax, the biopic is best enjoyed in a specially constructed theatre designed to bring out the full majesty of Nolan’s cinematographic wizardry. While the film can be digitised for alternative formats, the end-product cannot compare to the quality of the original format, which is filmed with film reels weighing 600 pounds (272.15kg).
