IMAX film brings images to life. From resolution and color to sharpness and overall quality, there is nothing compared to using IMAX film cameras. The IMAX film format is the Gold Standard of motion picture photography.” Those are the words of director Christopher Nolan as he, along with IMAX, announces the limited run of his latest film – Oppenheimer – in 15 perf / 70mm film, which will see scenes shot in that format expand up to a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. Nolan has been evangelical about the pros of IMAX filming for a number of years, and is considered an industry leader in maximising the potential of the format. The "gold standard" of film, as Nolan refers to it, is only being shown in 30 locations worldwide, meaning this run is extremely limited.

Nolan recently spent some time demonstrating the work that goes into preparing theaters for handling the film in the limited format, with the reel coming out at a length of around 11 miles, and weighing over 600lbs, as he showed Reece Feldman in TikTok in a promotional video for the film.

What's Notable About Oppenheimer's IMAX Filming?

Nolan had come up with a narrative concept of shooting the film in both colour and monochrome black-and-white. However, any monochrome footage in IMAX prior had simply been retrofitted, which meant Nolan had to find a new way of filming if he wanted to do it authentically. That meant approaching Kodak to, quite literally, invent a new film format, along with his cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema.

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"I very much loved the structural assistance and the aesthetic charge of shifting between color and black and white that I had on Memento," said Nolan. "I’d always been looking for a reason to go back to that. And in the case of Oppenheimer and the way in which we tell this story, it’s very subjectively told, but also with a more objective story strand that intertwines with that. It was really the perfect time to go back to that device that I loved so much."

"So we challenged the people at Kodak photochem to make this work for us," said Nolan to Total Film. "And they stepped up. For the first time ever, we were able to shoot IMAX film in black-and-white. And the results were thrilling and extraordinary. As soon as Hoyte and I saw the first tests come in, we just knew that this was a format that we were immediately in love with."

To watch the movie in full frame IMAX 15 perf 70mm film, find all 30 worldwide locations – including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Czechia – at this link here. Watch Nolan discuss the movie with Feldman below and catch Oppenheimer in IMAX when the movie releases on July 16.