The widely-anticipated release of Oppenheimer, the film starring Cork-born Cillian Murphy, is urging theatres around the world to get creative with their own technology.

Only 30 cinemas worldwide are showing the film, which traces the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II, as director Christopher Nolan intended it to be watched — on 70mm film in an IMAX theatre. 19 of those are in the USA. Dublin moviegoers can catch the 70mm IMAX version at the Irish Film Institute.

 

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Nolan shot the film using 65mm film on cameras specifically designed to project onto IMAX screen dimensions. The Oppenheimer team then spent six months digitising the footage so that it could be shown in other formats like digital and 70mm without IMAX.

The film clocks in at a three hour run time, a beast for any theatre regardless of the format released. However, because the original version of Oppenheimer will be released on 70mm film compatible with IMAX, the reel weighs over 500 pounds.

 

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When Nolan's Interstellar was released in 2014 with a runtime of two hours and 47 minutes, he was already pushing the limit of the technology.

Currently, IMAX film platters can hold three hours of 70mm film, meaning Oppenheimer made the fit with no room to spare.

IMAX theatres around the world have been forced to adapt to this challenge by reworking old technology: the Palm Pilot.

These venues were originally designed using the second generation Palm Pilot as an interface, a device that was released two years before the Blackberry and ten years before the first iPhone.

Most now run on technology from the 2002 Palm Pilot, though that was still barely enough to accommodate Nolan's new film.

A video released to the IMAX TikTok showing the scale of the film opens focusing on the operating system designed to mimic the Palm Pilot interface.

@imax Constantly pushing the boundaries of film 🎞️. #Oppenheimer #ChristopherNolan #IMAX ♬ original sound - IMAX

Nolan claims it is all worth the extra effort, telling the Associated Press the 70mm IMAX format is like "letting the screen disappear."

Oppenheimer will be one of a small number of films to include black and white footage shot with such high-quality cameras, a choice that Nolan considered carefully.

He says the results stunned even himself. "I’ve just never seen anything like it. To see such a massive black and white film image? It’s just a wonderful thing.”

Tickets for the 70mm IMAX format at the IFI are available here for €15.