Regina IMAX theatre hits snag showing Oppenheimer in its best film form

The release of one of the summer's biggest blockbuster movies hit a hiccup in the Regina IMAX theatre this week.

Oppenheimer — the biopic following J. Robert Oppenheimer, a key physicist who helped create the first nuclear weapons — was supposed to be shown in its high-quality 1570 millimetre form in the world's 30 IMAX theatres when it opened on Thursday, but in Regina technical difficulties forced it to be shown in the more common digital laser form.

There were some challenges with the film system on Thursday and Friday, said Sandy Baumgartner, the Saskatchewan Science Centre CEO.

"We hope to be back up and running with the 1570 film this weekend," he said.

Trevor Ewen, the chief projectionist in Regina, said it took about 15 to 17 hours of assembling 18 kilometres of film, sectioned into the 53 small reels, to prepare to show Oppenheimer. Each reel holds about two to three minutes of movie.

The 1570 refers to the 15 perforations along the edge of the frame in length and 70 mm in height — which is distinct from the standard 70 mm film which has five perforations per frame, according to IMAX Melbourne, producing an unmatched image quality.

Of the 30 theatres showing Oppenheimer in the 1570 film form, six are in Canada. Christopher Nolan shot the film specifically for IMAX film projectors.

Baumgartner said all ticket purchasers are being notified ahead of time that it's possible they won't be shown the movie in the 1570 film format.

"Most people are quite happy to see it in whatever format, but like I said there are those that are huge fans of Christopher Nolan and this format and we'll do everything in our power to make sure that they see it in that format," Baumgartner said.

In an emailed statement, the Saskatchewan Science Centre said: "We know some people were disappointed, and we've been in touch with those who were disappointed, but the vast majority of people were extremely pleased with the projection quality of the laser system."

Baumgartner couldn't elaborate on the technical aspects that led to the movie being forced to run in its laser digital form, but said it was getting error messages as they tried to run the system. 

Projectionist Ewen said that some equipment wasn't communicating properly. 

Mingling new technology with the older film technology is a complicated process, according to Ewen, but it has its benefits.

LISTEN | Chief IMAX projectionist speaks about Oppenheimer and issues with the 1570 film: 

As It Happens5:54Movie fans flocked to Regina to see Oppenheimer in 70mm. Then the projector stopped working

The new film Oppenheimer is being screened in the Imax 70-millimetre format on only 30 screens worldwide. One of them is in Regina, where technical difficulties meant the 18-kilometre-long print wasn't shown on opening night. Trevor Ewan, chief projectionist at the Kramer Imax Theatre, tells As It Happens host Nil Köksal about the struggles they've faced — and why they all might be worth it.

The digital laser form plays 4K resolution. 

"Christopher Nolan has said publicly that film is about 18K, it is much sharper, it is much clearer, although it is more prone to damage," Ewen told Nil Köksal, co-host of CBC's As It Happens.