Witnessing History: The Power of “Oppenheimer” in 70MM
History: The Power of “Oppenheimer” in 70MM Nolan’s latest marvel on the big screen
Perhaps it’s no secret by now that Oppenheimer has achieved a phenomenon status to fit its name. For a movie surrounding some of the most important events in human history, maybe it’s only right that it should sell out theaters.
But in a world still reeling from the first pandemic in a century, to sell out theaters is no small feat. Even attempting to get tickets a few weeks after launch has proven a challenge for many.
One of the most unique aspects of Oppenheimer is the uniquely cumbersome way in which Christopher Nolan chose to shoot the movie. Filmed from beginning to end with large, unwieldy 70MM IMAX cameras, there are few movie theaters even equipped to handle the likes of Oppenheimer. To watch the reel in its proper, record-breaking, 11 mile long and 600 pound format demands display capabilities that very few theaters have.
Seeing Oppenheimer when it first released, I didn’t manage to get tickets to one of those 70MM IMAX screenings — not many did. In the United States, only 19 theaters even carry the record-breaking roll of film. In fact, I barely managed to see it on a regular screen.
Even the worst seatings of the least ideal timings in the most remote of theater locations were largely sold out. But in the midst of the quiet digital frenzy for tickets to Nolan’s latest film, a friend and I managed to find seats.
Though we spent the entire duration of the movie in the front row with our chins to the ceiling, it hardly took away from the enjoyment of the movie. The lack of visual spectacle didn’t matter in the face of the story told.
For a broader review of the movie itself, read here.
Seeing Oppenheimer in 70MM IMAX, though, was another experience entirely.
People arrived promptly, sparing time not just to watch the previews, but the pre-previews. Some were in costumes and took pictures beside the Oppenheimer cardboard display near the theater’s entrance. One man approached the bombastic cutout tentatively in a suit, tie, and an Oppenheimer-styled top hat as his girlfriend proceeded to snap a couple pictures of him.
Meanwhile, a horde of women dressed in pink lined up to take photos inside of the Barbie display not 20 feet away from the Oppenheimer one. It was clear before the movie even began that this was no typical theater-going experience. With our theater filled all the way to capacity even three weeks after the movie’s release, I hadn’t seen anything like it since Avatar’s 2009 premiere weekend.
While in standard screenings, it’s a film that falls flat cinematically when compared with some of Nolan’s other films, in 70MM IMAX, it’s difficult not to be completely immersed in the story from its opening moments. With screen dimensions that occupy almost an entire field of vision, audience members can vicariously experience another era in a way that standard screens don’t quite allow. Many have likened the experience to 3D without 3D glasses.
A small part of the novelty in these exclusive showings are the imperfections in the reels of film. Like the cracks and hisses of old records, these Oppenheimer reels degrade slightly with each use. As a result, there have been increased instances of technical difficulties with some of these 70MM showings. In my screening, though there were no major visual or audio distortions, there were still moments in which little blemishes surfaced and wiggled discreetly along screen before subsiding again.
One of the testaments to a great movie is the ability to rewatch it through new eyes and glean new details. Oppenheimer is a dense enough movie, with enough layers and enough fast-paced dialogue, that watching it a second time nearly felt like seeing a brand new movie. Entire scenes and sequences felt unfamiliar to me.
It’s clear that Oppenheimer’s story is one that could stretch entire TV seasons if told completely. Nolan’s abilty to encapsulate so much of his life and embody so much of his character within the duration of a single film is staggering. In addition to a comprehensive exploration of his life, it’s a measured examination of his most consequential achievement: the atomic bomb.
Another feature of the movie I appreciated more upon a second viewing was the copious amount of detail that went into the film’s sound design. Throughout the movie, in its most intense moments, the viewer hears an inexplicable crescendoing of disembodied feet pounding. It’s not until nearly the end of the film that the mystery reveals itself, and the realization for the audience could hardly arrive more potently.
At one point in the movie, as the first atomic bomb testing takes place, the entire theater went silent as a wall of fire encompassed all of our vision simultaneously. The packed auditorium was utterly silent. The only sound that could be heard was Oppenheimer’s nervous, labored breathing. It was a deeply impactful moment, and it was difficult to watch without a combination of awe and trepidation.
A staple feature of Nolan’s films is the way in which they play with time. From Tenet and Inception to Interstellar, The Dark Knight and Memento, it’s one of the most defining narrative techniques that he uses to tell his stories. On a first viewing, though, I’d missed some of the meticulous ways in which Oppenheimer jumped around in time in an attempt to convey the story most effectively. A lot of the reward in seeing Nolan’s movies is the revelation that emerges from the ambiguity he carefully cultivates.
The viewer is kept largely in the dark in so many of his films. But once these movies are revisited, so often that’s when their true scope and meaning becomes apparent. In seeing Oppenheimer again, it’s only grown clearer just how much thought was put into the placement of each disjointed frame in this 3 hour long spectacle of a movie.
The order of events can be a lot to make sense of, but it doesn’t make any overt attempts to confuse the viewer. It’s jarring, but not disorienting. The execution is masterful. The jumps are performed with an olympic gymnast’s level of precision, and their expert landings are what gives the film so much of its punch.
Oppenheimer is a rare movie that’s worth seeing in theaters twice. And if you happen to live near one of the theaters offering a 70MM IMAX screening, it may be a necessity to see it while it still remains in cinemas. Due to its unprecedented success, the runtime has been extended through the end of August.
It’s clear that 70MM IMAX was the way in which the film was intended to be seen. Between my two viewings, the visual discrepancy was enormous. It’s a film worth seeing regardless, but for the few of us in proximity to these exclusive screenings, it could just be the cinematic experience of the decade.