Halifax moviegoers are getting one of the rarest viewing experiences in the country for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Scotiabank Theatre in Bayers Lake is one of just nine theatres in Canada showing the film in IMAX 70 millimetre.
Chantel Ormandy, executive director for Cineplex in Atlantic Canada, says the theatre had to bring its 70 millimetre projector out of retirement.
“We took our 70 mil projector out of retirement and polished it up,” Ormandy said.
She says the Halifax theatre is the only location in Atlantic Canada offering the 70 millimetre IMAX version.
The next closest Canadian theatre showing the movie in that format is in Montreal.
What makes it different
Most movies today are shown digitally.
Ormandy says this version of The Odyssey is different because it is being shown on an actual film reel, with a projectionist running it through the projector.
“This is actually on a film reel,” Ormandy said. “We hire a projectionist, and we have a projectionist going and putting the reel through the actual projector.”
She says the format creates a more immersive IMAX experience, especially because the movie was made to be watched that way.
The physical size of the film is also part of the spectacle.
“You wouldn’t be able to wrap your arms around the platter,” Ormandy said. “It would take two people having their arms as wide as they could, and that is the size of the film.”
Strong demand in Halifax
Ormandy says Cineplex started with three showings a day, but demand was strong enough to add a fourth.
She says showtimes now run from around 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., giving people more chances to find seats.
There has also been interest from outside Nova Scotia.
Ormandy says she spoke with someone in Charlottetown who had already seen the movie there, but was planning to travel to Halifax to watch it again in IMAX 70 millimetre.
“We’re having a lot of people travelling across all the provinces in Atlantic Canada to go to Halifax,” she said.
Cineplex has extended showtimes for the IMAX 70 millimetre run to August 20.
The film also has a Nova Scotia connection, with Halifax-born Elliot Page among the cast.
Ormandy says future 70 millimetre screenings in Halifax will depend on which films are made available in that format, but demand for the premium experience has been clear.
