‘Interstellar’ in 70mm IMAX
I just saw Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar in 70mm IMAX at Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry, one of just two places in Florida capable of projecting 70mm. (Sadly, this was the last major movie that will be shown in 70mm there, as they are switching out their film projector soon for digital.) As amazing as that experience may sound, I do NOT recommend seeing it there. The image was so enormous and in your face on the domed screen that it was impossible to focus on anything. I’m sure this film would be spectacular in regular IMAX, but on a dome, it just didn’t work. The image was partially distorted and lost completely at the edges, and the top of the screen was so dirty that long strings of dust were hanging off it. All of this took me out of the film so much that it’s difficult to rate it, but I currently have it sitting at 4 ¼ stars and in my top five of the year. Its storytelling is a bit muddled and some of the dialogue forced, but it’s profound, mind-boggling and definitely worth seeing, if only to debate its science and time-travel aspects.