Should you see ‘The Odyssey’ in IMAX?

If you want to see Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey the way he intends it to be seen, you’re going to want to see it in IMAX. But if you’re looking at that price tag and the amount of sold-out sessions, there are a few things to know.

Based on Homer’s epic poem, Nolan’s new star-studded fantasy adventure is two hours and 52 minutes’ worth of otherworldly oceanic struggle, strange mythical monsters, and brutal battles, as Odysseus (Matt Damon), king of Ithaca, tries to get his men home after the Trojan War.

Here’s what to know before forking out for big screen tickets.

The Odyssey is the first movie entirely filmed on IMAX 1570 cameras.

It’s a first. The Odyssey is the first feature film ever shot entirely on IMAX 1570 cameras, the highest resolution film in the game. Nolan has long loved this format, shooting sequences on these colossal cameras for Oppenheimer, Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. But The Odyssey is completely shot on 1570s, which means Nolan and director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema set sail through a laborious shoot.

IMAX 1570 cameras are behemoths, weighing up to 270 kilograms, needing at least five people to lift around the set onto dollies, and they constantly have to be changed — according to the Guardian, The Odyssey film reels had to be reloaded every three minutes on set. And with all that mechanical engineering, they’re also loud, which means filming actors’ dialogue up close can be tricky.

To fix this, The Odyssey production team tasked IMAX with developing a special 65-millimetre camera called the “Keighley,” which is equipped with camera-muffling housing called a “blimp.” You can see it in action below:

All this is to say that you should watch The Odyssey in IMAX to fully appreciate the sheer technological feat.

IMAX tickets to The Odyssey are expensive and hard to get.

Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland in “The Odyssey.”
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures

Now, getting tickets is another thing.

First things first, IMAX tickets are not cheap. Ranging between $18 and $33 in the U.S. depending on the cinema, they’re obviously more expensive than a regular session.

Secondly, IMAX tickets have flown out of the U.S. box office for The Odyssey, with most opening sessions sold out or close to it. Cinemas are even adding 1 a.m. screenings in some cities to meet demand. The Odyssey is predicted to earn an opening $85 million to $100 million domestic at the box office, per Variety, with global numbers sending the figure to $200 million. So, good luck.

This is the image you’ll see for many of “The Odyssey” first week IMAX sessions.
Credit: Fandango / Mashable screenshot.

In London, the film broke the BFI IMAX record with $1 million in ticket sales in 24 hours, and the cinema’s been sold out for weeks.

I was lucky to see The Odyssey at the press screening at BFI IMAX in London, and it was nothing short of immersive. In any IMAX venue, make sure you get a seat in the middle or higher in the auditorium for a better eye level, as the screen can feel warped and engulfing the further down you sit. As for the seats on the sides, they’re not great.

The Odyssey is epic in every way in IMAX.

Watching the Sack of Troy on a massive screen is brutal.
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures

But if you’re looking for one major reason to justify the ticket price and perhaps a wait to see The Odyssey in IMAX, consider the scale of the whole thing. Chaotic battle scenes in Troy, furiously edited by Jennifer Lame and shot up close by van Hoytema, feel unrelenting and first-hand. The key moments in Odysseus’ journey, such as his terrifying meeting with cyclops Polyphemus (Bill Irwin), feel extraordinary and all-encompassing, with the dark maw of the creature’s cave overwhelming the audience as much as it does Odysseus’ men.

Another reason is sound. The Odyssey re-recording mixers Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell, supervising sound editor Craig Henighan, production sound mixer Willie D. Burton, the superb foley team, and composer Ludwig Göransson throw an armada of audio at you over the film’s nearly three-hour runtime. You’re going to want to hear every creak of the ship, every visceral sword attack, every slurp of stew, every booming drum and harmonious horn turned up to 11 in that IMAX theatre. If you have sensitive hearing, bring your earplugs.

In summary, it’s worth it, if you can get a seat.

The Odyssey hits theaters July 17, including IMAX.