The Great IMAX Movie Swindle | This Generation Will Never Know

Just on this illustration you can see the difference in size 70mm is tiny compared to IMAX film

A swindle is going on in the movie theatres nationwide on what they now deem as IMAX.  I can only call it “The Great IMAX Movie Swindle”, as a former film production student IMAX was great sound and a picture bigger than any single person could view without rotating your head.  Yes no kidding the picture was really that big with movie screens spanning the size of small buildings.

So this weekend I had the opportunity to watch “Green Hornet” in IMAX with 3D.  Of course being a long time fan of IMAX technology I jumped at the chance.  Low and behold an outside view of the theatre did not fit any normal IMAX auditoriums I came to know.  IMAX as I know is very noticeable simply from the height of the auditorium outside.  In order to fit the size screen I am familiar with the roof needs to be about 10 stories high.

Moving along I walk into the alledged IMAX auditorium to watch the movie and instantly “The Great IMAX Movie Swindle” slaps me in the face.  I am looking at a descent screen but, it’s about 60-70 feet shy of a true IMAX screen.  Simply put to experience real IMAX you need to call the theatre and ask how big the screen is.  That is the only way to find out if you will be paying close to $20 per ticket for an IMAX experience.

What is really sad about the swindle is that generations of movie-goers will never know real IMAX movies.  And just to give you an idea of the size different of what I remember and what is being sold to the public at many theatres take a look at the illustration below:

Here is an idea of the difference in IMAX screen size

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