Denis Villeneuve is a lover of the IMAX format, which had its first beginnings during Expo 67 in Montreal. A screen of disproportionate proportions, which almost entirely fills the viewer’s field of vision, both in height and width, for an incomparable experience. A quality of projection that Villeneuve described as “the future of cinema” last fall.
It was with this widely used technology in mind that he shot Duneincluding the 2e part will hit our screens next week. Only problem: it will be impossible to see Villeneuve’s complete vision, designed for IMAX, in Quebec theaters.
However, there are indeed two giant IMAX screens dedicated to the projection of fiction films in Quebec (at the Scotiabank cinema, in Montreal, and at the Galeries de la Capitale, in Quebec, both properties of Cineplex). But for the past ten years, their projectors have no longer been able to fill the screen.
“It’s disappointing that we don’t have the full show,” says Guy A. St Cyr, author and co-host of the podcast Operation cinema butter. “The spectator no longer gets his money’s worth, especially since it costs more and more.”
Traditionally, films have a ratio of around 2:1, the image is twice as wide as it is tall. IMAX technology instead uses a ratio of 1.43:1. This gives a higher image than a traditional screen. Anyone who has entered an IMAX theater has been able to appreciate its dizzying scale: a more square screen, approximately 20 meters high.
Initially, this technology was dedicated to the projection of documentaries, shot and projected with 70mm film specifically designed for this format, the best projection quality in the world. But at the turn of the 21e century, IMAX theaters began to appear in multiplexes. And since almost all the Hollywood films shown there were shot in more horizontal formats than the traditional IMAX image, we made do with digital projectors which offer a 1.90:1 ratio. But from time to time , when a visionary filmmaker chose to shoot certain scenes specifically for IMAX, theaters like Scotiabank would then turn on their IMAX 70mm film projector to present the entire image, in all its glory.
But in Montreal, the last film to benefit from this total projection quality was Interstellar…in 2014. Since then, only the digital projector has been used, the same for the IMAX theater in Quebec. This means that for the few films shot for the IMAX format (like Oppenheimeror both parts of Dune) the projector no longer responds to the entire request: part of the image is cut off, replaced by sad black bands at the top and bottom of the screen, with an image resolution lower than ours 4K TVs today.
The difference is notable. “I have never seen such a beautiful picture in my life. I remember it like it was yesterday,” says Maxance Vincent, speaking of the only time he saw a film on IMAX 70mm film, around ten years ago. However, this freelance journalist who writes for American websites devoted to the 7e art has seen more than a hundred films in IMAX theaters, but with a digital projector. “When the image is projected from the top to the bottom of the screen, our peripheral vision is filled, the effect is much more immersive. Every time I go to see a film shot in IMAX format, but it is projected digitally, I am disappointed not to get the full picture. »
Expensive to maintain
Questioned on this subject, the company Cineplex responded to us by email that there are no longer any 70mm IMAX projectors available in Quebec, without giving any specific reason to justify this absence. Alexandre Domingue, founding president of Cinéma Moderne, has an idea of what pushed Cineplex to put them away: “They are expensive to maintain. Is it really worth it? » It is true that only one or two films per year would require these particularly massive projectors. And then there is the shortage of qualified labor to operate them. “There are only a few projectionists left in Quebec. With digital projectors, everything is programmed in advance. » In short, the film disappears. Only around thirty theaters in the world offered the IMAX 70mm version of Oppenheimer.
But all this does not explain why, despite these constraints, Cineplex was able to maintain IMAX 70mm projections in some of its cinemas in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, for films like Dunkirk And Oppenheimerbut not in Quebec.
Why could the projectors in Quebec theaters not be preserved like those in other provinces? The company remains silent.
However, there is another option. In recent years, IMAX has deployed a new generation of laser projectors, capable of filling the screen with more precise resolution. There is only one in Quebec: at the IMAX cinema at the Montreal Science Center, which presents scientific documentaries. Could we occasionally screen films like Dune ? Not according to the museum director, Cybèle Robichaud: “We made the choice to remain focused on our educational mission and our target clientele of young families. And then we only have one room. We do not have the financial backbone strong enough to compete with all the other multiplexes on the Montreal market. »
Cineplex aims to equip all of its IMAX theaters with these laser projectors over the next few years, but no decisions have yet been made on which theaters will be prioritized.
While waiting to benefit from this new technology, Quebec moviegoers will have to resign themselves to seeing Dune. Second part sandwiched between two black bands. It still remains the best projection experience in the province, with unparalleled sound quality. “We are leveling down for economic reasons, saying that in any case, spectators don’t know what they are missing,” notes Guy A. St Cyr. I would rather like us to elevate the public by showing them a grandiose image that will leave an impression on them. Until proven otherwise, Montreal is still a Canadian metropolis. We shouldn’t have to drive all the way to Toronto to see a film in its full quality. »