Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey trailer sparks fierce debate about the “right way” to see a movie

Christopher Nolan wants you to watch The Odyssey at an IMAX 70mm cinema. That's not surprising given the lengths he went to in order to film his interpretation of Homer's epic in that format, but the heavy plugging for IMAX is stirring debate.

If you watch The Odyssey trailer on YouTube, you'll see it in something close to the traditional 35mm CinemaScope aspect ratio of 2.39:1. That's how most people will see the movie in cinemas. But if you visit the film's website, you can toggle through no fewer than six different screen formats, from IMAX 70mm and IMAX 1.90:1 to Dolby Vision 1.85:1.

That stark differences have some questioning the inegalitarian choice of filming in IMAX 70mm, and it's revived the debate of what's the best aspect ratio for a movie anyway (see our guides to the best video editing software and the best laptops for video editing if you're preparing to start work on your own epic).

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Starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Zendaya, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is the first feature-length commercial movie (i.e., not a documentary) to be shot entirely using IMAX 70mm film cameras. Such a feat would be impossible with existing IMAX cameras, which are too noisy to film dialogue scenes, so the director had IMAX create the Keighley, a new camera created specially for the movie.

While some claim this is all a very elaborate gimmick, the ability to toggle the formats of the trailer on the website shows the dramatic difference between what you'll see if you can get to one of the world's few IMAX 70mm cinemas and what you'll see at a standard cinema. IMAX 70mm isn't just a 'bigger screen'; it's more movie. Each step down on the format selector is a crop: the frame gets smaller, losing more of the picture.

"Same shot, but feels like completely different films," one person comments on X.

The intention is to demonstrate to audiences why large-format cinema matters. But for some, the demo is showing that the majority of cinemagoers will be getting a lesser experience, and rubbing that in their faces. There are only around 40 cinemas in the world that can take IMAX 70mm film, and most of them are in the US.

"Nolan should watch this and maybe educate himself on how much of his audience he is alienating to cater to like 30 theaters," one person complains on X.

"IMAX elitism is so annoying considering most people just do not have access to an IMAX theatre. I would love to see it in IMAX, Chris, but it’s not like I have a choice," another person writes.

One person even suggests the move is an affront to art. "IMAX having this aspect ratio exclusive to only be in their special little cinemas is anti-art. Make the fact the screen in the IMAX cinema is huge as the selling point, not that you can only see the full authentic vision of the director in that specific cinema".

On the other hand, the supposed superiority of IMAX over CinemaScope is by no means a settled debate. IMAX 70mm screens are proportionally taller when compared to standard widescreen. For some, movies are supposed to feel wide, not tall.

The traditional widescreen format reflects how we see the world. We focus important detail in the centre of our field of view, but we remain aware of what’s in our peripheral vision, which is significantly larger horizontally than vertically. Our anatomy gives us a field of view that spans about 200° to 220° horizontally but only 135° to 150 vertically.

There's also the issue of physical discomfort if you sit too close to the front of an IMAX cinema, and dead zones of the screen if you're sitting far to the left or right.

"Man naturally has a panoramatic view. That's how he looks at the world. Horizontally. The real intention of the IMAX-people is immersion instead of the human overview from a distance. It is meant to be overwhelming. But that sacrifices the composition," one person argues.

"In 10 years, the discourse is gonna reverse and be like why are directors cutting off like 1/3 of the film on the sides?," someone else thinks.

What is IMAX aspect ratio?

Short for 'Image Maximum', IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras and film formats designed to create a more immersive experience. IMAX cinemas are specially designed with steep stadium seating and an audio system providing an uncompressed dynamic range The screen size is often around 22 by 16 metres.

There are two IMAX aspect ratios in use today. The true IMAX 1.43:1 in IMAX 70mm cinemas is nearly square and shows up to 40% more picture than standard screens. IMAX 70mm film runs horizontally instead of vertically through a projector, creating the massive frame size.

But there are only around 40 cinemas in the world set up for this format. The majority of IMAX cinemas at multiplexes use Digital IMAX 1.90:1. They show digital scans of IMAX 70mm film which have been cropped and reframed. The result is an aspect ratio that's shorter than the classic IMAX but still taller than in standard cinemas, offering about 26% more picture.

If a film shot on IMAX 70mm were shown in a standard cinema in its original aspect ratio, it would have thick vertical black bars on either side of the screen. This means the film has to be cropped heavily at the top and bottom to fill the standard widescreen aspect ratio.