The Dark Knight, IMAX, Sydney: My Experience

[Bruce Achterberg]

On Saturday 14 September I had the awesome experience of seeing The Dark Knight at the IMAX cinema, Sydney, Australia. It was an absolutely amazing experience and, without question, the best cinema experience I've ever had.

Not only were six sequences of The Dark Knight shot exclusively in 70mm IMAX film to fill, vertically, the 8-story tall IMAX screen, but Sydney, along with London, were the only two cities in the world to receive a film print cut from the original negative. And boy, did it show! The screen size and picture quality were no less than breathtaking, and I caught myself, a grin on my face, chuckling in disbelief and wonder during the first scenes of the movie.

The 35mm film sequences were digitally re-mastered to fit the IMAX screen and seamlessly interspersed between 70mm IMAX sequences. Many times throughout the movie I found myself gazing at the sheer depth of the many skyscapes shot in 70mm IMAX film, and at the clarity of the picture quality. You could look specifically at parts of the screen to see things in greater detail (i.e. actors faces, costumes, and props), and when the IMAX sequences where shown... the best way I can describe it is that it's like being in the scene you are watching. When a cityscape was shown, it felt like you were looking at a real cityscape, not just a picture projected onto a screen. Simply put, the movie engulfed the screen, creating unparalleled levels of immersion.

Not satisfied with unmatched visual quality, the sound quality of the IMAX speakers was excellent; clear, loud when it needed to be, reasonable when it didn't, and satisfyingly chest-rumbling. I've seen the movie already in a normal cinema, but the enhanced visual and auditory quality made it a whole new experience, often portraying things I simply couldn't discern clearly at a regular cinema. I'm able to appreciate quality audio and visual reproduction (I've used two different sets of Sennheiser headphones for several years—HD590s and now, HD580s), and "detail" is the word I'd use to describe what IMAX had in the sound and visuals—what regular cinemas unfortunately lack.

I can honestly say I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to see the movie as close to what was originally intended to be seen as possible. I've been an avid viewer and fan of Batman since I was a kid—the motives, the lifestyle, the themes; all resonate with me—so it was a deeply fulfilling and delightful to experience something I love represented masterfully by Christopher Nolan and his exquisite cast in a cinema that I eagerly await to make an excuse to return to. (Iron Man 2, I'm looking at you.)

The seats at the Sydney IMAX cinema could have been more comfortable (much like many cinema seats), but any awareness of that melts away as you become immersed in the world that is Christopher Nolan's Gotham city (Nolan directed the movie and co-wrote the script). Props must go to the consistent quality of the actors, with special mention to the performance of the amazing Heath Ledger who literally *becomes* The Joker, but also to Christian Bale who takes on the difficult task playing one of the most believable, angriest Batman's ever (up there with Michael Keaton's performance, but better in my opinion) while also pulling of a stellar, more modern Bruce Wayne, and (the awesomely named) Buster Reeves, Christian Bale's lead stunt double, who portrayed some of the best combat I have ever seen in a movie (up there with Tony Jaa's Ong Bak and the Bourne series), made possible by the refreshing use of Keysi Fighting Method (KFM), a martial art with an emphasis on economy of motion and real-world effectiveness; an art that has many parallels to the close-combat effectiveness of Muay Thai and the philosophy behind Bruce Lee's exquisite, individualised Jeet Kune Do.

When the movie finally ended, credits rolling—me devouring every minute of them—complimented by the very epic, sonically arresting soundtrack, I could only smile when I saw two boys, probably around age 5, walk past me, one wearing a padded Spiderman costume, the other, a caped Batman costume. Almost makes me want to get out *my* Batman costume (no padding required ), but alas, it seems I've grown a few meters since I've last worn it. Clearly an opportunity for a new, improved costume!

Overall, The Dark Knight was a gritty, satisfying, immersive, often humorous, sometimes shocking movie experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was only made richer and more visceral by the amazing 8-story tall screen and the caliber of film featured at IMAX, Sydney (you could literally see the netting beneath Batman's armour!). Movies like this come but once every decade (The Matrix was the last movie that enraptured me so). Couple that with the experience IMAX Sydney delivers and you have an experience that is unlikely to be unmatched. I implore you: if you haven't already—go see The Dark Knight, and if you can, go see it at an IMAX cinema.

The Dark Knight is a movie you want to see at a cinema, preferably IMAX, for the superior picture and sound quality, and the sheer size of the screen. I've seen it 3 times (twice at a normal cinema, once at IMAX) and the few dollars extra you spend on an IMAX ticket is disproportional to the quality of the experience. I'd have no qualms paying twice as much—it's that good.

* * *

Extra info

I read that there's official talks of an IMAX Dark Knight re-release in January 2009, so if you missed your opportunity to see it, you may get another.

For those fortunate enough to live in (or near) Sydney, as far as I know, there is one last session showing on Monday 16 September (2008) at 9.00PM. See the IMAX Sydney Dark Knight page for more info.

For an masterfully written review of the IMAX version of The Dark Knight as well as the movie in general:
Movie Review for The Dark Knight (IMAX)

For an excellent summary of what really makes The Dark Knight worth your attention-what makes the movie different to all the rest:
Thinking Outside the Box: 8 Ways The Dark Knight Shines | LifeDev

Trivia

• My favorite IMAX scenes: "Plane extraction" sequence; night club sequence; Prewitt building sequence. (I was intentionally vague as to not spoil anything. Those who saw the movie will understand.) The Prewitt building sequence was nothing less than spectacular, although it's up there with the "plane extraction" sequence that I was very eagerly anticipating.
• If you go see a movie at IMAX and want good seats (and you do want good seats), for popular movies, get there ~30 minutes earlier to buy tickets and line up. In terms of seating, I recommend sitting either middle row-center, or at the very edge of the back, left or right row (for a more comprehensive view of the screen). I sat at the right end of the very back row and was completely satisfied there.
• IMAX, Sydney will win no awards for the seating comfort;
• I was inspired by how The Dark Knight switched between 35mm film and 70mm IMAX film, so I felt like being creative when I wrote about the experience. As such, my Twitter page got the 35mm version (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), and the Pavlina forums got the exclusive IMAX version. When I have my website ready, perhaps I'll prepare a special behind the scenes, "lessons from The Dark Knight" write-up. You can get a sample teaser on my Twitter page in this Tweet and this Tweet.

[funchy]

Loved the movie. I dont think any of the IMax theatres around here have it though. I am jealous that you got to see it I-max style.

[Zwynd]

Bruce, are you sure you weren't paid to promote this movie?

If not, then you should probably look into it. Your review was very professional as well as emotional in the sense that you got me itching to see it in theatres.

Not bad, since I've only been to the movies once in a half a decade and very much disliked the theatre experience the last time. The fact that you were able to spark my interest speaks volumes to me of your ability to motivate others.

Cheers.

[openeyes]

My girlfriend and I drove two hours to see it at the Omnimax in Charlotte, a dome in which the screen surrounds you and fills your vision, rather than simply drive 30 minutes to the Imax in Raleigh, with a much more modest and relatively flat screen. Quite worth it.

[Call me Boges]

I saw 300 at Imax. super bad ass

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Zwynd

Bruce, are you sure you weren't paid to promote this movie?

If not, then you should probably look into it. Your review was very professional as well as emotional in the sense that you got me itching to see it in theatres.

Not bad, since I've only been to the movies once in a half a decade and very much disliked the theatre experience the last time. The fact that you were able to spark my interest speaks volumes to me of your ability to motivate others.

Cheers.

Wow, Zwynd--that's some high praise and quality feedback. Thanks! (And that's not just a generic thanks; I really appreciate feedback like that and tend to take it to heart. It helps me hone my ability to make express myself in a way that benefits people.)

The only "pay" I got from writing about the experience was the pleasure I got from writing it, and the enjoyment I get from reading feedback like yours. Warner Brothers: feel free to pay me oodles of money.

I wrote it because I wanted to share what was a truly awesome experience--unlike any I've had in my life. I thought I could genuinely enrich people's lives a little, either by simply sharing my experience so they could relate that to their experience with the movie, or by creating a genuine desire to see the movie in IMAX if it was still available, not by trying to sell the experience, but by being ruthlessly open and honest. I know there are a lot of Batman fans out there, and I know the impact such movies can have on your life, so it just felt right to express that outwardly in a way that. I think that's partly what made me so keen to write it--I genuinely believed in what I was writing.

Seeing the movie at IMAX was also special experience for me because I got to experience it with my father. I didn't mention that in the write up since I felt it took the focus off what I was trying to focus on (the movie experience!), but it was pretty cool sitting next to him, hearing us whisper various funny-sounding exclamations as the movie knocked our socks of (afterwards we needed completely new socks). It was also cool to sit in the foyer with him afterward, talking about all the scenes we liked, which is something we continued to do on the way home. It was a richness to the experience that you could really take in. You don't get to experience things like that very often with people you're close with, I find. Enjoyment is really an awesome thing to share, and it's nice to do something that brings you closer to another human being.

I put quite a lot of effort into writing this and really had to turn my "good writing" skills on. You can thank all of the Twitter posts I've been writing for the vigorousness of the writing (which probably added to the emotional impact). I was originally going to share the experience only on my Twitter page, but after I wrote the posts I thought, "no, this doesn't do it justice. I can share so much more detail if I have more room to write." I generally suck at writing things that conjure emotion, but it shows that if you focus on your strengths, the result is something greater than the direct output of the abilities you used for the original creation. It really does seem true that our strengths are our magnifiers--both for what we're good at, as well as what we're not.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Do try see it if it comes out at IMAX again. I'll probably update this thread if it comes out again early next year. For years, like you, I kind of thought, "pfft, who needs movies, my home viewing experience is just fine." There are indeed some movies that statement applies to, but there's still a certain kind of magic in the cinema experience if you see the right movie--an ability to immerse you in the world of what you're viewing and get lost in the magic--and that magic is only enhanced by the splendour that is The Dark Knight IMAX experience; something that you can truly call an experience, not just a film projected onto a screen.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by openeyes

My girlfriend and I drove two hours to see it at the Omnimax in Charlotte, a dome in which the screen surrounds you and fills your vision, rather than simply drive 30 minutes to the Imax in Raleigh, with a much more modest and relatively flat screen. Quite worth it.

Thanks for sharing that, Openeyes.

I looked up the Omnimax, also known as the IMAX Dome, at Wikipedia. Quite interesting:
IMAX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We really do need more cool technology like this, and information about how it works. Knowledge of the ingenuity behind it really makes you appreciate it that much more.

Also saw this awesome photo of the IMAX London cinema:
Image:BFI London IMAX at night.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sydney cinema certainly doesn't look like that! Wow.

Originally Posted by Call me Boges

I saw 300 at Imax. super bad ass

That would have been fun.

300 wasn't as a visceral an experience as The Dark Knight was, but I certainly enjoyed being immersed in the story of the Spartans.

For honour!

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by funchy

Loved the movie. I dont think any of the IMax theatres around here have it though. I am jealous that you got to see it I-max style.

Judging by the date you made your post, it's probably stopped showing at IMAX.

Be on the look out for it in January 2009. As I mentioned in the post, there were official talks of it being re-released at IMAX.

The IMAX website for your local area should have a listing of all the movies showing. If in doubt, just give them a call and ask them what's showing, or if they have any news about a re-showing of The Dark Knight. It's worth the effort!

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Bruce Achterberg

Also saw this awesome photo of the IMAX London cinema:
Image:BFI London IMAX at night.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sydney cinema certainly doesn't look like that! Wow.

The IMAX Dome in Charlotte I'd gone to looks somewhat similar:

DISCOVERY PLACE | igniting wonder since 1981 | CHARLOTTE NATURE MUSEUM | IMAX | Discovery Place with the Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theater and the Charlotte Nature Musuem are the things to do in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Visit the Discover

I remember watching a Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon show there about a decade ago, and wish they'd have it again. Dark Knight is playing just once a week now through November 1st, though it's still playing daily at the IMAX 3D in Raleigh (where I've gone to see the last two Harry Potter films).