The large image

IMAX, or the ancient world made immense.

IMAX 65/70 mm is not merely a sharper picture. It is a way of pressing the world upon the spectator: giant negative, taller frame, demanding camera, rare projection. For The Odyssey, the choice serves a simple idea: make the sea, islands, bodies and monsters feel physically present.

See the ratios See the limits

The heart of the image

The difference begins with the size of the negative.

An IMAX film camera uses 65 mm 15-perf stock. The film runs horizontally, and each frame occupies a vast surface. More surface means more detail, less apparent grain, and a precious reserve for giant screens.

70.41 x 56.62 mm IMAX 15-perf capture area listed by Kodak.

1.43:1 Full-frame IMAX 15/70 ratio, much more vertical than scope.

July 17, 2026 Release date displayed by the official site for The Odyssey.

Generated visual comparison of 35 mm, 65 mm and IMAX 15-perf negative areas — The IMAX surface dominates because the film moves horizontally: the image gains both scale and height.

35 mm 4-perf

24.90 x 18.70 mm

Historical, reliable, but less sovereign when the screen becomes immense.

Native ratio about 1.33

65 mm 5-perf

52.15 x 23.07 mm

A broad horizontal format, ample and tied to classical 70 mm spectacle.

Native ratio about 2.20

IMAX 65 mm 15-perf

70.41 x 56.62 mm

A giant negative: detail, texture, height and almost physical presence.

Native ratio about 1.43

Same image, three windows

IMAX does not only show wider. It makes the world taller.

On a sea scene, 2.39:1 stretches the horizon. 1.43:1 keeps sky, wave, ship and threat in the same field. That matters for a story of masts, cliffs, gods, caves and monsters.

The same ancient ship scene reframed in three formats, from wide scope to taller IMAX full frame — The same image does not tell the same story: the higher the frame rises, the more the world becomes a vertical pressure.

2.39:1 - The wide horizon Spectacular width, but the sky withdraws and vertical threat loses force.

1.90:1 - The taller window The frame breathes more, with a height many IMAX Laser rooms can reproduce.

1.43:1 - The full height Body, wave, mast, sky and threat can remain in the same image.

Camera angles

The same scene changes meaning with camera height.

With a very vertical format, camera position becomes even more expressive. A low camera turns the world into a threat; eye level keeps intimacy; a high angle places Odysseus back inside the map of fate.

Three camera angles on a Greek ship near a cliff: low angle, eye level and high angle — Camera height changes the idea of the shot: threat, human presence or strategic reading of space.

Low camera

The world falls onto Odysseus

The cliff, mast or Cyclops takes over. The hero looks small, caught in a force larger than himself.

Eye level

The face keeps the epic human

The shot remains intimate: the setting exists, but gaze, fatigue and decision stay central.

High angle

The sea becomes a map again

The same scene becomes route and trap: ship, isolation, distance. IMAX keeps enough matter to read space.

Narrative force

When the format becomes a physical sensation.

The main interest of IMAX is not only definition. It is the ability to hold a face, a texture, depth and a mass of setting together without flattening the image.

In The Odyssey, that can turn the sea into a character: not a blue background behind Odysseus, but a mass that occupies the frame, rises over the body, crushes the ship and gives the return a real physical hardness.

A vertical IMAX frame showing layers of a shot: sky, cliff, ship and sea — Sky, threat, body, sea: the IMAX shot works when several layers remain readable together.

The price of spectacle

The format rewards discipline and rarely forgives vagueness.

The larger the negative, the more demanding the whole system becomes: film stock runs fast, cameras are complex, focus is delicate and ideal projection is rare. The choice becomes magnificent when the mise en scene exploits it. Otherwise, it is only a very expensive luxury.

Film stock

A 1,000-foot IMAX 15-perf magazine lasts about 2 minutes 57 seconds at 24 fps.

Reloading

Fewer endless takes, more discipline at the moment of shooting.

Camera

Long heavy, noisy and hard to move; the new cameras announced for the film promise more agility.

Projection

The full 15/70 effect remains rare: many viewers will see a Laser, premium or standard version.

IMAX 15/70 film

The summit: height, detail, photochemical texture. Rare, therefore precious.

IMAX Laser

Very spectacular, sometimes in 1.43 or 1.90 depending on the auditorium, with a digital rendering.

Premium room

Large image, strong sound, but not necessarily the full IMAX frame.

Standard room

The composition remains, but part of the physical shock disappears.

Verdict

For an odyssey, IMAX naturally has its place.

The format turns the journey into a bodily experience: the small man, the immense sea, the too-high sky, stone and skin in the same shot. The promise matters only if Nolan truly uses verticality, distance and real matter. If the image makes the ancient world seem to fall onto Odysseus, the logistical ordeal will have found its reason.

Checked sources

The technical markers used.

Official site for The Odyssey: July 17, 2026 release and the "shot entirely with IMAX film cameras" claim.
Kodak, Film Format Choices: dimensions of 35 mm, 65 mm 5-perf and IMAX 15-perf formats, plus the 1,000-foot magazine duration.
IMAX Melbourne, IMAX 1570 Film: 1.43:1 ratio, screen height and the rarity of 15/70 systems.
Motion Picture Association, CinemaCon 2026: IMAX filming, new cameras and production context.