Why Christopher Nolan fans are flying to Australia for The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan fans are travelling thousands of miles to watch The Odyssey in Australia, turning a film screening into something closer to a pilgrimage. The film releases worldwide on July 18 and on July 17 in India.
For most people, travelling overseas means ticking off landmarks, sampling local food or catching up with loved ones. For Christopher Nolan's most devoted fans, however, the destination is a cinema. This week, hundreds of film lovers are boarding long-haul flights to Melbourne, Australia with one purpose: to watch The Odyssey in IMAX 1570, the format Christopher Nolan has spent years championing.
Some are flying from Germany, Turkey, Singapore and Malaysia. Others are making the journey from across Australia or even the United States. Their itinerary is simple - land, watch the film, and for many, watch it all over again.
It sounds excessive until you realise that, for Nolan's followers, this isn't simply about seeing a new release. It is about experiencing it exactly as the filmmaker intended.
So, why are fans literally travelling across the globe for just one film?
There are only 41 cinemas in the world capable of projecting IMAX 1570 (none in India, though), with just seven located outside North America. Among them is IMAX Melbourne, the only cinema in the Southern Hemisphere screening The Odyssey in a 1570 film print. That rarity has transformed the theatre into a global destination for cinephiles. You can read more about the 1570 print and why it's so special here.
The timing could hardly be more fitting. Nolan's latest film adapts Homer's The Odyssey, one of literature's greatest journeys. While Odysseus battled storms, monsters and restless seas to return home, audiences are crossing continents in search of what they believe is the definitive way to watch the film.
For Nolan, this format has never been a marketing gimmick. IMAX 1570 – named after its 70mm film stock and 15 perforations per frame – delivers one of the highest-resolution cinematic images available. It is also demanding, expensive and increasingly rare.
If you're in India and want to watch Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in its original IMAX 1570 film format, the closest country is Australia. Interestingly, the country also houses the world's largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen, measuring 32 metres by 23 metres.
How Nolan recorded The Odyssey in IMAX 1570
The Odyssey pushes that commitment further than any previous film. It is the first feature shot entirely using IMAX 1570 cameras. Each camera weighs around 180kg, film magazines need changing every three minutes, and Nolan even collaborated with IMAX engineers to develop a soundproof housing, so dialogue could be recorded without the camera's mechanical noise overwhelming every scene.
In an era when filmmaking is increasingly driven by digital convenience, Nolan continues to embrace a process that is slower, heavier and far more labour-intensive. That dedication has earned him something few contemporary directors enjoy: audiences willing to travel thousands of miles for the format itself.
Melbourne's IMAX has become the centre of that movement. Its 32-metre-wide, 23-metre-high screen is the largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen in the world. Before The Odyssey had even opened, the cinema had sold more than 30,000 tickets, with over 17,000 snapped up within the first 24 hours of sales.
While speaking to The Guardian, general manager Jeremy Fee said the attraction is straightforward. "We are only one of 41 cinemas across the globe where you can see it in the way that Nolan created the film. There's only seven outside North America, so people do seek out that really special experience. They can't really see this anywhere else," he said.
Some visitors are building entire holidays around a screening. Among them are German couple Christian Wachter and Romy Demeter, who were already travelling through Indonesia before adding Melbourne to their itinerary purely to watch The Odyssey – twice.
"People have asked why would you take that plane to Melbourne and see a movie?" Wachter told The Guardian. "Because it's the biggest 1570 screen in the world," he added. To him, the comparison is obvious. Sports fans routinely spend thousands attending the World Cup, Wimbledon or Formula One races. Travelling for a film, he argues, is simply another form of cultural pilgrimage. "It's not like we are totally crazy," he said with a laugh.
Demeter admitted not everyone in the family agreed. Her 87-year-old grandmother simply laughed when she heard the plan. Wachter's father, too, struggled to understand it. But that's the deal. That kind of commitment and love are what make you a fan.
Most cinemas abandoned 1570 film projection years ago as digital technology took over. Melbourne itself removed its film projector in 2015 before reinstalling it two years later after Nolan encouraged IMAX venues to screen the 2017 movie Dunkirk on film. That decision now feels remarkably prescient.
Cinema has always been about stories. But sometimes, the story begins long before the lights dim. For Christopher Nolan's fans, The Odyssey is more than another blockbuster. It is proof that, even in the age of instant streaming, some experiences remain worth crossing oceans for.
Starring Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Travis Scott, The Odyssey is releasing worldwide on July 18 and in India a day earlier.
For most people, travelling overseas means ticking off landmarks, sampling local food or catching up with loved ones. For Christopher Nolan's most devoted fans, however, the destination is a cinema. This week, hundreds of film lovers are boarding long-haul flights to Melbourne, Australia with one purpose: to watch The Odyssey in IMAX 1570, the format Christopher Nolan has spent years championing.
Some are flying from Germany, Turkey, Singapore and Malaysia. Others are making the journey from across Australia or even the United States. Their itinerary is simple - land, watch the film, and for many, watch it all over again.
It sounds excessive until you realise that, for Nolan's followers, this isn't simply about seeing a new release. It is about experiencing it exactly as the filmmaker intended.
So, why are fans literally travelling across the globe for just one film?
There are only 41 cinemas in the world capable of projecting IMAX 1570 (none in India, though), with just seven located outside North America. Among them is IMAX Melbourne, the only cinema in the Southern Hemisphere screening The Odyssey in a 1570 film print. That rarity has transformed the theatre into a global destination for cinephiles. You can read more about the 1570 print and why it's so special here.
The timing could hardly be more fitting. Nolan's latest film adapts Homer's The Odyssey, one of literature's greatest journeys. While Odysseus battled storms, monsters and restless seas to return home, audiences are crossing continents in search of what they believe is the definitive way to watch the film.
For Nolan, this format has never been a marketing gimmick. IMAX 1570 – named after its 70mm film stock and 15 perforations per frame – delivers one of the highest-resolution cinematic images available. It is also demanding, expensive and increasingly rare.
If you're in India and want to watch Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in its original IMAX 1570 film format, the closest country is Australia. Interestingly, the country also houses the world's largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen, measuring 32 metres by 23 metres.
How Nolan recorded The Odyssey in IMAX 1570
The Odyssey pushes that commitment further than any previous film. It is the first feature shot entirely using IMAX 1570 cameras. Each camera weighs around 180kg, film magazines need changing every three minutes, and Nolan even collaborated with IMAX engineers to develop a soundproof housing, so dialogue could be recorded without the camera's mechanical noise overwhelming every scene.
In an era when filmmaking is increasingly driven by digital convenience, Nolan continues to embrace a process that is slower, heavier and far more labour-intensive. That dedication has earned him something few contemporary directors enjoy: audiences willing to travel thousands of miles for the format itself.
Melbourne's IMAX has become the centre of that movement. Its 32-metre-wide, 23-metre-high screen is the largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen in the world. Before The Odyssey had even opened, the cinema had sold more than 30,000 tickets, with over 17,000 snapped up within the first 24 hours of sales.
While speaking to The Guardian, general manager Jeremy Fee said the attraction is straightforward. "We are only one of 41 cinemas across the globe where you can see it in the way that Nolan created the film. There's only seven outside North America, so people do seek out that really special experience. They can't really see this anywhere else," he said.
Some visitors are building entire holidays around a screening. Among them are German couple Christian Wachter and Romy Demeter, who were already travelling through Indonesia before adding Melbourne to their itinerary purely to watch The Odyssey – twice.
"People have asked why would you take that plane to Melbourne and see a movie?" Wachter told The Guardian. "Because it's the biggest 1570 screen in the world," he added. To him, the comparison is obvious. Sports fans routinely spend thousands attending the World Cup, Wimbledon or Formula One races. Travelling for a film, he argues, is simply another form of cultural pilgrimage. "It's not like we are totally crazy," he said with a laugh.
Demeter admitted not everyone in the family agreed. Her 87-year-old grandmother simply laughed when she heard the plan. Wachter's father, too, struggled to understand it. But that's the deal. That kind of commitment and love are what make you a fan.
Most cinemas abandoned 1570 film projection years ago as digital technology took over. Melbourne itself removed its film projector in 2015 before reinstalling it two years later after Nolan encouraged IMAX venues to screen the 2017 movie Dunkirk on film. That decision now feels remarkably prescient.
Cinema has always been about stories. But sometimes, the story begins long before the lights dim. For Christopher Nolan's fans, The Odyssey is more than another blockbuster. It is proof that, even in the age of instant streaming, some experiences remain worth crossing oceans for.
Starring Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Travis Scott, The Odyssey is releasing worldwide on July 18 and in India a day earlier.
For most people, travelling overseas means ticking off landmarks, sampling local food or catching up with loved ones. For Christopher Nolan's most devoted fans, however, the destination is a cinema. This week, hundreds of film lovers are boarding long-haul flights to Melbourne, Australia with one purpose: to watch The Odyssey in IMAX 1570, the format Christopher Nolan has spent years championing.
Some are flying from Germany, Turkey, Singapore and Malaysia. Others are making the journey from across Australia or even the United States. Their itinerary is simple - land, watch the film, and for many, watch it all over again.
It sounds excessive until you realise that, for Nolan's followers, this isn't simply about seeing a new release. It is about experiencing it exactly as the filmmaker intended.
So, why are fans literally travelling across the globe for just one film?
There are only 41 cinemas in the world capable of projecting IMAX 1570 (none in India, though), with just seven located outside North America. Among them is IMAX Melbourne, the only cinema in the Southern Hemisphere screening The Odyssey in a 1570 film print. That rarity has transformed the theatre into a global destination for cinephiles. You can read more about the 1570 print and why it's so special here.
The timing could hardly be more fitting. Nolan's latest film adapts Homer's The Odyssey, one of literature's greatest journeys. While Odysseus battled storms, monsters and restless seas to return home, audiences are crossing continents in search of what they believe is the definitive way to watch the film.
For Nolan, this format has never been a marketing gimmick. IMAX 1570 – named after its 70mm film stock and 15 perforations per frame – delivers one of the highest-resolution cinematic images available. It is also demanding, expensive and increasingly rare.
If you're in India and want to watch Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in its original IMAX 1570 film format, the closest country is Australia. Interestingly, the country also houses the world's largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen, measuring 32 metres by 23 metres.
How Nolan recorded The Odyssey in IMAX 1570
The Odyssey pushes that commitment further than any previous film. It is the first feature shot entirely using IMAX 1570 cameras. Each camera weighs around 180kg, film magazines need changing every three minutes, and Nolan even collaborated with IMAX engineers to develop a soundproof housing, so dialogue could be recorded without the camera's mechanical noise overwhelming every scene.
In an era when filmmaking is increasingly driven by digital convenience, Nolan continues to embrace a process that is slower, heavier and far more labour-intensive. That dedication has earned him something few contemporary directors enjoy: audiences willing to travel thousands of miles for the format itself.
Melbourne's IMAX has become the centre of that movement. Its 32-metre-wide, 23-metre-high screen is the largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen in the world. Before The Odyssey had even opened, the cinema had sold more than 30,000 tickets, with over 17,000 snapped up within the first 24 hours of sales.
While speaking to The Guardian, general manager Jeremy Fee said the attraction is straightforward. "We are only one of 41 cinemas across the globe where you can see it in the way that Nolan created the film. There's only seven outside North America, so people do seek out that really special experience. They can't really see this anywhere else," he said.
Some visitors are building entire holidays around a screening. Among them are German couple Christian Wachter and Romy Demeter, who were already travelling through Indonesia before adding Melbourne to their itinerary purely to watch The Odyssey – twice.
"People have asked why would you take that plane to Melbourne and see a movie?" Wachter told The Guardian. "Because it's the biggest 1570 screen in the world," he added. To him, the comparison is obvious. Sports fans routinely spend thousands attending the World Cup, Wimbledon or Formula One races. Travelling for a film, he argues, is simply another form of cultural pilgrimage. "It's not like we are totally crazy," he said with a laugh.
Demeter admitted not everyone in the family agreed. Her 87-year-old grandmother simply laughed when she heard the plan. Wachter's father, too, struggled to understand it. But that's the deal. That kind of commitment and love are what make you a fan.
Most cinemas abandoned 1570 film projection years ago as digital technology took over. Melbourne itself removed its film projector in 2015 before reinstalling it two years later after Nolan encouraged IMAX venues to screen the 2017 movie Dunkirk on film. That decision now feels remarkably prescient.
Cinema has always been about stories. But sometimes, the story begins long before the lights dim. For Christopher Nolan's fans, The Odyssey is more than another blockbuster. It is proof that, even in the age of instant streaming, some experiences remain worth crossing oceans for.
Starring Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Travis Scott, The Odyssey is releasing worldwide on July 18 and in India a day earlier.
