Imax: Bigger, Better, Breathtaking
By Josh Larsen

The American maxim that bigger is better is often uttered with a tinge of irony, but a new movie trend has so far proved the theory. Three Hollywood hits--Apollo 13, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and The Lion King--have recently been reformatted for large-screen Imax theaters, with promising results. And why not? After all, what's more natural than a bigger blockbuster?

The Imax genre has long been a cinematic wasteland, mostly littered with the sort of simplistic documentaries and childish dramas you wouldn't wish on the kids of your worst enemy. Governed by a mandate to make the most of the huge screen and state-of-the-art sound system, Imax films almost always emphasize spectacle over substance. Usually they don't even bother with a story, but in those few cases in which a narrative exists, the visuals crudely overwhelm it.

For all their love of spectacle, the best Hollywood movies know that story matters. Bringing those stories to Imax theaters, however, takes some reworking. For Apollo 13, the original 35mm film frames were converted into digital form, which enables technicians to remove the graininess, sharpen the images, and adjust the colors. Once the frames were remastered to large-format specifications, they were transferred to the standard 70mm Imax film size. (Since Attack of the Clones was shot with digital cameras, the producers of the Imax version didn't have to bother with the first step.)

In both cases we're given much more than a bigger picture. Apollo 13, a recreation of NASA's aborted and near-fatal 1970 trip to the moon, with Tom Hanks as veteran astronaut Jim Lovell, remains stirring salute to the bravery and ingenuity of the pioneers of America's space program. What's emphasized even more in the Imax version is the immensity of their challenge. When Lovell and his men are stranded in space, the seemingly endless expanse of the Imax screen makes their predicament feel all the more dire.

The scenes with more visceral power-- as when the Apollo 13's rocket flames engulf the theater--are exciting without drowning out the moments of quiete drama. Thanks to its gripping narrative, the movie is just as thrilling when the engineers at the command center desperately try to cobble together a rescue mission with little more than spare parts and a chalkboard. While heightening its audio-visual powers, Apollo 13: The Imax Experience remains true to the integrity of the original.

Attack of the Clones, the latest installment in George Lucas's ongoing space saga, is a rich, ominous addition to the series, and a crowning technical achievement. The latter quality is fully on display here, even more so than during the digital presentations that took place this summer in select theaters.

Lucas has always been adept at immersing moviegoers in the worlds he's created, a skill that reaches its full potential with Imax technology. The screen bursts with details that would go unnoticed in a conventional venue, such as the intricate cityscape that flies by during an early chase sequence, or the glint that's been painstakingly added to a computer-animated character's eye. And then there's the sound, a rushing wave of otherworldly noises, most notable during a spaceship battle featuring reverbrating sonic charges. When the visual and aural effects combine in a climactic scene--as in a lightsaber duel--the screen takes on the abstract beauty of an experimental film, with slashing lights and sizzling sound effects whirling throughout the theater. Regular venues present Lucas's vision; Imax theaters recreate it.

Are there drawbacks to these Imax versions? Like any new technology, it has its limitations. The two-hour running time (Imax film platters only hold 120 minutes of footage) meant losing sequences from Star Wars and Apollo 13. Also, there should be an embargo on headshots, considering they come across as inert monstrosities in a large-format theater. The lengthy dialogues in Clones are already one of the film's weakest points, and they become only more glaring when Anakin Skywalker's face takes up the entire screen.

Even so, these recent undertakings point to a new era for the Imax genre. Star Wars and Apollo 13 played in Imax theaters this past fall, while The Lion King--the second such venture for Walt Disney Pictures, which released a large-format version of Beauty and the Beast in 2001--opens on Christmas Day. In all three cases, the best of Hollywood gets an extended life in the larger format. If studios continue to be smart about the films they offer--there's no need for a giant Scooby-Doo--it may even lead to an expansion of the art form.

--Josh Larsen