The Dark Knight Blu-ray to Feature IMAX Shifted Aspect Ratio

While speaking with iF Magazine, 'The Dark Knight' director Christopher Nolan mentioned that the inevitable of Blu-ray will feature the IMAX shifted aspect ratio. He commented, "The Blu-ray, in particular, will be able to actually use the shifted aspect ratios as it appears on the IMAX screen because the 16:9 aspect ratio is sufficiently different from the 2:4 that you'll actually see a shift on the Blu-ray." He continued, "The resolution on the Blu-ray is clear enough that you can actually see difference in grain structure and sharpness. So I think it will be quite spectacular." The film has still not hit theaters, so the Blu-ray is far off, but its interesting to learn that the high definition format is exciting directors.
Source: iF Magazine | Permalink	Relevant for:

Blu-Runner  » Jul 07, 2008
Very interesting indeed, and if perhaps directors implement more IMAX shots in their future films, we'll obviously reap the benefits in high definition. Thanks to Nolan and TDK for taking a big step forward!

RustyK94  » Jul 07, 2008
I love you Mr Nolan The IMAX prologue is stunning by the way for all those who have not got there copy of batman begins yet.

view_it  » Jul 07, 2008
yes - WILL BE SUPER high video quality ! (I hope) with extreme soundfield circle around our room !!!! be there to buy this film ...

silversnake  » Jul 07, 2008
Wow. that's sounds awesome. Glad to hear it!

Chris60119  » Jul 07, 2008
Sounds cool even though Im not sure what it means.

quexos  » Jul 07, 2008
ah great ! More format confusion As i recall Imax format is much higher than wider kind of like the old square tv's. so how is this going to work on our 16/9 screens ? are we going to have the widest side black bars in history ?

Rainman208  » Jul 07, 2008
Yeah I'm not sure what to make of this one.

Heart&Soul  » Jul 07, 2008
I'm anxious to see what this feature will provide.

NoQuestion  » Jul 07, 2008
i dont follow

TauHeel05  » Jul 07, 2008
i have a feeling it will include both through seamless branching. But more importantly, let's hope WB flexes the bitrate!

ClaytonMG  » Jul 07, 2008
Soooo what aspect ratio is this going to be in??? I am excited for a unique viewing experience, but I am not 100% sure what the ratio would be. Also, it wouldn't be seemless branching if the entire film uses the IMAX shifted ratio.

kaliraver69  » Jul 07, 2008
I want this Blu-Ray now! I already got tickets to see on Thursday the 17th at 10:00 PM and am excited to get a hold of this movie when it gets released on Blu-Ray. Definitely this movie will be a day one purchase!

MCWHAMMER  » Jul 07, 2008	Show comment Hide comment
I could post a news article saying that "Hanes Underwear" was coming to Blu-ray day and date with the DVD release, and someone would say: "DAY 1ONE PURCHASE, AWESOMES !"

ClaytonMG  » Jul 07, 2008	Show comment Hide comment
So just out of curiosity, why would someone hit minus on my comment? It wasn't negative at all and was pretty much the same question everyone else is asking...

dough21  » Jul 07, 2008
IMAX (15/70) * spherical lenses * 70 mm film, 15 perforations per frame * horizontal pulldown, from right to left (viewed from base side) * 24 frames per second * camera aperture: 70.41mm (2.772″) by 52.63mm (2.072″) * projection aperture: at least 20.3mm (0.80″) less than camera aperture on the vertical axis and at least 0.016″ less on the horizontal axis * aspect ratio: 1.34:1 From Wikipedia

krylonman  » Jul 07, 2008

OK, so after looking at the specs on the IMDb, apparently certain scenes were shot in 65mm and, in the IMAX version, the screen will open all the way up for them, while the rest of the movie is in regular 35mm 'scope. I dunno. Since 1080p is already significantly below 35mm in detail I can't see it looking much better, but it will be interesting to see how distracting (or not) these aspect ratio shifts will be. In my heart of hearts I hope there's an option to watch the straight theatrical version.

ClaytonMG  » Jul 07, 2008
"aspect ratio: 1.34:1" So would it switch between 2.35:1 and 1.34:1? Or was the entire film shot in IMAX?

raven1138  » Jul 07, 2008
ok... im just lost

aaaa6344  » Jul 07, 2008

i'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference, just watch the dark knight 2nd trailer and it's pretty obvious which shots were in imax and which where in 35mm (like the helicopter building shots vs the inside dialogue ones). pretty much all the time downsampling from a higher res source yields better results. i just hope they don't go from 2.35:1 to 1:34:1, but i'm guessing it'll be more like 2.35 to 1.77 or whatever the prologue is on the batman begins disc which i hear isn't as drastic ps. i didn't manually press enter, i just don't think this works in safari (i tried to fix it)

obriensg1  » Jul 07, 2008
It will go back and forth from 1:78:1 to 2:35:1. Anything shot in IMAX format will be in 1:78:1 and the rest will be at a scope ratio. Since it will be on our 16:9 TVs it won't be as dramatic a change as when you go see it at an IMAX screen

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