Does it really matter how you watch The Odyssey? Film

Does it really matter how you watch The Odyssey? Film-lovers are divided

Christopher Nolan shot The Odyssey in IMAX 70 mm — best viewed in just 9 Canadian theatres

Fans flock to Regina as The Odyssey hits one of 41 70mm IMAX theatres

Before last Friday, you probably didn’t consider that there could be a wrong way to watch a movie.

Then Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey came out, and the internet erupted with a lot of chatter about the "best" way to see the film, which is based on Homer's epic about a man on a decade-long quest to return home after fighting in the Trojan War.

It all ties back to the Hollywood director’s decision to shoot the entire film with IMAX 70 mm film cameras, the largest format available.

That means the movie will look a little bit different, depending on what kind of theatre you watch it in.

Add in promotional material from star Matt Damon urging audiences to "experience The Odyssey in IMAX 70 mm" and one corner of the internet has concluded this is "the way Nolan intended" the film to be seen.

Another corner of the internet is absolutely roasting him for it.

What kind of filmmaker makes a movie that can only be shown in its "ideal form" at 41 theatres worldwide — only nine of which are in Canada?

One who wants people to be intentional about their movie-going, said Leslie-Ann Coles, founder and executive director of the Toronto-based Female Eye Film Festival.

"It's absolutely brilliant that he shot it on IMAX cameras that are bigger than God and not well suited to the small screen," she said in an email to CBC News. "Kudos to him. Let's keep cinema alive in theatres."

Audiences make long journeys to IMAX theatres

When CBC News asked if Nolan really did intend for his film to be watched in one specific format, his publicist did not respond.

But that hasn’t stopped a huge number of people from journeying to their nearest IMAX theatre.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey sells out 70 mm Imax screenings a year in advance

IMAX says its theatres accounted for a massive 20 per cent share of The Odyssey’s global debut, delivering $52 million US in sales.

There was so much hype, IMAX put tickets on sale for some 70 mm showtimes a full year in advance. Some theatres even added midnight and 3 a.m. screenings — and they sold out.

On average, it costs about $10 more to see a film on the IMAX screen than on a regular theatre screen. Transportation to the nearest theatre can add a premium, and that is a source of frustration for some people online.

For others, it's simply unnecessary.

Watching this particular movie in an IMAX 70 mm theatre will allow you to "feel the full impact of how it was shot, so you’ll be on The Odyssey with all of us," says Damon in the film’s promotion.

While that may be an incredible experience, it’s simply not an option for Jamesie Fournier, co-ordinator of the Aulajut Nunavut International Film Festival.

Iqaluit has just one movie theatre and Yellowknife, he points out, has none, let alone a 70 mm screen.

"Ideally, we'd all love to be able to see it in that way but it's just not a reality for a lot of folks out there," Fournier said.

As someone who works hard to bring the movie-theatre experience to communities that don’t have one, he’s not convinced the format is the most important thing.

"Being able to see it in any way is going to be able to make a difference," Fournier said. "Whether you're being kind of stupefied by the brilliant visuals… or if you're kind of internalizing this story."

And there is a lot to internalize in The Odyssey.

“Holding on to so much grief and regret and pain and trauma and being able to finally come back to our home,” is a theme Fournier said will resonate with people, no matter how they watch the movie.

Helen Surgenor is a producer for CBC News based in Toronto, currently working for the entertainment unit. She spent years waking up before dawn to make the daily news podcast World Report. She has reported in Alberta, Iqaluit and Barbados. You can reach her at helen.surgenor@cbc.ca.

with files from Griffin Jaeger and the Associated Press