For years I’ve been hoping to see Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey projected in genuine IMAX. It was announced today that serious large-format presentations will finally happen on 8.24, or just over three weeks hence. The Hollywood Reporter‘s Pamela McLintock reports that four IMAX theatres (in Burbank, Manhattan, San Francisco and Toronto) will project the 1968 classic on what I presume will be titanic IMAX-sized screens.
The downside is that Chris Nolan‘s teal and yellow-tinted version, by any fundamental visual standard a vandalizing of Kubrick’s original 70mm presentation of the film (as this comparison reel makes clear), is the version that will be shown. McLintock reports that a “4K restoration” (i.e., Nolan’s version converted for an upcoming 4K Bluray) will be screened at “350 other IMAX locations,” many if not most of which will be fake IMAX screens.
You want irony? A video posted at the bottom of McLintock’s THR story, titled “2001: A Space Odyssey Anniversary / A Look Back”, shows scenes from the film that haven’t been Nolan-ized (i.e., aren’t tinted teal or piss-yellow).
The Hollywood Reporter “‘2001’ — A Look Back” video (I can’t understand how to properly size these constantly problematic Brightcove codes):
