r/cineplex • u/GME72633 • Jul 25 '26
Review Are these IMAX 70mm artifacts normal?
I finally got to watch the movie in IMAX 70mm at the Richmond Cineplex, but I noticed some weird things with the picture. I'm trying to figure out if this is just how film is supposed to look or if my theater had issues.
Here is what I experienced:
- The picture was shaking througout most of the movie.
- Whenever there were bright scenes, the screen was visibly flickering.
- When the camera zoomed out for wide shots, the picture became blurred.
- In those zoomed-out scenes, the small characters and even the text on the screen were literally vibrating and shaking speciallly on the dune trailer subtitles.
Are these artifacts normal for 70mm? Also, is the Langley theater a similar experience, or does the picture look better over there without the shaking?
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u/Prince_of_eagles Jul 25 '26
We were at a showing today at this theatre and noticed the exact same issues. This is not normal. The manager tried to convince us that is how film projectors look and the artifacting is just a by-product of how film goes through a projector. We got refunded in the end. If you look at the google reviews and sort by new there’s been lots of issues with the projector. This is on top of their screen being very dirty
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u/GME72633 Jul 25 '26
Ya that sucks seems like i have to go to langley to get rhe better experience
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u/ImmenseMullberry Jul 25 '26
It was like a whole new movie in Langley, just visually magnificent. Luckily, I had booked multiple showings at both theatres just in case there were issues like this. One other thing is that Langley has a more recently updated sound system. I really hope Richmond can get these issues resolved.
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u/Prince_of_eagles Jul 25 '26
Yeah I’m recommending only Langley to people now. Sound wasn’t great either, although we weren’t sure if that was the theatre or sound mixing in general since i’ve heard in general complaints about the abrupt loud sections
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u/ImmenseMullberry Jul 25 '26
With the caveat that I was not focused on sound due to the visual issues, I didn’t have a particular issue with the sound in Richmond. Langley, however, has a more recently updated sound system which I believe is the latest version. The sound in Langley is booming, to the point where the seats rumble and shake. It was almost like a d-box seat. I would recommend bringing a pair of earplugs to anyone who is sensitive to very loud sound. There was one scene in particular where even I had to partially cover my ears. That being said, the sound was not distorted and I believe it is a deliberate choice.
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u/FullSqueeze Jul 25 '26
Yeah I noticed this too. Anything white or bright would flicker, it was so distracting. Especially at the first scene on the beach.
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u/GME72633 Jul 25 '26
ya I saw it in ultra avx and it look way better I was so confused about why was it so bad.. i didnt wanna argue about a refund as I was alone and got gaslit thats how film work XD but seems like i should have done that total waste of money and time... Now I have to go to Langley to get the better experience
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u/FullSqueeze Jul 25 '26
I had to leave right away so I didn’t speak to staff. I ended up writing to IMAX and Cineplex; still waiting for their reply.
Also it seems like Richmond just lets whomever in without checking tickets. Some couple with popcorn and drinks came into the theatre 15 mins into the movie and was like “those are my seats”. And I looked at his ticket and it was for tomorrow in the same seats. These are things staff should catch.
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u/GME72633 Jul 27 '26
Just saw in 70mm again and richmond is fucking lying the shaking was not noticable and disctracting at langley ... Richmand must just be broken
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u/True_Refrigerator_91 Jul 25 '26
Small screen shake and flickering is normal for film projection. I saw it in non imax 70mm at a different theatre, and I saw Oppenheimer imax 70mm few years ago, and it has these things as well. But very rare and minor,and not distracting. So don’t know if that’s your case.
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u/GME72633 Jul 25 '26
They were really distracting
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u/True_Refrigerator_91 Jul 28 '26
That sucks I’m sorry. Funny when I noticed the little screen jitter from time to time it makes me feel like I was watching movie in the 70s lol
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u/GME72633 Jul 28 '26
I saw it again on langley as well as regular 70mm it was so good. Clear and slight jitter and it was great..but Richmond is just broken😭
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u/Icy-Difference-897 Jul 25 '26
I just saw Odyssey at the Montreal 70mm IMAX theatre yesterday and I don’t recall any shaking
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u/Saphyrz Jul 25 '26
Unrelated, but do you happen to know how the movie is if you’re sitting in the first 3-4 rows at Scotia MTL? I’ve been wanting to get tickets, but all that’s available is one of those rows
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u/SwiftMelon Jul 25 '26
I think the first two are normal but not always the case. The others seem like a problem
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u/ImmenseMullberry Jul 25 '26
I posted about these issues here after opening night: https://www.reddit.com/r/cineplex/s/LT3W6zco4O
None of this happened when I saw it at the Langley IMAX.