The 1570 pilgrimage: Why cinephiles are flying to Melbourne for The Odyssey

Cinephiles are undertaking international travel to view Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in IMAX 1570 format, the highest-resolution film projection available. Only 41 cinemas worldwide are equipped for this format, with IMAX Melbourne being the sole venue in the Southern Hemisphere. The film, shot entirely on 1570 cameras, has driven significant ticket sales and tourism, with attendees travelling from countries including Germany, Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States to experience the unique projection.

The 1570 format, named for the 70mm film stock and 15 perforations per frame, represents a significant technological hurdle. The Odyssey is the first feature film ever shot entirely on these cameras, which are notoriously heavy and loud. To make dialogue recording viable, Nolan worked with IMAX to develop a soundproofing “blimp” for the 180kg cameras, which previously required film changes every three minutes. The resulting film stock for The Odyssey is a physical behemoth, weighing 240kg and running more than 17km.

IMAX Melbourne has sold over 30,000 tickets for the film, making it the cinema’s eighth biggest film of all time. Tickets sold out rapidly upon release a year ago, with more than 17,000 sold in under 24 hours. The venue features the largest 1.43:1 cinema screen in the world, measuring 32m wide by 23m high. This physical scale, combined with the scarcity of compatible projectors, has turned the screening into a destination event rather than a casual outing.

Fans such as Christian Wächter and Romy Demeter have travelled from Germany to Indonesia but detoured to Melbourne to see the film twice. They cite the superior peripheral vision of the 1570 format compared to digital screens, noting that while larger digital IMAX screens exist elsewhere, they lack the specific resolution and texture of the film reel. Wächter argues that the expenditure is comparable to attending major sporting events, framing it as a cultural experience rather than mere entertainment.

The resurgence of 1570 projection correlates with a broader trend of auteurs returning to film formats. Since the release of Oppenheimer, the number of cinemas capable of projecting 1570 has increased from 30 to 41. Projectionist Dan Drobik notes that 1570 screenings for older films, such as Interstellar, are now more popular than at their original release, as audiences increasingly distinguish between digital and film methodologies. This shift indicates a growing commercial appetite for the tactile, high-fidelity experience that only physical film can provide.