Why Are IMAX Scenes Missing On Blu-ray?

Check out Gentlebands and get 25% off with my code JEFFMOVIES: bit.ly/49JeXNS

It’s disappointing honestly when we cannot get IMAX ratios on home discs… and only having like 2-3 week windows to see these films in IMAX at the theaters…

I’m in the industry. If Denis wanted IMAX, he’d get it for the disc release. He’s not invested at all in specifying this. Nolan has specifically requested this for each of his disc releases with IMAX.

Disney’s 4K release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 used the IMAX footage and that released late last summer. Shocked.

The hour of IMAX in The Hunger Games Catching Fire takes my breath away, Jennifer Lawrence going up inside the elevator straight to the arena while the screen gets wider and wider, unforgettable images we get thanks to physical media. Great video Jeff !!!

Whether it’s true iMax or not, those scenes still look incredible on my 65 inch OLED. When the aspect ratio switches in Nolan movies it’s so immersive. It’s a shame it’s a limited feature.

The issue I think many people have is that Denis Villeneuve said that he DID want Imax on the 4K release for Dune 2, and that he was expecting it to be on the disc release...and then it wasn't

The closer to 16:9 a release is, the better. I only watch movies on my OLED TV, and prefer movies to fill the whole screen. Unfortunately that seems less common these days, even with TV series.

It’s not just Dune 2, even Godzilla X Kong won’t have its IMAX scenes in Blu ray which is a shame because I really hope this doesn’t mean those IMAX scenes are in danger of becoming lost media. On another note I do hope that the upcoming rumor Blu ray of Tron Legacy will have its IMAX scenes from the standard Blu ray.

I checked Top Gun Maverick and my Nolan discs, none of them have IMAX branding. It doesn’t make sense that they would have to pay licensing with no branding. Most likely WB just didn’t want to put forth the extra effort or plans to double dip with a 1.90 release later.

8:20 - The thing is though that very few films shoot 65mm 15-perf like Nolan. Most shoot full DCP size, which is 1.90:1, a ratio that’s technically wider than 16:9 but is letterboxed on a 16:9 screen. So you’re still seeing the full image.

Blu-Ray IMAX movies There are 3D Blu-ray’s that change aspect ratio but not gonna do those Aquaman Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (Remastered) The Dark Knight The Dark Knight Rises Dunkirk First Man Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 3 Hunger Games: Catching Fire - (Blu-ray only; not 4K) Interstellar Mission Impossible: Fallout Nope (2022) Oppenheimer Star Trek: Into Darkness Tenet Top Gun Maverick Transformer: The Last Knight Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen- (Blu-Ray IMAX Edition) Wonder Woman 1984

For those few of us with home theaters using projectors and "scope" screens with approx. 2.4:1 aspect ratios, the widescreen format works better than having the aspect ratio change from scene to scene, as in the some IMAX discs. So here is one vote in favor in the wide screen format used for Dune Part 2.

Aquaman 2 got IMAX footage for home release. Which only confuses me more because if THAT got IMAX footage, why not Dune 1 and 2?

This reasoning only brings up more questions with the case of Dune Part 2. It wasn't even shot on IMAX film cameras, only the Arri Alexa 65 and LF, so why would the expanded image be absent? And it isn't directors intent either because in an interview when asked about the physical release, Villeneuve sounded confident that the expanded image was going on the disc. Edit: So it looks like this goes deeper than I initially thought. None of the Marvel movies given the "IMAX" branding on Disney+ were actually shot on IMAX film, so I guess the IMAX title is some kind of hostile patent on the 1.90:1 aspect ratio as well?

What's even better than the additional aspect ratio of the picture is the picture quality itself which are by far the most beautiful scenes you'll ever see in 4K at home.

Makes a lot of sense. I do like the shifting aspect ratio as it can add extra gravitas to a scene. However if including makes putting out a physical version none viable, then I’m happy to sacrifice it, so I can have a disc.

Does imax own the aspect ratio? How hard is it to film at that aspect ratio using non imax cameras?

Unpopular opinion: the best option would be to reframe at 16x9 since the vast majority of home screens are that size. You get more info than the 1:2.35 but without the side bars you'd get if you went full IMAX ratio

Angry Birds 2 has IMAX on its release? Hilariously random