The Pathé Odysseum in Montpellier is the only cinema in France, and one of three in Europe, to be equipped with a 70 mm Imax projector for the release of “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan.
We haven’t seen anything yet. It is both a fact and a promise. The fact is that no one has seen yet L’Odyssée by Christopher Nolan, the most anticipated Hollywood film of the year, which is due to be released in theaters on July 15. And the promise? This new adaptation of the mythological story immortalized by Homer will be the most spectacular ever seen and we will never see it in France better than at the Pathé Odysseum!
Pathé has in fact chosen to equip this Montpellier multiplex with a 70 mm Imax projection system, the only one capable of faithfully reproducing Christopher Nolan’s vision. As Oppenheimerhis previous multi-Oscar winning film, his blockbuster epic was entirely shot on Imax 65mm film with 15 perforations; film which was then printed in Imax 70 mm. When the majority of formats peak at 4K in current theaters, the Imax 70 mm offers image quality reaching 18 K; which means, in short, that it offers the highest resolution to date, and on an image area three times larger than that of standard film.
A gigantic ecran
We still need equipment capable of receiving such an image. “I think it was the screen in our Imax theater that made the difference.”comments Sébastien Rodriguez, director of the Pathé cinemas in Montpellier. Created in June 2016 and renovated in October 2025 (its initial capacity of 390 seats was reduced to 228 for greater “premium” comfort), the room has a truly gigantic screen measuring 18 m by 24 m. m, i.e. a projection surface of 432 m².
“This room, by the quality of its projection, its scale, its resolution, by its room-screen ratio, offers the purest, most immersive cinematic experience”, he congratulates himself. Furthermore, as Nolan filmed in this format, and on film with the particular grain that this implies compared to the digital image, it is the only place where we will truly see the entirety of what the filmmaker wanted to see appear in his frame.In the world, there are barely more than forty theaters to be equipped like Montpellier, with such an Imax 70 mm system and in Europe, only two others, one in Brussels and another in Prague!
A prestigious operation
“It’s really exceptional and I think that this can reflect on Montpellier: in Prague which was equipped before us, they noted around fifteen different nationalities on the pre-sales”rejoices the director of the multiplex who makes no secret that this operation has more to do with cinematic prestige than commercial calculation, as it involves investments, developments and organizations. For more than a week now, its teams have been working hard to rethink the installations. In the room which houses the two Imax 4K laser projectors, it was necessary to break through another window and clear a space to accommodate the famous bike. For the moment, it doesn’t look like much, it is not yet assembled but even once assembled, it will be less impressive than its digital counterparts… Except that we will also have to take into account the film itself: taking into account the fact that L’Odyssée lasts 2 hours 52 minutes, the size of the 70 mm film reel will be, at the very least, herculean!
But that’s not all: it’s still a question of training the teams in projection on film: today that the projections are digital, to put it schematically, the cinemas receive files for the films which are distributed between their theaters and projected automatically, but the film implies a presence, and maintenance, human. Moreover, if the files are not damaged (normally), the same goes for the physical support which will therefore have to be preserved as best as possible from dust and scratches. “Basically, it’s both the ultimate in modern cinephile projection… and something of a slightly nostalgic gesture.”smiles Sébastien Rodriguez who has not yet solved the puzzle of scheduling screenings: the extraordinary duration of L’Odyssée reduces the number of sessions, unless you start them earlier and/or finish them later (with what this implies for the staff). The 70 mm Imax copy will be in the original version with French subtitles, but the multiplex will also offer the film in French version in one or more of its theaters, but usually in a digital copy. In this format, L’Odyssée will it be as Homeric? To see…
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