The AMC Barton Creek theatre is debuting its new tricked-out IMAX screen starting Friday with Steven Soderbergh’s deadly-virus thriller Contagion. I’ll get the popcorn if you bring the anti-bacterial gel.
Okay, no, breaking down the fourth wall isn’t actually part of the “IMAX Experience,” but it might feel that way.
According to a press release about the remodel, which involved retrofitting an existing theatre at the AMC Barton Creek, “[t]o maximize the field of view in the modified auditorium, the screen was replaced with a larger, slightly curved and specially treated IMAX screen positioned closer to the audience. The new IMAX theatre maximizes the experience for guests so they feel as if they are IN the movie they are watching.”
Further: “IMAX’s digital projection system combines two digital projectors with IMAX’s proprietary image enhancer and custom lenses to create an image with greater clarity, brightness and contrast. The images on screen are complemented by IMAX’s latest sound system, which features its proprietary loudspeaker technology and uncompressed digital sound. This sound system has ten times more dynamic range, cuts down on distortion and provides a sound quality that feels more immersive, especially with the added acoustic paneling that absorbs sound and removes echo.”
The new theatre will be unveiled at this weekend’s Contagion screenings (see our Film Listings for showtimes and review). Future film releases scheduled for the IMAX treatment include Real Steel, Puss in Boots, Happy Feet 2, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and The Adventures of Tintin.
This article appears in 30th Anniversary.