{"id":1176,"date":"2007-12-07T19:45:41","date_gmt":"2007-12-07T18:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/archives\/2007\/12\/07\/the-dark-knight-prologue-at-the-london-imax\/"},"modified":"2010-08-03T01:58:08","modified_gmt":"2010-08-03T00:58:08","slug":"the-dark-knight-prologue-at-the-london-imax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2007\/12\/07\/the-dark-knight-prologue-at-the-london-imax\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Knight Prologue at the London IMAX"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

[ad]<\/p>\n

Over the last 24 hours Warner Bros have been screening the opening sequence of new Batman film\u00a0The Dark Knight\u00a0on\u00a0IMAX cinemas<\/a> in\u00a0LA<\/a>,\u00a0New York<\/a> and London.<\/p>\n

This afternoon I was at the\u00a0London screening<\/a> which was followed by a Q&A with producer\u00a0Charles Roven<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The plan is for this prologue sequence to screen as an extended preview ahead of I Am Legend<\/a> which opens in the US next Friday (and in the UK on Boxing Day).<\/p>\n

The Dark Knight<\/a> <\/strong>is the second Batman film in the current franchise directed by Christopher Nolan<\/a> and starring Christian Bale<\/a> as the caped crusader.<\/p>\n

About 6 sequences – including this opening scene – were actually filmed using 70mm IMAX cameras<\/a>, which is a first for a Hollywood movie of this scale.<\/p>\n

The rest of the film was shot in conventional 35mm<\/a> and will be remastered for IMAX screens. In these cinemas, the 70mm sequences will fill up the screen and the 35mm scenes will appear in a ‘letterbox’ format.<\/p>\n

However, in regular cinemas, the actual aspect ratio will stay the same.<\/p>\n

The opening sequence of the film is about 6 minutes and is a bank robbery done by a team of robbers all wearing clown masks. Watching the imagery on an IMAX screen is impressive – the size and clarity is remarkable and should work a treat for a big budget action film like this.<\/p>\n

The sequence follows a criminal gang as they circle a bank and break in. Plotwise there are a few interesting moments, notably a cameo from William Fichtner<\/a> as a feisty bank teller and the moment where we actually get to see a big close-up of the villain of the piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the scene ended there was a 1 minute montage of Batman standing on a roof top, James Gordon<\/a> (Gary Oldman<\/a>) destroying something with an axe and a quick run through some other scenes in the film which included a brief shot of the new bat bike – a model of which was in the foyer of the cinema.<\/p>\n

\"Bat<\/a><\/p>\n

Producer Charles Roven<\/strong><\/a> appeared after the footage ended and answered questions from the audience.<\/p>\n

To summarise the Q&A, here is what he said:<\/p>\n