J.J. Abrams Recommends Seeing STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS In This Format
As the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens inches ever closer, it's getting down to crunch time. Those of us who are trying to avoid spoilers are on high alert, making sure to avoid every last TV spot and international trailer that blasts onto the internet seemingly with each passing day. I'm guessing most of you already have your tickets for opening night at this point, but let's be honest: you're probably going to see the film more than once, aren't you? I'm almost certain I am. So even though you might have tickets in hand for one screening, why not try to see the film the second time in exactly the format that writer/director J.J. Abrams recommends?
Speaking with the AP, Abrams revealed his ideal way to watch the film:
"As someone who really hasn't been the most vocal advocate of 3-D, the strangest thing happened to me on this. When I was watching the reels in 3-D, there were a number of shots — and I know this sounds insane — that I hadn't understood in the three-dimensional space quite the way I did when I saw them in 3-D. I actually felt that there were things that were playing better in 3-D. I had never felt that before. And if people have access to a theater that has laser projection, it is shockingly better...You cannot compare a traditionally projected image with a laser image. The blacks are true blacks. It's almost as if you have to adjust to it."
As someone who's seen a handful of movies with that laser projection, I understand the clarity he's talking about. One of the bad things about 3D is that the glasses dim the image so much that you lose a lot of the brightness and vibrance of the screen, but I guess the laser projection helps to combat that. io9 has an excellent breakdown of all of the theaters, both nationwide and internationally, that are showing the film in that format, including two here in Los Angeles, so I'll definitely be watching it that way after I see it the first time. They also list the theaters presenting the movie on traditional 2D 70mm film, which is how Abrams actually shot it (save for one specific sequence that was shot using IMAX cameras).
Sorry if this is too technical for those of you who don't really care and just want to enjoy the movie any way you can, but I always like to try to see movies in the format that the director suggests if at all possible, just so I can have the visual and aural experience he or she intends. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens the night of December 17th.