'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' Getting IMAX Release September 7
To commemorate the long-awaited Blu-ray release of Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures, Paramount is reportedly planning to re-release Steven Spielberg's all-time action classic Raiders of the Lost Ark in IMAX theaters from September 7 to 13. Spielberg himself worked on the film's transition to 70mm while simultaneously remastering the 1981 hit for the high-definition home format. Read more, including Spielberg's quote, after the jump.
ScreenCrush broke the news with a hat tip to Latino Review's El Mayimbe.
The report states this hasn't been officially announced yet but, it should be soon, and the press release will have a full list of theaters where you can purchase tickets. It also says the film will play in both full 70mm IMAX as well as digital "LieMAX" formats, though either will be sufficient as Spielberg obviously didn't shoot the film in IMAX thirty plus years ago.
UPDATED: Spielberg spoke to the New York Times about the conversion, confirming the release:
For me, it's always been the bigger the screen, the better. It's the only marked contrast we have to the generations that are seeing our movies on phones and hand-held platforms. It's a complete relief to be able to see a film that many people have just experienced on a palm-sized platform technology, suddenly hurled at that them on an Imax-sized screen.
The Blu-ray set hits shelves September 18 and some ticketing websites are already selling tickets so check your local IMAX. We'll update and bump this post once the official theater list is released. Will you go check this out?
And a very cool side note, earlier this week the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas announced "AlamoScope," a special series of screenings in traditional 70mm (a format that's different from 70mm IMAX) and, among the films on the list: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It's playing August 31-September 6 and you can get tickets here.