Has anyone seen the new film on IMAX called Rocky Mountain Express featuring the CP 4-6-4 #2816?
It's playing at Boston's Museum of Science and I was thinking of taking the family to see the museum and (selfishly I'll admit) the film too.
Is it worth seeing or are the best parts on You Tube?

Brian

If you can go watch "Rocky Mountain Express", GO!!! I managed to see it twice at the OMNIMAX in the Science Center in St. Louis, MO, and I wish I could see it again (and again and AGAIN AND AGAIN...). There is so much more to see in that movie than the small snippets that are up on YouTube. The scenery shots are breathtaking. The narration is very well done. CanP #2816 does a phenomenal job. She looks absolutely gorgeous, and she sounds absolutely stunning. Plus, some of the angles they filmed on #2816 I have never seen filmed before. If they release "Rocky Mountain Express" on DVD/Blu-Ray (which I'm praying they will), I'm buying it.

So, long story short, go watch "Rocky Mountain Express". If you like steam locomotives, I can guarantee you that you will love it.

Yes, I've seen twice, also at an OMNIMAX (aka IMAX DOME) theatre which I believe is what you have in Boston. I actually prefer the flat screen IMAX because almost no movies are shot specifically for dome projection as such films cannot play in the far more numerous flat screen IMAX theatres, and thus the potential advantage of the dome screen is partly lost but it's still good fun to see it that way.

To be avoided are the fake IMAX ("Liemax") theatres that are adapted screens at regular multiplexes. Unless you realize up front that they bear little resemblance to the giant screen "real" IMAX theatres. These almost always play Hollywood movies. (Some real IMAX's play both.) As regular theatres go, they are good though overpriced. But there's nothing IMAXy about them other than the name.

As for this movie, yes, you should see it and you'll realize what you almost missed!

Steve

I saw the film in Montreal during the ARM annual conference back in November. Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote for my museums newsletter reporting on the conference.

"Our next destination is the IMAX theatre at the Montreal Science Centre. Here we had a private screening of the Stephen Low film Rocky Mountain Express. This 45 minute IMAX film tells the story of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Rocky Mountains in the 1880's. Mere words cannot do this film justice, it has to be seen. This cinematic symphony incorporates all the spectacular camera shots, aerial sequences and superb quality the IMAX experience has become known for. Our guide on this epic tale is restored Canadian Pacific Hudson locomotive (4-6-4) #2816, the Empress. The film is put together in an ingenious way. There are a no interviews or sound bites from present day railroaders. In fact they are hardly seen, only a silhouette or a hand makes an occasional appearance. The 2816 is our guide on this journey. A narrator and on screen graphics fill in the story gaps that visuals and music alone cannot convey. The best advice I can give you is to go see it. Sadly it is not presently scheduled to be seen in Cleveland. But if you are traveling and is being shown where you are, GO. It is time well spent. Here is a link to a clip from the film to further entice you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia3cUsSQjzY
After our screening, filmmaker Stephen Low gave an intriguing PowerPoint presentation on the making of the film. A question and answer session followed. Having spent a career in television production and engineering, I found this presentation to be very enlightening and humbling at the same time. The IMAX experience and its technology is something else!"

I will repeat. GO SEE IT! IT IS WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.

Steve Heister
http://www.northernohiorailwaymuseum.org

GO SEE IT! IT IS WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.

Assuming you can see it on DVD, youtube whatever, it would lack the perspectives of size and grandeur provided by the 3d IMax projection.

Rocky Mountain Express is not in 3D. Thank God.

It is, however, real IMAX meaning shot and projected in the 70mm / 15-perforation format (65mm camera negative) which gives 3 times the frame dimensions of conventional 5-perf theatrical 65/70mm (like 2001 or Lawrence of Arabia) which in turn was over 2.5 times the size of the larger 35mm format, and over 4.5 times the smaller 35mm format. So anywhere from 8 to 13 times the frame dimensions of ordinary movies and the bigger the frames, the greater the clarity.

That's why folks are bummed when IMAX Corporation slaps its famous name on a 2K digital system (the one people are calling LIEMAX) whose resolution is only a hair better than your home HDTV.

http://www.stephenlow.com/films/rockymo ... index.html
Both the trailer and production video offer some tantalizing samples. Imagine seeing them on a 5 story screen.

Buying a ticket rewards a great train production and could inspire more to be made. It also shows support for the real IMAX format. And if you see it at a museum, it supports them as well. Win win win.

Steve

I've seen "Rocky Mountain Express" on both a full-size IMAX screen and on a smaller screen, and the difference is palpable. On the real IMAX, you feel like the side rod is going to smack you right in the kisser! The helicopter shots are stomach-dropping and absolutely stunning. And the sound -- coming at you from every which way is just as much a part of the experience. It's a nice train movie on a smaller screen, but you just don't get the full effect. If you can see it on a real IMAX, go for it, by all means!