First Man director Damien Chazelle shot the film's moon sequences with IMAX cameras, giving them an extra boost for the big screen. The Neil Armstrong biopic is still a few weeks away from reaching theaters, but it's already cemented its status as a major contender at this year's Oscars. Following a series of successful festival screenings, critics are raving about its compelling story and strong performances by Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. But First Man also shines from a technical perspective, marking the next evolution of Chazelle's craft.
In the filmmaker's young career, First Man looks to be the largest canvas he's worked with, fully immersing viewers with its standout space exploration scenes. Based on the movie's trailers, it definitely looks like it will be worth the extra cost to see in the premium format, but for those who remain unconvinced of that, IMAX is here to showcase the difference.
Related: Neil Armstrong's Sons Respond To First Man Flag Controversy
In an exclusive to Screen Rant, IMAX shared a GIF, placing the standard and IMAX presentations of a First Man lunar clip side-by-side. As you can see, the latter offers up to 26 percent more picture, utilizing the full screen. Those who opt to see First Man in standard 2D will be stuck with a cropped version. Check out a video below:
Anyone with knowledge of human history knows First Man will be building up to the famous moon landing, so it makes sense Chazelle went the extra mile when crafting that integral sequence. The short snippets revealed in trailers and TV spots suggest it will be quite breathtaking to behold, so one can only imagine how it'll play in the final film. Based on the word of mouth, Chazelle has hit another home run (following his previous efforts, Whiplash and La La Land) and once again finds himself in the running for Best Director. It's decisions like this (filming the moon in IMAX) that illustrate Chazelle's commitment to delivering the best movie possible and why he's already a favorite amongst cinephiles.
The emphasis on IMAX combined with the positive reviews should put First Man in a good position for a successful box office run. It will have its work cut out for it, opening one week after Venom and A Star is Born, but La La Land was a big hit ($151.1 million domestically) and people should be interested in seeing what Chazelle does next. Fortunately, the film seems to have overcome the American flag controversy (which spread via misinformation), so Universal can just focus on making First Man a commercial smash.
More: Watch The Latest First Man Trailer
Source: IMAX
