Five Spielberg Classics That Should Convert to IMAX After 'Raiders'

Indiana Jones has been on the brain lately, for various reasons.

An IMAX retrofit of Steven Spielberg’s classic, Raiders of the Lost Ark, recently extended its theatrical engagement engagement, surprising audiences with the quality of the visuals on a decades-old film. We’re currently gearing up for Saturday’s “Indiana Jones AMC Marathon,” screening all four films back-to-back for the first time ever. And as you probably already know, this all leads up to the Blu-ray release of the Indiana Jones series on Tuesday, Sept. 18.

Spielberg was equally surprised at how wonderful Raiders looked in the IMAX format.

“I didn’t know if the 1981 print would stand up to a full IMAX transfer, so I came expecting a sort of grainy, muddy, and overly enlarged representation of the movie I had made [31] years ago,” Spielberg told Yahoo a few weeks back. “And I was blown away by the fact that it looked better than the movie I had made [31] years ago.”

So why stop now? Since Spielberg suddenly believes in the ability to convert his past masterpieces to the IMAX format, I think he should begin combing his catalogue for screening opportunities in the larger format. In this weekend’s The Five, I’m giving you the Spielberg films I most want to see converted to IMAX for limited engagements. And I’ll try to explain why in each blurb. Then, you hit the comments section to tell us which ones I missed (or which ones you agree with). Maybe someone in Spielberg’s office will read it, and we’ll all get to enjoy these films on the larger-than-life screen sooner rather than later.

1. Jaws

Because it’s Spielberg’s best film, still. The depths of the deep blue sea would look spectacularly terrifying in the IMAX format, with the director’s cameras looking up at Bruce’s next human target. The enhanced sound in an IMAX theater would work wonders on John Williams’ simplistic, two-note score. And Robert Shaw’s telling of the U.S.S. Indianapolis disaster deserves to be blown up as big as an IMAX screen can manage. Jaws would rock in IMAX.

2. E.T. The Extraterrestrial

This one’s kind of a cheat, as we already know E.T. is returning to theaters for one night only on Oct. 3 as part of the film’s 30th anniversary celebration. (Get tickets here.) But it won’t be in IMAX, so we won’t be treated to the majestic shot of Elliott’s bicycle windsurfing in front of the most perfect moon Hollywood has to offer. The swelling emotions of Spielberg’s E.T. are massive enough to fill the IMAX screen. Let’s phone home, grab a bag of Reese’s Pieces, and try to make this one happen.

3. Saving Private Ryan

If only for the ability to see the Normandy battle sequence on the IMAX screen, Spielberg’s Oscar-winning Saving Private Ryan should be converted to IMAX for a limited-engagement run. In fact, it likely would pair nicely with Spielberg’s anticipated Lincoln, which appears to have several key Civil War battle sequences, if the first official trailer is any indication. Ryan is a masterpiece, and would look sensational in IMAX.

4. Minority Report

I wanted to go with A.I. – Artificial Intelligence for this pick, as Spielberg’s “collaboration” with the late Stanley Kubrick is crammed with stimulating sci-fi visuals and gorgeous, icy cinematography by the brilliant Janusz Kaminski. But Minority Report also looks fantastic and also boasts some roller-coaster action sequences with the ever durable Tom Cruise pogo-sticking around a bleak, futuristic landscape as he tries to avoid the long arm of a corrupt law-enforcement agency. Either would be great, really, but seeing Cruise’s Ghost Protocol in IMAX has me leaning to Report for the format conversion.

5. Jurassic Park

Dinosaurs in IMAX? Yes, please. This one’s so obvious that it absolutely has to be included on the list. How do you make the already terrifying T-Rex scarier? You jack him up to IMAX degrees. Plus, the ability to see Jeff Goldblum fretting over unnaturalistic sciences at an IMAX ratio is far too good to pass us. Pair it with an IMAX enhanced Independence Day, and we just might have the greatest double-feature in popcorn blockbuster history.

Follow along on Twitter @Sean_OConnell and @Fandango.

Tags: Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark

Categories: The Five, IMAX

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Five Spielberg Classics That Should Convert to IMAX After 'Raiders'

By: Sean OConnell on September 14, 2012 at 12:17PM Comments (23)

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