Talking about the theatrical experience of Dune Part Two, it has definitely been one of the best achievements in the entirety of the entertainment industry. From top-notch BGM and sound to astounding visuals, the Dune experience had everything. And its IMAX run is going to end on the 19th, and as the recent updates state, the studio will attempt to limit it to that.
See, Dune Part Two will soon be releasing on digital space on the 16th of April, followed by the release of its physical copies on the 14th of May, but it carries a big problem.
The physical copies won’t have the IMAX ratio in them, depriving the fans of experiencing the theatrical experience or even mimicking it for that matter.
Talking about the technicalities, the 4K disc will feature HDR10 high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. However, the aspect ratio across all SKUs will be fixed at 2.39:1, mirroring the previous release of Dune: Part One (2021) on disc. There won’t be variable IMAX aspect ratios like in some Christopher Nolan films such as Dunkirk or The Dark Knight.
Now, how will this be a problem?
See, unlike Oppenheimer, Dune was a film that was made for the IMAX experience. Though Oppenheimer was shot with a 70MM IMAX camera, it was made and edited with the masses in mind. And though Oppenheimer was preferred to be watched on IMAX, it did give a phenomenal experience; other screens didn’t have much problem adapting to the aspect ratio.
Dune, on the other hand, will definitely face some major problems as the chopped frames will definitely detract from the experience. Especially considering the new aspect ratio, firstly, it will be fixed, and secondly, the fans will miss a major portion of the film anyway, making it a bad enough experience for the viewers.