"Chapter 51" - Review - New Imax Movie You'll Probably Never See - in70mm.com EXCLUSIVE | Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: Paul Rayton, Hollywood, USA. | Date: 27.05.2025 |
 The new IMAX noirsh murder-comedy. Picture from the screen. Picture: Paul RaytonMulti-hyphenate and nascent Hollywood innovator Tyler Shields presented Hollywood his new Imax-format movie, "Chapter 51" at the AMC Universal Citywalk multiplex on May 19, 2025. Appropriately, he was showing it in cinema #19 at that venue – the Imax screen – thus sharing screen time with the 70mm Imax film "Sinners". I say multi-hyphenate because it’s really quite the one-man show. Mr. Shields is credited as the writer, director, producer (along with several listed executive producers), cinematographer, helped with the music as well as at least some involvement in several other crafts ... plus being a lead actor in what this reviewer would call a noirish murder-comedy. • Go to About "Chapter 51" - in70mm.com EXCLUSIVE • Go to "Chapter 51" Q & A Session - in70mm.com EXCLUSIVE The show was photographed and edited to be optimized for presentation in an Imax venue. It uses the full-height Imax 1.43:1 screen quite extensively, but there are several other aspect ratios and assorted film emulsions which make appearances during in the course of the show. In fact, Mr. Shields is proclaiming that his is the first full-length feature film to be shot in all 4 major contemporary camera formats (65mm, 35mm, 16mm, and Super 8mm), as well as using a multiplicity of lenses and other techniques for certain sequences, so, from that standpoint, it is a technological demonstration reel. Entire story is told somewhat as a “film inside a film” tale, with a fictional mega-hit movie “Dissident” being the central thread. The thing about “Dissident” was that 3(!) of the actresses playing the lead in that movie were strangely murdered during the course of the stress-riddled several years of production of the movie. By some miracle, the 4th actress brought in to play the part was mysteriously spared that fate, although she too would be the subject of an attempt on her life. Three deaths in the course of a production are remarkable, to put it mildly, but the perpetrator then had the audacity to post online videos of his misdeeds – and still the FBI seemed to be unable to solve the whodunit. The central character of the movie is played by Tyler Shields himself, as Thomas Scott, a former FBI investigator. He narrates in a first-person style, sitting in what is apparently his home office. He’s been decommissioned, but still feels swept up in the noirish maelstrom that beset the production. | More in 70mm reading: About "Chapter 51" by Tyler Shields in70mm.com's page about IMAX & Omnimax VistaVision Visits the TCL Chinese in70mm.com News Peripheral Vision, Scopes, Dimensions and Panoramas in70mm.com's Library Presented on the big screen in 7OMM 7OMM and Cinema Across the World Now showing in 70mm in a theatre near you! 70mm Retro - Festivals and Screenings |
 "Chapter 51" seen from the projection room. Picture: Tyler ShieldsHe relates to us that the movie “Dissident” became one of the top-grossing films of all time, plus revealing that the makers only used film cameras, and secretly left the cameras running “all the time” during production. So, what we see are a few scenes from “Dissident”, mostly in out-takes, other non-scripted interactions between the characters when the running cameras caught candid moments. These are supposed to give viewers insight into the backstage tensions and disagreements (along with temperamental directors who yell a lot), while we ponder “which of these scoundrels did it?” Let’s put it this way – the production of the fictional movie was no piece of cake; it was a snakepit of intrigue, not the least of which being who was sleeping with whom. Technically, the film is quite a jumble of mixed aspect ratios and formats. If you are a fan of the changing-ratio gimmick seen occasionally these days, with shifting aspect ratios (AR) between scenes during the movie, this is a feast for your eyes. They must switch ARs a hundred times during the course of the show (I didn’t count them). It works, in a way, because the composition of each scene is optimized for that image AR, and the Imax-filmed image is delicious, but some may find the constant AR changes a bit disconcerting. Filmmaker Shields also incorporated other photographic styles, including one brief sequence photographed by an antique hand-cranked 35mm camera. He briefly used the Ultra Panavison lens used about 65 years ago to photograph “Ben Hur”, and has a scene using VistaVision equipment, as well. He hasn’t counted exactly, but in the Q&A which followed the screening, he mused that they may have used 150 different lenses (!) in the course of the filming -- which took some 4 years to complete. Believe it or not, most or all of the performers were never really clued in as to the full storyline, since it was entirely in the head of Mr. Shields, and he kept it that way. This brings us to one of the liabilities of the movie, in that all the characters are characters in their own roles, but the interrelationships of them all never seem to quite jell into a cohesive dramatic structure. We have Mr. Shields, as former Investigator Scott, making occasional appearances throughout, but the sense of foreboding is never felt all that ominously. Maybe that’s a good thing, since this is not a serious, or scary, mystery caper. No sudden scares to jolt you out of your seat; no really-gruesome exploding heads. | |
 "Chapter 51" was reviewed in IMAX digital, at the AMC Universal Citywalk multiplex on May 19, 2025. Picture: Paul RaytonThere are numerous exteriors around the Southern California area, esp. some sequences in the deserts, and a dynamically interesting sequence along a flowing Los Angeles River (yes, there is one, sometimes!) The exteriors are fun to see, and overall the photography reflects Mr. Shields familiarity with cameras and composition, which began at an early age. In fact, photographically, the picture is an absolute gem. The show is largely another inside view of the workings of Hollywood, and characters frequently make reference to other movies (“Fight Club”, “Casablanca”, “Sling Blade” being among the titles name-checked). We see plenty of scenes of cameras (esp. Imax cameras) and actual motion picture film. It’s clearly a work of someone who loves film, but it seems likely that, because of the esoteric contents (and other constraining factors), this film will not likely be circulating widely. It’s very full of self-referential humor, and characters with whom no-one will develop a rapport. Those character deficiencies, plus requiring an IMAX screen for proper viewing, will significantly limit the availability in the commercial market. It’s an audacious project, and this reviewer wasn’t bored, but beside the enthusiastic cast & crew present at the invitational screening, I can’t envision people lining up hours in advance to see it. It definitely is a novelty item, sure to be a curiosity piece on the shelf with other quirky movies made over the years. If it happens to show up at an Imax near you, and you’re a fan of outstanding photography, or changing aspect ratios, or large-format filmmaking, or offbeat police stories, it could provide you with a diversion of an evening. But the enigmatic ending may not leave you satisfied. Clearly other surprises will emanate from the brilliant imagination of Mr. Shields; we can look forward to them. | |
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