Mission: Extremely Possible— Stunts We Stan

Read on for more!  ‌ ‌ ‌ Welcome to the story behind the story. This is IMAX In Frame   Bigger, Badder, Bolder Inside the Wild & Woolly World of Stunts in IMAX Scaling buildings & jumping out of planes. Alien invaders & high-speed racers. Taking a punch in 4k or crashing a motorcycle in 1:90:1 — it's no secret that practical stunts elevate our favorite films and immerse us right in the action. While it all might look effortless by the time it hits the screen, executing the perfect stunt is a delicate dance. The whole endeavor lives at the edge of bravery & vision, equal parts engineering & art. It takes problem-solving, technical innovation, and just good old-fashioned gumption to pull off, relying on the simultaneous cooperation of many different crew departments. When all their efforts come together, it's a bit like a magic trick; taking something that seems impossible, but making it happen anyway. Read on for some of the most ambitious stunts to have graced IMAX screens.   THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)Director: Christopher Nolan, Cinematographer: Wally Pfister, Editor: Lee Smith Batman & Joker take to the dangerous streets of Gotham City in an epic chase scene that pits good versus evil, culminating in a full flip crash of an 18-wheeler. In reality, that street was La Salle Ave in Chicago, and took dozens of effects pros to bring the stunt to life. The truck was rigged with a TNT charge and a piston that when set off, would flip the back of it over. The truck's cab had to be reinforced to protect the very real human driver, veteran stuntman Jim Wilkey, (talk about nerves of steel). For optimal coverage, the scene was shot with 7 cameras, including 4 IMAX cams (the only 4 in existence at the time). While the truck stuck its landing, it also happened to fall straight onto one of those IMAX cameras, completely obliterating it.  Note when hitting play on the featurette: Like we said, Nolan used the only IMAX cameras in existence in the world at that time...almost 20 years ago. And while the film has stood the test of time, the featurette...your mileage may vary. Pardon our pixels.... it's vintage! MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — GHOST PROTOCOL (2011)Director: Brad Bird, Cinematographer: Robert Elswit, Editor: Paul Hirsch As true cinephiles know, Tom Cruise has never shied away from doing his own stunts. In the fourth installment of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series, he attempted perhaps one of the most dangerous & impressive stunts ever committed to film: scaling the world’s tallest building, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. The film team had to get special access to drill & build as needed, including smashing windows to run rigging through. While the resulting sequence is 10 edge-of-your-seat minutes long, director Brad Bird and crew could only shoot 3 minutes at a time given the heft of IMAX cameras & the altitude. SKYFALL (2012)Director: Sam Mendes, Cinematographer: Roger Deakins, Editor: Stuart Baird For the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise, director Sam Mendes had to go big. The film’s thrilling train tussle was shot practically in-camera (aka, shooting in a specific sequence, versus sorted out in the editing room later). Two units were used to capture the fight on a real train moving at 40mph, with the performers rigged to safety wires. While Daniel Craig performed much of the scene, his stunt double Andy Lister took on some of the riskiest maneuvers. The film was released in IMAX 1:90:1 aspect ratio immersing audiences in the full panorama of the action. Catch hi-octane thrills in IMAX this summer.   Each month, we’ll deliver a new exclusive piece of editorial to your inbox. Send us a line about future questions or topics you’d like to see at [fandom@imax.com](mailto:feedback@imax.com?a=11533&campaign_id=78&campaign_name=June+%2723+In+Frame+%28Stunts+in+IMAX%29&campaign_type=newsletter&message_id=170&utm_campaign=June+%2723+In+Frame+%28Stunts+in+IMAX%29&utm_content=IF+June+2023&utm_medium=email&utm_source=owned).    IMAX is a registered trademark of the IMAX Corporation [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( [unsubscribe]()