A disturbing detail about Interstellar has been uncovered in celebration of the film’s record-breaking re-release.
The Christopher Nolan film, which is still generating theories to this day, has built up a dedicated fan base since it was released 10 years ago – and has now become the highest-grossing film to be re-released in IMAX.
Matthew McConaughey stars in the film as an astronaut who leaves his young daughter behind to embark on a mission that will save Earth, which is on the verge of collapse.
One memorable scene in the film shows the astronauts arriving on Miller’s planet, a waterworld where time is severely dilated due to its proximity to a supermassive black hole, meaning that one hour on the planet equates to seven years on Earth.
As they carry out their mission on the planet, three hours and 17 minutes pass – and when they return to their spacecraft, they discover 23 years have elapsed back home.
This leads to a heartbreaking moment where McConaughey’s character watches video messages from his children who for him, mere hours ago, were young, but are now grown up.
After re-watching the film, fans are working out how much time has passed on Miller’s planet – and the result is as unsettling as you’d expect. While 10 years has passed since the film was released, this would mean that the characters have only been on the planet for just over one hour.
Interstellar’s re-release arrives after debunked rumours threw it into question with the claim that Paramount had “destroyed all of the original IMAX 70mm prints” after the Christopher Nolan film’s theatrical run in 2014.
According to Paramount, its return to cinemas was pushed from November to December to coincide with a brand new home entertainment release.
Interstellar was nominated for five Oscars, winning one for Visual Effects.
Speaking about its enduring appeal amid the IMAX success, Nolan told The Associated Press: “I was just so gratified by the response. It’s really thrilling when people respond to your work at any point.
“But 10 years later, to have new audiences coming and experiencing it in the way that we’d originally intended it on the big IMAX screens and in particular on those IMAX film prints? It’s really rewarding to see that it continues to have a life.”
He suggested that “a lot” of the people going to see Interstellar in IMAX “were younger people who, it was clear to me, had seen the film in the home and hadn’t had the chance to see it on the big screen”.
