Christopher Nolan’s World War II drama “Dunkirk” opens today — and to hear some in the film world tell it, the only way to see it is in IMAX and, more importantly, on 70 mm film.

The ultrawide format is an old-fashioned technique that made films such as David Lean’s 1962 masterpiece “Lawrence of Arabia” so stunningly beautiful. It can make the difference between a movie being gripping and being completely, overwhelmingly immersive — but it’s also really rare these days (digital projection is the norm).

“Dunkirk” may be gorgeous on 70 mm film, but that hardly matters to the many, many people who don’t live anywhere near one of the select theaters capable of playing it. You’re in luck if you’re in New York, California or Texas; otherwise, you’re looking at a handful of theaters per state.

It doesn’t get much more elitist than telling moviegoers to make hours-long pilgrimages in order to see a movie “the right way.”

Fortunately, “Film Twitter” has come around to the ridiculousness of this line of thinking, and has been good-naturedly mocking itself:
https://twitter.com/jhoffman/status/887294562657603584
https://twitter.com/rubot/status/888092224776482816
https://twitter.com/mattsinger/status/887353722300444672
https://twitter.com/Glenn__Kenny/status/887300711511449600
https://twitter.com/BWDR/status/887516393737928708
https://twitter.com/jfkenney/status/887753784360923137