Comprehensive NON-OAR DVD list (1 Viewer)

[LukeB]

Add Space Jam and do not add those Disney ones, which are in the proper ratio.

 

[John Berggren]

Danny,

I added two of your films but as I'm not sure on the following, I haven't added them:

Yojimbo Criterion - +/- 2.1:1 iso 2.35:1

Sanjuro Criterion - +/- 2.1:1 iso 2.35:1

- being Criterion I suspect a Directors preferred AR, but if anyone has input I'd appreciate.

And I'm holding off on these:

Some Like It Hot

The Misfits

Inherit The Wind

The Defiant Ones

Witness For The Prosecution

Topkapi

If anyone can give me confirmation that they've been reframed to 1.66 from an original 1.85, I would appreciate it.

 

[DustinDavis]

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

 

[Danny_N]

John,
I am not too sure about the MGM titles anymore :b. I thought I would take a screencap of the Topkapi DVD (too make the point) which on my widescreen tv cut off the end credits in 4x3 mode. But lo and behold on my PC-DVD the end credits are nicely placed within the frame. Didn't think I would have that much overscan in 4x3 mode :frowning:. Skip Some Like It Hot as well. I saw it a couple of weeks ago in the cinema and remember noticing that it didn't fit the projected 1.85:1, ie it was clearly a 1.66:1 print.

 

[Jay E]

Just thought of another title I would pick up if it was released OAR:

Clean & Sober

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

Add the 2001 British film "Heart" with Christopher Eccleson and Rhys Ifans, which I made the mistake of renting yesterday. After the credits are letterboxed at 1.85:1, the film switches to a p&s image so blotchy and muddy that it looks like it was taken from a grade-school filmstrip. There's nothing on the box about aspect ratio.

 

[Joe Schwartz]

Please add True Stories to the list, and check out this thread for more titles:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=26097

 

[Patrick McCart]

Anatomy of a Murder is OAR.

It was filmed safe for 1.66:1, but it was at a time when many theaters were changing from Academy to widescreen.

Ben-Hur's DVD is non OAR. It's from a 2.55:1 print cropped on the top and bottom to appear 2.76:1. In fact, keeping it at 2.55:1 would have been OAR from the start. WB will never correct it because there's not enough people who would support an unmatted version of the transfer. 2.76:1 is simply the negative's space...not unlike 1.85:1 open matte films, there's space on the negative that is there just because it's not blocked by an in-camera matte. Ultra Panavision is meant to be seen at 2.55:1.

Some Like It Hot looks like 1.75:1. Inherit The Wind and The Defient Ones are 1.66:1, so the DVD's are correct.

Any titles undermatted to 1.66:1 instead of 1.85:1 are not bad as you may think. Instead of the urban legend that all 1.85:1 titles are filmed hard-matted, these films simply have the mattes opened up a little. With Disney titles, I think it's actually a good idea to show as much of the animation as possible since 1.85:1 was manditory. Few theaters actually project films at 1.66:1 these days.

In fact, if you were to take an average reel of a film meant to be projected at 1.66:1 and held a frame next to a 1.85:1 film, there would be no difference. The matte is added later. Even 1.78:1 transfers of 1.85:1 films simply open up the matte a little. It's really that simple.

The Great Santini is OAR all the way. It's a made for TV film.

Help! and A Hard Day's Night are sort of OAR on DVD. They are transfered open matte. With a 0% overscan monitor, 1.66:1 matting would do the trick...but it looks a little crowded.

 

[GlennH]

Universal's new DVD release of the animated BALTO is in fullframe instead of OAR.

 

[Danny_N]

Patrick,

Anatomy Of A Murder is from 1959. Wouldn't most theaters have changed over to widescreen by then? Also, I always understood that 1.66:1 was an aspect ratio that was mainly used in Europe and not so much in the USA. Just curious ...

 

[Jodee]

Just remembered a few more:

Fierce Creatures

Fluke

Not sure of the OAR on these, but these DVDs are full-frame and I suspect P&S or matting:

Amazon Women on the Moon

Metroland

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Any titles undermatted to 1.66:1 instead of 1.85:1 are not bad as you may think. Instead of the urban legend that all 1.85:1 titles are filmed hard-matted, these films simply have the mattes opened up a little. With Disney titles, I think it's actually a good idea to show as much of the animation as possible since 1.85:1 was manditory. Few theaters actually project films at 1.66:1 these days.

Actually, I agree with you. My only surprise is that the hardliners continue to remain silent on these.
I'm not a hardliner, and I can understand what Kubrick was getting at, though I think his films should be offered both ways.
As far as the Warner stuff (Batman Beyond, Justice League, etc), I don't understand what all the fuss is about. The extra areas were animated to be seen, and some of the shots look like the animators were disregarding orders and composing for the 4:3 with the matted version being composed as a good compromise. Yet a few of the shots do seem the other way. But again, all you have to do is put mattes up if you want the other ratio; something you can't do in many/most live action unmatted films (because there are usually some crop shots).
Frankly, the best thing for John to do is put all the stuff up (Kubrick, Disney, etc) and have footnotes. Some of these matters are subject to opinion, so better to annotate and not leave anything out.

 

[Jay E]

The Great Santini is OAR all the way. It's a made for TV film.

The Great Santini was a theaterical film and the OAR is 1.85:1. I have the laserdisc and it is letterboxed.

 

[Will K]

Psycho II - Bad, er, Good Times Video
Black Christmas
With Honors
And oh, Jay is quite correct about The Great Santini.

 

[Will K]

Universal's new DVD release of the animated BALTO is in fullframe instead of OAR.

Balto was presented in 1.85:1 for theatrical release and Universal's laserdisc was letterboxed.

 

[Joseph Goodman]

Godzilla gets cropped...

"King Kong Vs. Godzilla" - Goodtimes

Cropped from the original Tohoscope, and using a transfer from the late 80's to boot! The original Japanese version is available in 16x9-enhanced OAR in Japan.

"Terror Of Mechagodzilla" - Simitar

Same as above, but with an even older transfer! Not yet available on OAR DVD in any country.

"Godzilla VS King Ghidora/Godzilla & Mothra" double feature disc - Columbia/Tri-Star

Cropped from 1.85:1, not even open matte. "King Ghidora" just came out on DVD in Japan in 16x9 OAR, with "Mothra" coming 3/21.

 

[William Ward]

George of the Jungle

 

[Gabe D]

For what it's worth, Anatomy of a Murder is letterboxed on Turner Classic Movies right now, and it looks like 1.85:1.

 

[Byron Maitra]

Here are a few from my collection not yet mentioned:

Bob Roberts SE --> 1.85 to 1.33 (approved by director)

Transformers the Movie --> 1.85 to 1.33

Melies the Magician --> 1.37 to 1:1 (in the worst instance)

Super Speedway (IMAX) --> 1.44 to 1.33 (first release)

and 1.44 to 1.78 (second release)

Also note that many 1.37 and 1.85 are hard cropped to 1.33 and 1.78 respectively. Examples include Chicken Run SE, Gold finger SE, Wolf Man CMC, most IMAX films, etc.

 

[Patrick McCart]

The Great Santini is indeed a TV movie and was made for 1.33:1.

My father saw the premire on TV. In fact, its popularity on TV led to a theatrical release. (It was made by Bing Crosby Productions, too.)

The DVD still sucks...it looks like it's been preserved in a vat of nails.

As for Anatomy, I was wrong about the ratio. It was filmed for 1.85:1, but the DVD is open matte. Columbia stated on the cover, I think, that they exposed the entire frame.