CraigL

Life As A House= OAR???

Hey all,

Just wondering if "Life As A House" is presented in its original aspect ratio anywhere in the world. In a very "recruit-like" move, they cropped the picture for the home video release and I was wondering if it were possible to find this anywhere in its proper aspect ratio.

Thanks...

rutger_s

2.00:1 is the proper aspect ratio.

Its not about theatrical aspect ratio. It is about original intended aspect ratio.

And The Recruit was released to DVD after Life As A House.

Other films presented in their original intended aspect ratios on DVD are Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Apocalypse Now/Apocalypse Now Redux,

Adam_ME

Yeah, but at least with Austin Powers, all Jay Roach did was add vertical information to the frame. It's not the theatrical aspect ratio, but at least we're not missing out on anything.

Life As a House on the other hand crops the sides of the frame. It's essentially P&S, the only difference being the ratio is roughly 2.10:1 instead or 1.33:1. And what's really bizarre is that the supplements on the DVD feature clips from the movie in 2.35:1.

I should really learn to knock....in case there's a threesome going on in my bedroom. - Sandy Cohen, The O.C., The Countdown

My DVD Collection

Damin J Toell

It's not essentially P&S. It is the filmmakers' preferred AR. It is nothing like P&S at all.

DJ

CraigL

I know...and that's not what the DVD is presented as.



oh yeah right. As if they couldn't get it released in 1.85:1 if they wanted? Gimme a break.
It's P&S. Pure and simple.



I know.



You mean other films P&S for home video are...

Adam Lenhardt

Um... yes it is. The imformation on the sides of the frame are extraneous. The theatrical OAR is essentially open matte of the anamorphic variety.

rutger_s

Life As A House, Apocalypse Now/Apocalypse Now Redux, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery are framed for 2:1 exhibition.


Actually, it is not pan & scan at all. Pan & Scan means that a wide format film is cropped on the sides and an artificial pan & scan technique is used during some scenes to keep participants in the frame.

The films in question are cropped on the sides with no pan & scan whatsoever. You get the intended portion of the frame.

As for The Recruit...

Roger Donaldson framed it for 2.40:1 for theaters but shot in Super35. Afterwards, he decided that a 1.77:1 frame would work better for the film.

Jay Roach had the same feelings for Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

Director William Freidkin prefers Jade to be presented in 1.33:1. And director Stanley Kubrick prefers 1.33:1 and 1.66:1 for most of his films.

Again, its not about theatrical aspect ratio. It is about the original intended aspect ratio.

Damin J Toell

Just to clarify, Donaldson actually had both the 2.40:1 and 1.78:1 frames marked off on his monitors during filming.

DJ

Vincent_P

I spoke with LIFE AS A HOUSE cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond during location scouting for JERSEY GIRL, and his preference for slight side cropping on his 'Scope films (which amounts to almost every film he's shot, really) came up, and his explanation was that he simply didn't like 2.35:1 letterboxing on video. He felt that 2:1 (or 2.1:1 or whatever) kept all of the "important" visual information intact without the need for panning-and-scanning while at the same time lessening the size of the letterbox mattes.

He NEVER said that 2:1 was the "intended" aspect ratio, just that he felt it was an acceptable compromise for home video presentation. I was on the set of JERSEY GIRL, which he also shot in anamorphic, and can confirm that the video tap monitors showed a 2.35:1 frame, NOT a 2:1 frame.

As for why the clips in the documentaries would be 2.35:1, those docs are usually made well before the final video transfer for the movie is done, and probably used clips telecined without Zsigmond's involvment. Thus, they would contain the full 2.35:1 frame. The "video dailies" for JERSEY GIRL that were used for the AVID edit are all 2.35:1 letterboxed, too, but given Zsigmond's preferences for home video, I'd imagine the final DVD version will be closer to 2:1.

Vincent