A Problem With Fear, OAR?

Martin Fontaine · 03-13-2004, 10:38 PM

I don't know if anyone here has seen or heard of this little known indie Canadian film.

It was released on DVD a month ago, I couldn't find it anywhere so I placed a special order at HMV and went to pick it up today.

I looked at the specs on the back and there is absolutly no mention of any technical specs whatsoever, no Aspect Ratio information, no audio tracks info neither.

I paid 30 bucks for that, and as long as it's unopened, I can bring it back for a refund so putting the disk into my player is not an option.

I just checked my database, and this was a 2.35:1 movie at the theater so if it's Pan & Scan only, I want my money back and Lion's Gate's DVD Department director's head! I'm not paying 30$ for an incomplete movie.

Does anyone know if this DVD is OAR?

Darren Gross · 03-14-2004, 03:57 AM

Is that the one with the guy on the cover emerging from a wood panel?

If so, I'd be surprised if it wasn't shot 1.33 or 1.85 since it went straight to video. At least over here in the US.

Martin Fontaine · 03-14-2004, 10:28 AM

No, over here it had a very brief theatrical run and it was 2.35:1. The cover is read with the guy's head upside down.

Another source said it was OAR, but they said that a month before release so it may not be reliable:

Quote:

Christal Films: Prévu via cet éditeur pour le 17 février 2004 A Problem with Fear, un suspence avec Paulo Constanzo. L'image sera offerte au format respecté de 2.35:1, il n'est pas précisé si il s'agira d'un transfert 16:9. Les bandes sonores seront disponibles en anglais (Dolby Digital 5.1) et français (Dolby Digital 5.1). Il y aura option de sous-titrage en anglais. Les suppléments se composeront de la bande-annonce du film et du lien pour le site Internet.

Gary Palmer · 03-14-2004, 07:13 PM

Martin, could you possibly provide a few details about this movie (director, a couple of the leading actors, etc.), so I could track it down at the IMDb? The only two movies under the title FEAR which are definitely confirmed as 2.35 were produced in 1989 (Super 35, directed by Rockne S. O'Bannon) and 1996 (Panavision, directed by James Foley). The only other film called FEAR which I've been able to trace was one directed by Robert A. Ferretti, and starring Cliff De Young and Robert Factor, filmed flat and released direct to video. I'm assuming none of these are the film you're looking for?

It's possible the Canadian indie you mentioned may have been filmed in scope format, but if so, then it's flown right under my radar, and I've been compiling a list of scope movies for more than ten years now!! Let me know some more details, and I'll see what I can dig up.

Martin Fontaine · 03-14-2004, 08:20 PM

The full title is "A Problem With Fear or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting The Escalator", it's not that I have "A problem with" a movie called "Fear" hehe!

According to what's written on the DVD, it was directed by Gary Burns, and it stars Paulo Costanzo and Emily Hampshire. The movie was made in 2003.

The movie is in 2.35:1 but shot Super 35 since when I saw it, out-of-focus lights were round. But that's still no excuse for it being MAR.

Like I said, this movie is very small, low budget, independant. The main reason why I liked it was that it was shot in Montreal and takes place in our subway system. If you like strange movie, it's very good, that's also why I bought it, there are many things I didn't get on first viewing and want to see it again to understand.

My copy is still sealed, so it's not too late...

Edit: Here's the IMDB Page for it, no mention of the DVD's specs though...

**HTF Ads**

Darren Gross · 03-15-2004, 01:03 AM

The one I was talking about was the straight to video one and not this film.

Do a google search. Maybe you'll turn up a disc review. Or try amazon canada and check the user feedback.

Gary Palmer · 03-15-2004, 12:40 PM

Thanks for the info, Martin. Nope, I'd never heard of this one until you mentioned it!!

"The movie is in 2.35:1 but shot Super 35 since when I saw it, out-of-focus lights were round. But that's still no excuse for it being MAR."

So, you've seen it projected theatrically and it was definitely 2.35?

And bravo to you for knowing how to spot the difference between Super 35 and anamorphic photography - I thought I was the only obsessive widescreen geek this side of the western hemisphere who knew anything about such stuff!!

I'll hunt around and see if I can find anything more about this movie, though it's probably going to be tough finding ANYTHING about the DVD specs - info on that kind of thing is notoriously tough to confirm until you've actually broken the seal and slipped the disc into your machine. By which time, of course, you're screwed if the damn thing isn't what you were hoping for!! But I would imagine that if the disc WAS presented in OAR, there would be SOMETHING on the packaging to let you know. If it ain't there, then it's probably full-screen. Or maybe not...

Gee, ain't I the helpful one... ;-))

Gary Palmer · 03-15-2004, 02:33 PM

Martin, I found one review of the DVD which says nothing about the tech specs except that it's a 'featureless' disc (unfortunately, the same website fails to provide specs for other releases, so this one is fairly typical of their reviews overall). Sadly, forum rules mean I can't provide a direct URL to the review, but go to exclaim.ca and look for the film in the DVD reviews section. It doesn't really tell you very much, but you might want to take a look anyway, in case there's something I missed.

I found references to the film's 2.35 AR on a couple of other sites, which also led me to other scope movies for my list. So, I may not have been able to help you very much, Martin, but you've certainly been able to help me!!

Martin Fontaine · 03-15-2004, 04:17 PM

Quote:

So, you've seen it projected theatrically and it was definitely 2.35?

And bravo to you for knowing how to spot the difference between Super 35 and anamorphic photography - I thought I was the only obsessive widescreen geek this side of the western hemisphere who knew anything about such stuff!!

Yes, it only played for one week over here, and in the smallest theater at the AMC in which I was almost alone! And about knowing the difference, yes, I spot that and I write it down in my database so that I know when the movie gets butched, how screwed we are.

Quote:

Martin, I found one review of the DVD which says nothing about the tech specs except that it's a 'featureless' disc (unfortunately, the same website fails to provide specs for other releases, so this one is fairly typical of their reviews overall). Sadly, forum rules mean I can't provide a direct URL to the review, but go to exclaim.ca and look for the film in the DVD reviews section. It doesn't really tell you very much, but you might want to take a look anyway, in case there's something I missed.

Someone earlier told me to do a google search and I did. I found the site you mentionned, the one that said it's featureless.

I also looked up all the DVD Retailers listed on Yahoo Canada and most of them had no AR Info, one said it's fullscreen and another said it's Widescreen 2.35.

What's with the forum rules prohibiting links to movie reviews? I just reviewed them and there is no mention of such restriction. I don't understand why the forum would prohibit that, maybe a mod could explain that...