ScottR

I thought the new Ben-Hur was exactly 2.76:1? According to dvdbeaver.com, the R1 disc is 2.74:1, while the R2 version is 2.78:1 and that the R1 version shows 1.25 less that the R2. According to their screenshots, the R2 version shows a sliver more on both sides of the image. Why are the two different?

Patrick McCart

Don't worry about it. Ben-Hur is supposed to be shown at 2.55:1 with the left and right cropped to achieve that AR. So, a tiny sliver lost means nothing.

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ScottR

Did any theatres, including the premiere, ever show the film at the full 2.76:1? I would think that it would have been a waste to install new screens for that one film.

Patrick McCart

While it would vary from theater to theater depending on the setup, the widest a screen would probably be for 2.55:1 CinemaScope films. Ben-Hur was only the second MGM Camera-65 film and by 1959, the leading widescreen format was CinemaScope. The 35mm reductions were 2.50:1 scope and later 65mm prints were spherical 2.20:1.

Tell The Weinstein Company to release Richard Williams' animated masterpiece The Thief and the Cobbler on DVD in Panavision widescreen and uncut! See and hear what you're missing from their Bitsy Award winner of Worst Standard Edition DVD of 2006 on YouTube!

john a hunter

No way, ScottR, Loew's State in New York was extensively remodeled for Ben Hur which was tremendously successful wherever it was shown. Plans were drawn up well in advance of the world premiere and the theatre completely reconditioned as MGM expected a long run which it did get of at least a year.The audience apparently gasped when the curtains opened on its first night but whether it was 2:78 or not I have not been able to find out.I expect it was nearer 2.76:1 than 2.55 or 2.35.
The AR for Camera 65/ Ultra Panavision is usually given as 2.76:1 not 2.78.
Some theatres had problems and when it opened for its west coast premiere at the Egyptian, they used full width and reduced the height of the Todd AO screen. Others reduced the width.

ScottR

I went to the American Widescreen Museum site, and they say that the new dvd is virtually identical to the Maximum Camera Ap for 70mm Anamorphic. According to the grabs, the new dvd appears to slice a very tiny amount off of the top, when compared to the aperture, but I would imagine that more than that would have been cropped on the screen?