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The Witches-Widescreen?

post #1 of 20
9/6/07 at 1:24pm
Thread Starter 


I really like this movie and while I don't expect a SE of this movie unfortunately, has it at least been released in Widescreen with the theatrical trailer? I seem to only find it in full.
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post #2 of 20
9/6/07 at 9:21pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

They should also include an option for the U.K. ending where the boy stays as a mouse.
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post #3 of 20
9/6/07 at 9:42pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

The Witches is one title that I'd really like to add to my collection. I've caved and bought a few full-screen DVDs of open-matte films when no widescreen version was available, but I just can't bring myself to buy a pan-and-scan DVD of a 2.35:1 film.

As far as I can tell, no widescreen version of The Witches has ever been released, on any format, anywhere in the world. I would really like to be proven wrong on this topic, but if there is such a release, it sure is rare.
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post #4 of 20
9/6/07 at 9:58pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cafink
The Witches is one title that I'd really like to add to my collection. I've caved and bought a few full-screen DVDs of open-matte films when no widescreen version was available, but I just can't bring myself to buy a pan-and-scan DVD of a 2.35:1 film.

As far as I can tell, no widescreen version of The Witches has ever been released, on any format, anywhere in the world. I would really like to be proven wrong on this topic, but if there is such a release, it sure is rare.

The Witches was shot for 1.85:1, not 2.35:1.

(Count me in for wanting a 16x9 remaster. Excellent film except for the U.S. ending.)
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post #5 of 20
9/7/07 at 4:07am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Add me to the heap of people who want this released in WS or at something better than what I've heard the current release is. I have a VHS that is getting old.

I've only ever watched this with the all-too-obvious tacked on ending. To be honest, I don't know if I could watch it any other way. Hopefully it won't be removed.
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post #6 of 20
9/7/07 at 9:46am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick McCart
The Witches was shot for 1.85:1, not 2.35:1.

Hm, it seems you're right. I don't know why I thought it was scope. Do you happen to know how the full-screen framing compares to the 1.85:1 version? I recall reading that Henson shot all of the Muppet movies after the first one hard-matte, so that the puppeteering apparatus wouldn't show up in an open-matte transfer. Might the same technique have been employed on The Witches? Or is it open-matte? Of course I'd prefer a nice 16:9 version, but I confess I'm beginning to waver, and might pick up this DVD after all.
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post #7 of 20
9/7/07 at 11:44am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

IIRC, The Witches is an open matte presentation. The effects are mostly "in-camera" practical effects, so there are few if any compromised optical shots. A new 16:9 enhanced transfer would still be most welcome, though.

Regards,
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post #8 of 20
9/7/07 at 10:02pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cafink
Do you happen to know how the full-screen framing compares to the 1.85:1 version?

Since, to the best of my knowledge, The Witches has never had a widescreen video mastering anywhere in the world, the only comparison would be with the memories of the people who saw it in a theater back in 1990.
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post #9 of 20
9/7/07 at 10:21pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Here in the UK, it's showing on Sky Movies, in 1.85:1 anamorphic, at the moment.

I'll try to post a few screen grabs the next time it's shown.
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post #10 of 20
9/7/07 at 10:32pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark-P
Since, to the best of my knowledge, The Witches has never had a widescreen video mastering anywhere in the world, the only comparison would be with the memories of the people who saw it in a theater back in 1990.

Even without access to the original widescreen composition for comparison, I find that it's actually pretty easy to tell just by watching a full-screen presentation whether it's open-matte or pan-and-scan. If something has been cropped from the image, it's generally rather noticeable. To be sure, you won't be able to tell precisely by how much the picture is cropped, or whether the framing has also been opened up somewhat, but you ought to be able to get a pretty good idea of whether it's an open-matte or pan-and-scan job.

So basically, I just want to know whether The Witches suffers from any obvious framing problems. Are any important details obviously cropped from the frame?

Thanks for your response, Ken. And James, I would definitely be interested in some screen shots if you can manage it.

Thanks!
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post #11 of 20
9/8/07 at 8:33am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by James Phillips
Here in the UK, it's showing on Sky Movies, in 1.85:1 anamorphic, at the moment.

I'll try to post a few screen grabs the next time it's shown.
Just want to post some encouragement for this. Thanks in advance.

Is the current DVD worth upgrading to if you only have a VHS? I avoided this film and The Gate on DVD because I thought they were no better than my pretty decent VHS recordings of them.
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post #12 of 20
11/3/07 at 2:17pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Here are those screen grabs, then.













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post #13 of 20
11/30/07 at 2:46pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Thanks for those screenshots, James! I've taken several of the equivalent screenshots from the DVD. All are from the same scene, but if that scene is typical of the DVD's transfer, it looks like the full-screen DVD has had only a sliver cropped from the sides of the frame, and has mainly been opened up on the top and bottom.

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post #14 of 20
12/3/07 at 6:15am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Thanks for the screen shots fellas.
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post #15 of 20
7/23/08 at 10:05am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Any word on a widescreen DVD release?
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post #16 of 20
7/24/08 at 8:27am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick McCart
The Witches was shot for 1.85:1, not 2.35:1.

(Count me in for wanting a 16x9 remaster. Excellent film except for the U.S. ending.)

Hi Patrick,

Oh I didn't knew that there were two different endings. Please tell me about the endings. Are both of the endings included in the DVD? I have this movie recorded on a VHS but the quality is very bad so I hope that it will be released in ws soon.
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post #17 of 20
7/24/08 at 1:38pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

In the book's ending, Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Luke is not transformed back into a human. He remains a mouse. He asks his grandmother how long mice live, and she tells him that it's only a few years. As she has only a few years left in her, the two grow old together. I think it's poignant and bittersweet, and superior to the film's tacked-on "happy" ending, with which Roald Dahl was also rather displeased, as I understand it.


I don't know whether an alternate, more-faithful-to-the-book ending was shot, but if it was, it's not on the U.S. DVD, which includes no substantive supplements (or even a properly-framed transfer of the film, as I've already lamented).
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post #18 of 20
7/24/08 at 2:45pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cafink
In the book's ending, Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Luke is not transformed back into a human. He remains a mouse. He asks his grandmother how long mice live, and she tells him that it's only a few years. As she has only a few years left in her, the two grow old together. I think it's poignant and bittersweet, and superior to the film's tacked-on "happy" ending, with which Roald Dahl was also rather displeased, as I understand it.


I don't know whether an alternate, more-faithful-to-the-book ending was shot, but if it was, it's not on the U.S. DVD, which includes no substantive supplements (or even a properly-framed transfer of the film, as I've already lamented).

Thanks so much Carl for the info. I didn't knew this before

Many thanks
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post #19 of 20
7/25/08 at 4:40am

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

Oops. I forgot we'd discussed the US DVD version is open matte. I might pick it up this year for my October viewing since it's cheap. Still....an SE DVD upgrade in the future would be great. I'm waiting on this & The Gate SE among others. *taps fingers on table*
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post #20 of 20
7/26/08 at 3:21pm

Re: The Witches-Widescreen?

This always was one of my favorite Dahl adaptations (along with Matilda and Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The widescreen caps look so much better IMHO. This should definitely be released in a 'final' version. In widescreen, with the proper ending (I've never seen that one, but I despise the happy ending of the film) and some decent bonus material. An audio commentary by Nicholas Roeg could be great, even though he is eighty years old.
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