An open plea to MGM to STOP releasing FULL FRAME ONLY discs of WIDESCREEN titles. All members help! (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Just to repeat myself again, there are already widescreen transfers that exist for some of these titles. They have been released/broadcast previously. MGM has made the conscious choice NOT to use them.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I don't want anyone to misinterpret this thread.

I think most all of us feel that MGM has been
doing an incredible job with their mainstream
and catalog titles. Most often, the studio puts
out tremendous product, packaged as Special Editions
sporting quality transfers.

Nobody is disputing the fact that MGM is a good
studio nor goes the extra mile to provide extra
content on DVDs for their fanbase.

We are being polite and constructive in this
thread, and I am happy it has stayed that way.

All we are trying to figure out is why a
studio that has done so much good for this format
continues to release widescreen titles in
full frame -- especially when you have a format
that can support both versions on one disc.

 

[George See]

I think time may be a factor here, I emailed MGM about a possible release for "Real Men" and they had told me "before the end of the year it should be released", this was a few years ago now...so it seems like maybee they are under a time crunch. Personally i'd rather wait another year if it meant we'd get the movie in widescreen.

 

[Corey_Smith]

I'm going to throw in my two cents on this as well. One of the things I like about MGM is the fact that on many of their discs, they put both widescreen and full frame copies on their discs. I wish more studios would do that. The reason being, my folks do not like the widescreen versions, and prefer full frame. I canont persuade them to change their ways, so I think it's a good compromise if we watch movies, I can be happy and so can they.

So for me, it's either widescreen all the way, or compromise and put both.

Thank you for your time.

 

[George See]

Corey If i convinced my father that the black bars are actually a good thing, you can too don't give up.

 

[Carlo_M]

And why is MGM the one being criticized in this thread? Look at Artisan, Disney, other companies. They release a larger percentage of full frame titles than MGM does.

Because of the thread title.

I know Disney and Artisan put out P&S stuff in the past and I've riled against that! recently I haven't noticed that they have done any for the titles I'm interested in.

By all means create a new thread here if you catch other companies making P&S releases! If it's consistency you want, you'll find it here. We are all pro-OAR.

I will join those threads in the call for releasing OAR versions.

MGM is singled out here because someone posted there's a batch of MGM titles that are P&S only. It wouldn't be appropriate to take it too far off that topic. If you know of any wrongs that other companies are doing, start up new threads and we'll jump on those too!

 

[DaViD Boulet]

The term "Full Frame" needs to be dropped altogether- it's either modified ratio or the correct one. (MGM was actually using the term "Pan And Scan" on their first discs but now uses "Standard", which only serves to mislead and confuse.)

Agreed 100%. It's false advertising. I know many people who prefer "full frame" because they *think* that means they're getting the "full" picture and the WS is cropped. Yes...some movies are soft-matte but this basic understaning of WS is very flawed.

For this reason studios (all of them) IMO should use the term "4x3 modified" rather than "full frame". They should refer to WS as "Original Theatrical Format--WS" as well. Such basic banners/titles would help educate consumers even without further explaination.

-dave

 

[Ben Phillips]

Pledging my support of the cause! MGM has not violated a title I am passionate about...Yet..But any MAR only release is UNACCEPTABLE.

What was it Kennedy once said? "MAR anywhere is a threat to OAR everywhere"?

Just another voice chiming in to encourage MGM to wake up and smell the money they're leaving on the table.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I think that after reading all of this I would prefer

4x3 to cover the idiots

--and--

OAR for us

Becaue some of the older movies were 4:3 originally.

Glenn

 

[DeanR]

I wanted to buy Hot Dog The Movie, Gator, and White Lightning recently. I would have been happy with even letterbox LaserDisc quality at the $14.99 price point. Sorry, no sale.

 

[Jimmy M]

I have not bought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang yet, nor have I bought the domestic release of Remo Williams. I have purchased all three boxed set of Bond films, Terminator, The Fog, Buckaroo Banzai, and many other films that were released in OAR.

If a DVD isn't released in OAR then it is little more than a shiny coaster as far as I'm concerned.

I spend way too much on DVDs to buy any that are MAR. MGM, you will get your share of my money*, as long as the title that I want is OAR.

If Blockbuster can admit that OAR is better, than everyone should be able to see that.

Jimmy!

*(that just doesn't sound right, does it? )

 

[Rain]

MGM has dropped the ball time and time again.

If it's not "full frame" DVDs, it's crappy transfers of older films.

It's high time that MGM stepped up to the plate and put in as much effort as some of the other studios.

 

[Jeff D Han]

It doesn't matter to me who the studio is-
I don't have any interest in 4:3 ratio on
DVD, unless that is the original ratio.

All we ask is that we have a nice OAR transfer
of the movie to DVD, no matter what the movie is.

Like so many others have posted- NO OAR= NO SALE!

 

[Jon Martin]

It's high time that MGM stepped up to the plate and put in as much effort as some of the other studios.

How can you say this?????

MGM is probably the most prolific DVD studio out there. They release more DVDs than I think any other film studio. The majority of those ARE widescreen 16x9 transfers. Many in special editions.

They not only release their own films, but they often release films from other studios that don't have a DVD division or don't want to distribute certain DVDs (like their recent deal to release a lot of Disney's films)

Of the hundreds of DVDs they have released this year, there are only 5 or 6 that people complain about. That isn't that bad an average.

Meanwhile Disney released most of the 80's Touchstone films on DVD, all extraless and most of them full screen. Artisan and Lion's Gate release tons of full screen films. And Paramount barely releases any films at all.

Yet MGM has to step up??

 

[Malcolm R]

We shouldn't have to complain about any. Out of the "hundreds of DVD's" they've released this year, why are these few titles chosen to be MAR only?

They should do them all the right way.

 

[Eric Stuckey]

I HATE PAN & SCAN! ! ! !
AND I WILL NOT BUY ANY MOVIE THAT IS NOT IN WIDESCREEN! ! !

 

[Jon Martin]

I HATE PAN & SCAN! ! ! !

Most of the titles MGM has released fullscreen were not pan and scan titles (except for the above two). REAL MEN, CAR 54 and others were all 1.85. No panning and scanning done for the transfer.

 

[Dick]

My understanding was that MGM was going to release all applicable films in both widescreen and P&S on a single disc. They themselves announced this a year or two, no? Am I imagining this?

 

[Dmitry]

AND I WILL NOT BUY ANY MOVIE THAT IS NOT IN WIDESCREEN! ! !

Not even Casablanca? Or Adventures of Robin Hood? The OAR for those is not widescreen.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I only buy DVDs in OAR. The only title that I've had to pass on for lack of proper aspect ratio is The Powerpuff Girls Movie, but I was strong enough to resist temptation:b