Have there been any non-OAR blu-rays yet? (1 Viewer)

[Jesse Blacklow]

Oh man, this should be fun to watch.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Yeah yeah the debate will likely start again but I took my stance on the matter years ago and i'm sticking to it.

After comparing both versions of The Shining Kubrick's "vanishing point" compositions are somewhat ruined at 1.78:1.

 

[Andre Bijelic]

But both films were released theatrically at 1.85 - so the blu-rays can't really be considered wrong.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Yes, that's true. I just hope that we get what Kubrick wanted for those films on BD someday.

 

[David Norman]

I think it's Paramount that does this on many of their titles, but I was too lazy to search for the studio that has routinely done so. Like others said, it's such a small diff, it's almost ridiculous to argue about except for those folks who just like to nitpick technicalities.

 

[Paul Arnette]

I don't want to completely derail this thread, but I was always under the impression that Kubrick wanted 1.33:1 for home video because that was aspect ratio of displays at the time. Well, it really isn't any longer.

 

[Brian Borst]

Planet Terror was filmed for 1.85:1/1.78:1, and like Once Upon A Time In Mexico was shown in theaters in 2.35:1. The first one is the intended ratio.

And by the way, I sampled a bit of The Shining on Blu, and it looks amazing in widescreen. That coupled with the proof in the Archives book, is enough for me to have it shown in widescreen.

 

[Mike Frezon]

If only there was a way we could get Vittorio Storaro to recognize that, we might be getting somewhere! That is part of his rationale for wanting to crop down some of his pictures such as Apocalypse Now and The Last Emperor.

 

[cafink]

For The Shining at least, we know that Kubrick wanted an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

 

[TravisR]

That's my understanding of the situtation too.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

See, these kinds of discussions confuse me, i'm certain that I read, either here or elsewhere, in years past that Kubrick wanted 1.33:1 for The Shining.

 

[cafink]

Kubrick had apparently requested that The Shining and a couple of his other soft-matte films be released on video in the open-matte format, with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

The first DVD release of these films occured shortly after his death, and featured the Kubrick-approved open-matte transfers. This was kind of controversial, because it wasn't completely clear whether Kubrick truly preferred the 1.33:1 ratio, viewing the theatrical 1.85:1 ratio as a compromise, or whether he compositionally preferred the 1.85:1 ratio but simply had some aversion to letterboxing on home video.

The image to which I linked in my previous post is taken from the book The Stanley Kubrick Archives. It was released just last year and finally offers definitive proof that Kubrick composed The Shining for the 1.85:1 ratio and was simply protecting the open-matte version. I won't presume to know his reasoning, but he obviously considered the open-matte version merely the best compromise for home video (which would typically have meant a 1:33:1 screen at the time), as opposed to the ideal representation of the film. I think it's probably reasonable to assume that the same applies to Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut.

Kubrick died in 1999, just as DVD was really starting to become successful. Given the ubiquity of 16:9 displays today, as compared to 1999, and the fact that Blu-ray is a native 16:9 format, and that even DVD supports 16:9 video with full resolution (via "anamorphic" enhancement), I believe it's safe to say that Kubrick's preferred framing can be viewed on home video with no compromise whatsoever, and that his previous views on open-matte transfers are now obsolete.

It is my hope that Matt and Trey offer a similarly definitive statement about the aspect ratio of the first half of South Park's Season 12. It'd be nice if they discuss the issue in one of the commentaries.

 

Apparently, the Echo Bridge version of The Lookout was cropped from 2.35:1 to 178:1. I've also read that Equilibrium received the same treatment. The Disney/Miramax version of The Lookout appears to be correct.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Paramount is about to release a full frame BR of HONDO. It was photographed for widescreen and this is documented in studio memos between John Wayne and Jack Warner.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

There are several Canadian releases that are cropped to 1.78:1 and appear to be taken from HD masters for broadcast. Someone mentioned Se7en, but Blade is another example.

 

[Mark-P]

And pray tell, how do you know it's going to be "full-frame" which in this case you mean 1.37:1, when Paramount has not released any information at all on the specs yet?

Paramount is about to release a full frame BR of HONDO. It was photographed for widescreen and this is documented in studio memos between John Wayne and Jack Warner.

 

[haineshisway]

Yes, that's true. I just hope that we get what Kubrick wanted for those films on BD someday.

Please, stop. What Mr. Kubrick wanted is clearly shown in the Kubrick Archives book. You must know this. It cannot be refuted, it's in his handwriting. He was a filmmaker, not a TV show maker - he knew very well how his films would be exhibited in motion picture theaters. You can take any stance you like, of course, and those who know can disagree with you just to keep the record straight.

 

[adklz]

My memory is a bit fuzzy but weren't there some issues regarding both "Dr. Strangelove" and "Woodstock" because they originally had a variable oar, but have been reformatted to one standard oar for blu-ray?

 

[Charles Smith]

I kept the old Shining DVD around for a while, thinking how "interesting" it would be to compare it side by side with the Blu-ray one of these days, and wouldn't others find it fascinating, too. Took one look at the fabulous Blu-ray, instantly realized I'd never spend a minute of my life watching that DVD again, and out it went.

 

[Charles Smith]

Here's one I've meant to ask about, or maybe I asked somewhere and have totally forgotten what I learned: The Bad Seed. I was disappointed in the Blu-ray (shocked, actually) for a couple of reasons, but didn't they wrongly crop the 1.37 to 1.85? It looks utterly cramped throughout.