How is "White Men Can't Jump" on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Dave H]

How does it look? Also, I've read the aspect ratio is 1:77 instead of 1:85. Is this true?

 

[Walter Kittel]

I can't recall the A.R. off the top of my head, but if it is cropped from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, I never noticed anything objectionable.

The transfer, particularly for a slightly older film, looks great. The print is clean, the image is sharp, there is excellent contrast and the colors are wonderfully saturated. I think that it is an excellent presentation. If you are fan of the film, don't hesitate to pick up the DVD. A fine effort by the folks from Fox.

- Walter.

 

[Dave H]

I watched most of it on cable today forgot how much I liked it. What I don't understand is, why do studios sometimes needlessly crop as they do? What is their point to go from 1:85 to 1:78?

 

[Julian Lalor]

1.78:1 is the aspect ratio of widescreen televisions, hence the cropping of many 1.85:1 films to this aspect ratio. The black bars would be so small on these sets as to be lost in the overscan of many televisions.

 

[Dave H]

So, the loss won't be even really be noticable? Anyone have or know of a screenshot that illustrates this? Thanks.

P.S. Deep Discount DVD has this title for under $9.00 shipped.

 

[Bobby Garfield]

I have it, and according to the back of the case, the aspect ratio is indeed 1:85:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen). I've watched the DVD once already, and everything looks great to me. Sharp picture, rich colors, etc.

 

[LukeB]

So, the loss won't be even really be noticable?

The difference is very miniscule, to the point where if you're watching on a 4 x 3 set, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference. We're talking about literally just a few lines of resolution. A good number of 1.85:1 films are presented in 1.78:1 16 x 9 for DVD.

 

[HenrikTull]

This indeed a great looking DVD. With only two 2.0 tracks and practically no extras spread across 2 layers the average video bit rate is consistently over 7 megs a second. The audio was also a pleasant surprise.

 

[Andy_MT]

feel like i'm trashing the party here. although it's a good effort, someone cranked up the edge enhancement a bit too much (what's new), although it's obnoxious in only a few scenes. overall it's above average and well above average on smaller screens.