DVDvision
Screenwriter
There's a typo, Network meant original television aspect ratio.
Not that select - I saw it on release. I don't think it was shown as narrowly as 1.66:1 when I saw it - probably 1.75:1. But that doesn't mean 1.85:1 wouldn't be correct.Yorkshire said:Just a quick heads up on differing aspect ratios - though I expect this film is so 'select' that few will have heard of it, let alone be interested.
The old UK DVD of Bernard Rose's Paperhouse is 1.66:1. The new French Blu-ray Disc is 1.85:1. As far as I can see both are the same width.
I'll give it a study and see how the framing looks when I get the chance.
Steve W
Thanks! Digging a bit further, it seems production began in 1952, so Academy it presumably is then.Bob Furmanek said:Gary, I'm sorry, no luck on U.S. documentation for JEDDA.
I'll keep digging...
I posted in that same thread four years ago and said that he was presumably using "widescreen" to mean Scope. Ealing's last film, THE SIEGE OF PINCHGUT was out on DVD by then, in a ratio of 1.66:1. Since then, THE SHIRALEE has also been released on disc, and that's 1.66:1 on disc as well.John Hodson said:It was Mackendrick / Ealing authority Philip Kemp who said at the Criterion forum:
"I've never seen TLK screened in anything but Academy ratio. In fact as far as I know, only one Ealing movie was ever made in widescreen - the late and rather feeble comedy Davy, which was shot in Technirama. So 1.66:1 would distort Sandy's film rather badly."
Four years ago - unbelievably in retrospect - my former idiot self bought that.
EddieLarkin said:The director apparently gave interviews in 1955 about the making of the film, stating that he deliberately avoided the new "widescreen technologies" and opted for standard shooting instead.
Douglas R said:I saw the Ladykillers on first release in 1956 at my local north London cinema and it was shown widescreen. None of my local cinemas at that time showed films in the old Academy ratio. Even when they showed pre-1953 reissues, they would crop the picture and adjust the framing up and down in order not to lose tops of heads!
Is it possible this is a similar situation to Shane, where the Director composed for Academy, but when it was shown theatrically, the studio put it out in Widescreen?Bob Furmanek said:I guess that means he did not see the film when it was released theatrically.
Mr. Kemp is an authority on Ealing and he's never been through the UK trade papers from the period, such as Kinematograph Weekly or The Ideal Kinema?
It is true I didn't include your interpretation of the director's comments. All we can tell from his supposed quote is that we don't know for certain what his intent was. Except that he is not on record either way - for widescreen or for academy.EddieLarkin said:You've quoted me out a context there, don't you think? I go on to explain in the next few sentences why the interviews the director gave do not indicate the film isn't widescreen.
To answer your question: no, as Shane doesn't even remotely work at 1.66:1, it being composed for 1.37:1. The Dam Busters exhibits all the usual hallmarks of a film intended to be matted to widescreen.
You're incorrect in saying that the documentation on Shane is overruled by the director's intent. The most important piece of documentation, the start date of shooting, indicates that the film was composed 1.37:1, completely in line with the director's intent. The Dam Busters on the other hand started shooting after ABPC switched to widescreen production.
I'm sure it worked for the people who saw it in 1.37:1, which was probably the majority in April 53. I wonder how many engagements it played in 1.66:1 after its premiere at the Radio City Music Hall?David Weicker said:As for Shane 'not working' at 1:66:1 (or other non-academy AR), well it did win the Best Cinematography Academy Award for its widescreen theatrical release. So it obviously worked for someone.
And it was the documentation of that theatrical release that was over-ruled when the Blu-Ray was released.
That reminds me when The Incredibles first came out on DVD. The store had letterboxed and 4:3 discs side by side. The 4:3 version said "In family friendly full screen".bluelaughaminute said:But they are now starting to list their bonus 4 x 3 versions as "maximum filmed picture area versions" or "original as filmed 4x3 version" rather than original cinema ratio.
So you refused to buy a movie you love because the studio decided to offer an alternative to viewers who may not have had widescreen tv's at the time.seangood79 said:That reminds me when The Incredibles first came out on DVD. The store had letterboxed and 4:3 discs side by side. The 4:3 version said "In family friendly full screen".
That offended me so much I didn't buy any version, and I love that movie.
Oh well, at least I didn't have to complain about double dipping when it came out on Blu Ray.
It still is a problem with certain labels (on DVD), buts it's more of an issue of budgetary laziness than ignorance.bluelaughaminute said:The only real problem back then was the 2.35:1 movies being chopped in half for tv and video - now that was a real problem in comparison to the minutiae being discussed on this thread.
In the Bluray era I've not seen any 2.35:1 movies chopped in half , not usually even on dvd I don't think apart from one of those Mill Creek compilations and the chopped up travesties seemed to be of movies that are available properly on other releases. Their Space set included the Italian horror Alien Contamination but their dvd version was actually a direct transfer from a VHS tape - so no worries for Blue Underground there .JoHud said:It still is a problem with certain labels (on DVD), buts it's more of an issue of budgetary laziness than ignorance.
The standard for cropping is a projection matte. For 70mm, that would be an RP91.moviebuff75 said:So, for Academy Ratio films on blu-ray/dvd, I assume they do the cropping digitally now. Do they try to crop from the edge of the corners (thus eliminating the corners)? Some titles are cropped heavily on both the left and right sides and I'm just wondering what the standard is for cropping.