Aspect Ratio Documentation (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Bob,

You have any aspect ratio information about "The Proud Rebel" (1958)? My DVD is 1.33 aspect ratio, but I watched an HD stream of it on Amazon Video in the 1.85 ratio. I found the following on AFI's site about the aspect ratio. I always thought the film should be 1.85 ratio.

Although the press notes state that The Proud Rebel was shot in wide-screen, contemporary reviews indicate that it was released in standard format.

 

[Vic Pardo]

On the average, we can restore a vintage 3-D feature in three months. SANGAREE was on the operating table for five months and proved to be - by far - our most challenging color restoration to date.

Thanks to the magnificent color restoration by Greg Kintz and Jack Theakston - plus the meticulous dirt and damage clean-up by Thad Komorowski - this Golden Age 3-D classic now looks better than ever before!

SANGAREE was shown in some theaters in cropped 1.66:1 but that was not the intent during principal photography. We always restore our 3-D titles in the aspect ratio intended during production so the 3-D Blu-ray and flat DVD are in the standard Academy ratio.

It's worth noting that SANGAREE was the first widescreen film shown in France.

I'm confused. You say that "the aspect ratio intended during production" was "the standard Academy ratio." But then you say the film was "the first widescreen film shown in France." Aren't you contradicting yourself there? How can it be both "standard Academy ratio" and "widescreen"?

 

[Thomas T]

I'm confused. You say that "the aspect ratio intended during production" was "the standard Academy ratio." But then you say the film was "the first widescreen film shown in France." Aren't you contradicting yourself there? How can it be both "standard Academy ratio" and "widescreen"?

It's not confusing at all. Mr. Furmanek clearly states while it was shot for release in the standard Academy ratio that "SANGAREE was shown in some theaters in cropped 1.66:1 but that was not the intent during principal photography." That France showed it in "wide screen" doesn't mean it was intended to be shown that way! The same year (1953), some theaters showed the 1.37 Shane cropped for wide screen too!

 

[Bob Furmanek]

What Thomas says.

Other Academy ratio films shown widescreen in some theaters in 1953 include Thunder Bay, It Came from Outer Space, Young Bess, Fort Ti, The Charge at Feather River, The Band Wagon, From Here to Eternity, The Big Heat, Mogambo, All the Brothers Were Valiant, Sangaree, Scared Stiff, The Caddy, War of the Worlds, White Witch Doctor, Island in the Sky, Blowing Wild, Calamity Jane and many more.

There's more information on this page of our website; http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/the-first-year-of-widescreen

Robert: The AFI database has a lot of erroneous AR data.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you Bob for the confirmation, as AFI at least, noted the press notes stated it was shot widescreen which I always suspected. Thanks again.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

My pleasure, anytime!

 

[Mark Pytel]

Hi Bob we need your expertise.

Shout/Scream Factory just announced The Mole People (1956) They said it is 1:33 OAR. I thought the correct aspect ratio for this film was 2:00:1. Anolis in Germany released it at that ratio. Being from 1956 I thought by then Universal was all widescreen.
Any chance you could help clear this up? Shout factory seems to go soley by what IMDB lists as IMDB says 1:33 is the OAR.

Shout made this similar mistake with Attack of the Puppet People. It wasn't until we vocalized the facts on here and other boards that they took notice. Can you help clear this up?

-thanks

-Mark

 

[Bob Furmanek]

UI went 100% widescreen in the spring of 1953.

Documents are here. http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/the-first-year-of-widescreen

Boxoffice lists Mole for 1.85.

 

[Gary Couzens]

Another one from the BFI. I've just received a checkdisc of Red White and Zero, which they're releasing on 10 December. I haven't done more than glance at it, but the aspect ratio is 1.37:1. That does seem odd for a 35mm feature from 1967 intended for commercial cinema release, even if only the segment The White Bus received one. So I will see how it's framed when I watch it.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

If this is truly a new scan coming to Blu-ray, you'll be seeing more of THE DEADLY MANTIS; image unseen since the original theatrical release.

Here's the DVD scan in green vs. the original 35mm element.

A bit zoomed-in, don't you think?

This was common practice for scans in the pre-16x9 display era. That's why we always tell people that you can't judge a post-1953 widescreen film by an older scan. The amount of image manipulation in the early years of home video was ridiculous!

 

[haineshisway]

And yet, they do, they post those YouTube things as if they were fact, take you to task (old Pecker at the other forum - Steve from Yorkshire here) just did it, then when corrected, never came back to acknowledge - can't remember the name of the film but it was from 1955 and obviously widescreen.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The Glass Cage aka The Glass Tomb.

Pecker and Yorkshire are one and the same. He’s obsessed and has been trolling our posts for years.

 

[Worth]

Old 4:3 transfers would typically vary from shot to shot - some shots were were opened up more, some cropped more. True open-matte transfers were rare as boom mics and other things not meant to be seen would often pop up.

 

[haineshisway]

The Glass Cage aka The Glass Tomb.

Pecker and Yorkshire are one and the same. He’s obsessed and has been trolling our posts for years.

Yes, I know they're one and the same. And you really must go read his response to The Glass Cage image of the credits that you posted. You can have some fun with it - the guy is, I hate to say it, misguided and dangerous.

 

[david hare]

And he's not the only one!!

 

[J. Casey]

Just watched Kino's new blu rays of FOXFIRE and FEMALE ON THE BEACH. The transfers are at 2.00:1. I know Uni did this with some of the films in their Hammer collection. Is this the correct ratio for these two 1955 gems? The framing looks fine to me, but just curious. Thanks.

 

[Gary16]

Just watched Kino's new blu rays of FOXFIRE and FEMALE ON THE BEACH. The transfers are at 2.00:1. I know Uni did this with some of the films in their Hammer collection. Is this the correct ratio for these two 1955 gems? The framing looks fine to me, but just curious. Thanks.

Yes. Now if they would just release ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KEYSTONE COPS in 2.00:1.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Yes, I know they're one and the same. And you really must go read his response to The Glass Cage image of the credits that you posted. You can have some fun with it - the guy is, I hate to say it, misguided and dangerous.

He ignores the data that was posted and questions the widescreen DVD image as seen on an OLED?

He's clueless. I rest my case.

Just watched Kino's new blu rays of FOXFIRE and FEMALE ON THE BEACH. The transfers are at 2.00:1. I know Uni did this with some of the films in their Hammer collection. Is this the correct ratio for these two 1955 gems? The framing looks fine to me, but just curious. Thanks.

Yes, 2.00:1 is correct. See primary source documentation from Universal here: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/the-first-year-of-widescreen

And here: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/widescreen-documentation

 

[J. Casey]

Thanks, Bob! Great articles.

 

[haineshisway]

Someone just posted this there: "When Kubrick shot Spartacus as a hired gun, he was required to shoot the "Snails and oysters" scene. Kubrick however knew that it wasn't going to get past the censors so instead of wasting time and money on a sequence he knew wouldn't be in the film he opted to do a long shot without any close-ups or reverses.

Some food for thought."

Here's some food for thought - that scene was IN the roadshow version of the film because I saw it at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, California, USA. It never ends, does it? BTW, I like neither snails or oysters.