Bill Cosby: Himself - 8/10 (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gardiner]

After all the speculation and hand-wringing over the Aspect Ratio of this disc, a non-narrative, one-man stage performance (possibly the one disc in my collection of over 2000 where Aspect Ratio is the least important) I have the disc in my hands and discover that both full screen and widescreen versions are included, making the issue completely moot.

Everyone who participated in this discussion, including myself, shares the honor of being this week's recipient of a cool, refreshing rolling-eyeball sundae with colored sprinkles on top and a cherry. I'll make a big one so everyone can take a bite: " "

Mmmm. Delicious.

 

[MarkHastings]

We knew that, but I am curious to hear which one people watch.

If 1.33:1 is OAR, will 16x9 tv owners watch that over the 16x9?

 

[Matt_P]

Thanks for grounding us, Rob.

Even though this debate brings up a legitimate question, I think it's safe to say either ratio will provide nearly two hours of solid comedy (though I do prefer the roomier 1.85..... )

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Exactly! The material on this disc is so great! I would have purchased it even if it only came in the "wrong" aspect ratio.

 

[Keith Paynter]

oooh!!

I love this film, but I think we're in trouble when the double-sided disc has the 'label side' as the fullscreen version, and says the widescreen is on the other side, with no such markings when flipped. Oh Peter, why have you foresaken us...?

I'm going to have a conniption...you don't wanna see it!

 

[Chris Brunner]

I've NEVER heard my 12-year-old son laugh as loud or as long as he did last night while watching this disk.

What a treat!!!

Thanks to everyone at FOX for finaly making this available.

C

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

For the few scenes that I compared, the 4:3 version looks cropped. There might be slightly more headroom, but it definitely didn't look like a straight open matte transfer. That being said, it does look, and always has looked, very good in 4:3 due to the nature of the material and the fact that whoever was recomposing it for 4:3 clearly was paying attention when they did it.

It still looks better in widescreen, though, and Fox was nice enough to make it available to us that way.

Regards,

 

[WilliamG]

While I do not remember this being a theatrical release, the latter quote is definitely concrete evidence. Otherwise, the theatrical trailer that is included on the disc (that I watched last night) is just some radical propaganda meant to cause controversy!

Now I don't have to worry about my VHS copy that I taped on my first TOP LOADING RCA VCR those long years ago off of HBO! Can barely watch that anymore anyways ...

 

[WilliamG]

While I do not remember this being a theatrical release, the latter quote is definitely concrete evidence. Otherwise, the theatrical trailer that is included on the disc (that I watched last night) is just some radical propaganda meant to cause controversy!

Now I don't have to worry about my VHS copy that I taped on my first TOP LOADING RCA VCR those long years ago off of HBO! Can barely watch that anymore anyways ...

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Very good point, Rob. Many thanks to Fox for including the film in both ratios.

I have this whole thing practically memorized, but Cosby's delivery has me on the floor every time. Great stuff here.

 

[Zen Butler]

I agree the 4:3 is well done and fits. I was very concerned the teens wouldn't respond well to this. Cosby is not a "rapid fire" comedian. At first they pffted but the laughter soon followed. This is truly a great Cosby routine. It was very nice to sit back and enjoy a clean presentation, on my new rig I might ass, without all the filth, flarrin' filth."
Great disc. Tecnically, what more should we expect?

 

[george kaplan]

You might ass? A little Freudian slip?

 

[Bryan Tuck]

We may have to bust your filth & foul over that one.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Double-post, there; sorry.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

...or triple, I guess. Weird.

 

[Marc Colella]

Noticed the back cover still refers to the location as:

"Toronto's Hamilton Place".

They only had 20 years to fix that.