"no black bars" sticker on full-frame ver of UNFAITHFUL (1 Viewer)

[Joshua Clinard]

Here's what I envision.

On widescreen version of 1.85:1 version. Complete picture as seen in theaters. 28% more than Full Frame. Or, 28% more free! (would work too.)

On widescreen version of 2.35:1 version. Contains compltete picture as seen in theaters. 43% more than Full Frame. Or, 28% more free! (would work too.)

 

[Damin J Toell]

Let's take some action to convince people that widescreen is the proper way to view films on DVD.

No, OAR is the proper way to view films (on DVD or in any other way). Whether or not the OAR of a film happens to be "widescreen" is secondary.

DJ

 

[Neil Joseph]

The North American public really disappoints me. No, they infuriate me by their ignorance while the rest of the world is more accepting of oar. And this is movie country?

 

[Bob Muir]

Most of the rest of the world doesn't mind subtitles and movies in foreign languages either. :-/

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's good to remember that Fox as well as the other studios, biggest customers are retailers such as Wal-Mart. This sticker is without a doubt due to their insistance that Fox place it on the fullscreen dvds. In short, I'm sure other language on a sticker is more appropriate from our point of view, but that language doesn't get Wal Mart off Fox's back. Being disappointed you can be, but let's be real about the influence of the big retailers. Fox is in the business to sell product and make their major customers happy.




Crawdaddy

 

[TonyD]

your right robert.
once again it all seems to come down to walmart.

and again i say if walmart would begin to sell oar dvd's then the people who shop there will complain,

but if the only dvd's available are oar then they will complain but will still buy.

becaus ethere will be no choice.

 

[AaronMK]

Maybe Wal-Mart insists on the sticker for P&S DVD, but that doesn't stop them from putting a promoting sticker on OAR DVDs as well.

 

[Cage]

I think just a sticker with a simple statement on the fullscreen versions saying "Part of the picture is missing on this version so it will fit your TV" That right there tells any buyers that if your dumb enough to buy a movie that has part of the picture missing....here ya go!! It might make them stop and think...."Wait a minute....what am I missing by buying this ?" , and then again, maybe they are just too ignorant to care!

 

[Damin J Toell]

I think just a sticker with a simple statement on the fullscreen versions saying "Part of the picture is missing on this version so it will fit your TV" That right there tells any buyers that if your dumb enough to buy a movie that has part of the picture missing....here ya go!! It might make them stop and think...."Wait a minute....what am I missing by buying this ?" , and then again, maybe they are just too ignorant to care!

And should the thousands of films that show more of the picture on their "fullscreen" versions also have stickers saying "More picture than the widescreen version!"? And should the widescreen counterparts for those films have stickers that say "Part of the picture is missing on this version and it doesn't fit your TV"? That right there tells any buyer dumb enough to buy a widescreen OAR disc that part of the picture is missing. It might just make them stop and think "Wait a minute....what am I missing by buying this ?"

Unless, of course, educating people by teaching that "more is better" is the wrong course of action....

DJ

 

[Dave Mack]

Just to play Devil's advocate. If I were showing a non-enlightened re: OAR person, my new "State of Grace" DVD on a 4x3 set, he might moan about the bars. I can't say, "Well, you're getting more image on the sides..." because when he pops in his old "State..." VHS, there is absolutely NOTHING missing from the sides (Complete open matte transfer) and in his opinion, he'll say, "See, you ARE getting the top and some of the bottom chopped off! I told you! I KNEW it!!!" (I have compared my VHS and new DVD, BTW...) and then it would REALLY be difficult explaining director's OAR intent etc....
So, it REALLY does depend on the film, I believe. With SW2 AOTC, it's obvious. With certain other titles, MUCH less so! I don't even WANT to get into a Stanley Kubrick Aspect ration question, (The SHINING, for instance...)
with a person like this. It's a tricky situation. I agree that knocking "Black Bars" is a mistake, and since the term "Fullscreen" is inaccurate for my 16x9 display, there has to be some MAJOR education done. I see it in "The Wiz" and "Circuit City" every day... They had a Fullscreen "Spiderman" playing on a Sony WS set and it is STRETCHED to fit the screen and nobody who works at The Wiz has a clue and I am too tired to explain. I overhear salespeople trying to explain OAR etc... to COMPLETELY clueless people who Won't know WHAT they have bought or gotten themselves into. Heck, I heard someone trying to explain Progressive scan as "It's smoother" and implying that certain DVD's would benefit. Progressive Scan DVD's...
Ack! It's tiring, frustrating and I don't envy the people who work for a living in this field as they have their work cut out for them. My friend was a MGR. of a "Blockbuster Video" in Long Island and he spent most of his time explaining to frustrated, ANGRY customers about those "little black bars". I don't know how he did it.
Peace! D

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I am happy to see Peter post a response here.

Just for the record, I have no problem with Fox
putting stickers on their releases to indicate
FULL FRAME.

Putting "no black bars" is just not the right way
to say it.

I like the idea mentioned above where you show
the ratios on a sticker.

 

[Doug Pyle]

I appreciate Peter's reply as well. It's great to have your input.

However, I don't accept that there is any excuse for the sticker, consumer request or not. Too many folk think the black bars hide part of the film, and the sticker reinforces that ignorance. It sells not just the DVD it's stuck on, but it also sells the wrong idea that the black bars are bad.

Many of these same folk would buy widescreen, if information on the box made clear that "full frame" does not show the whole picture as seen in theaters. A Toys-R-Us employee told me she snatched up the "Full Frame" version of Star Wars Ep.II on its release date, because she wanted to get the version with the "full picture." I told her that, actually, the Widescreen shows the full picture as shown theatrically, while Full Frame cuts off image to fit the TV. She looked very disappointed, realizing her mistake -- since the widescreen version had sold out within 2 hours of its release. (Although I was too late to get the OAR version there, it was heartening to see stacks of Full Frame left behind on the shelves, unpurchased.)

Other studios do well selling DVDs without releasing any MAR-only versions (New Line, Paramount as examples - correct me if I've overlooked any MAR-only release by them). Clearly they manage to make healthy DVD sales with the same customers.

 

[Andy_MT]

IMHO ...

- ditch terms full frame/screen. using the term "full" sounds like you're getting more, when in fact your getting less. and of course, it's a false statement for widescreen tvs. so it's confusing, especially for J6P, who are probably too busy trying to rewind their DVDs to really take it in.

- have two stickers. TV VERSION (no black bars) and THEATRICAL VERSION (widescreen). TV VERSION sounds derogatory and perhaps might be a better means to hilight that it's a lesser version.

- do more to educate the consumer. even a simple graphic after the customer has started the movie that illustrates the format they've bought (surely the cost would be marginal). if there are customers who still want their "TV VERSION" after they fully understand the facts, then fair enough, at least we tried. but i've heard many, many stories of people who preferred OAR once they understood.

- the cynic in me wonders if studios are trying to create a second market (those that bought full screen DVD, bought widescreen tv, then had to buy widescreen DVD). which might explain why they're not doing as much as they could to promote widescreen. if that is the case, we might as well throw in the towel now.

- please, stop releasing non-OAR only titles. this is what hurts. we're all being punished because we love movies. and i'm sure the totalility of "film/dvd" fanatics out there is not just restricted to these internet forums. i would imagine every movie buff in the world (who has the means) has got into DVD by now. i think our weight is far greater than maybe some people think.

 

[Paul McElligott]

have two stickers. TV VERSION (no black bars) and THEATRICAL VERSION (widescreen). TV VERSION sounds derogatory and perhaps might be a better means to hilight that it's a lesser version

That's the best idea I've heard so far.

 

[John Berggren]

I think this would go down easier if there were an equally promotive sticker on the widescreen editions:


WIDER IS BETTER

or

The Complete Theatrical Image

or some such.

 

[LukeB]

I'd like to make another direct customer request for "Widescreen Version - See the Entire Picture" stickers.

It's very disheartening when "No Black Bars" is a way of describing "Modified Art."

 

[Scott Shanks]

Just a short point about Walmart. They DO stock widescreen DVD's of new releases. It's KMart that refuses to stock multiple SKU's of the same title and thus always opts to carry fullscreen only.

 

[Jerry Gracia]

...they may as well put these stickers on widescreen versions, too! But make them real BIG so the idiots can spot them effortlessly:
"!WARNING! THIS FILM CONTAINS BLACK BARS ON THE PICTURE! We'd tell you why but you wouldn't get it or care anyway..."
Put a little diagram on the sticker to illustrate a white 4:3 screen with black bars on it while your at it.
May as well be consistent...
OK, I went a little too far there...put these stickers on WALMARTS allotments only.

 

[Brian O]

My feeling is all DVDs should be in their original aspect ratio. All DVD players should have a clean, usable Zoom mode to then decrease the black bars as needed per consumer. Put a label on each dvd to use the Zoom button on their remote if needed.

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Andy_MT wrote: "- the cynic in me wonders if studios are trying to create a second market (those that bought full screen DVD, bought widescreen tv, then had to buy widescreen DVD). which might explain why they're not doing as much as they could to promote widescreen. if that is the case, we might as well throw in the towel now."

---

I can't help thinking the same thought myself sometimes. In general, it seems to me that big companies can make the consumer buy pretty much anything, so if they wanted "us" to do "the right thing", they would see no need to offer MAR DVDs.

I wonder what the MAR-buying consumer is thinking about widescreen DVDs. Do they really think that "black bars" are added covering part of the image for no reason at all?