QUEEN DVDs *not* in OAR! Let the band know what you think! (1 Viewer)

[Michael Allred]

Do you think all Queen DVDs should be released in their OAR (original aspect ratio) as they were always intended or is matting them for widescreen ok with you?
I personally feel that Queen are "dropping the ball" by cropping their DVDs for widescreen (and for no obvious reason.) The majority of their music videos and concerts were filmed for a 1.33:1 ratio (call it "full screen" if you must) and ruining their composition just so it'll fit a 16:9 widescreen TV set seems ridiculous to the extreme. It's widescreen for widescreen sake and it doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

Feature films, TV shows, and music videos were all directed by *somebody*, and that person carefully framed every shot to fit a certain aspect ratio, be it 1:33, 1:85 or 2:35. Whatever the artistic choice made, it deserves to be presented exactly that way and in no other form.

Brian May's recent comments regarding this very issue seem to indicate neither he nor anyone else at Queen Productions has a firm grasp of the OAR concept. Brian seems to feel that those who advocate OAR are in the minority (and such an opinion is incorrect. Simply take a look at the top 10 DVD sales chart of any given week and you'll see widescreen outselling full screen easily. Of course those DVDs relate to feature films and by those being in widescreen, they *are* OAR.) More and more, people are appreciating OAR and why material should be shown that way. If people don't want a widescreen movie to be chopped up for the awful "pan & scan" format, then by the same token, people don't want full screen material matted for widescreen. It just wasn't meant to be seen that way.

Therefore, I've started a new poll asking fans if they feel that ALL of Queen's DVDs should be shown in their OAR. Here's the link;

http://members.tripod.com/~evilbaby/Queenpoll.html

Please take a moment to vote, tell others to do the same and if you run a Queen web site, please link to the poll page. Thank you.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

I'm not happy about the matting either. These are music videos, shot in the 70s and intended to be shown on tee vee. I bought my Queen DVD on the secondary market so as not to increase their sales figures.

 

[Ruz-El]

I had previously vowed to never buy a Queen DVD, based on the fact that I only like the video for "Radio Ga Ga" and now that they are not issued in their OAR, I am justified in my position (as opposed to my previouse position of just not liking the band as a whole). The only exception is "Flash Gordon", which I will buy despite a Queen soundtrack, or Live Aid, which well never come out.

I well however add my name to your list, so as to aid the cause of having original OAR represented on DVD, and because I like the idea of being a non-Queen fan that is getting all upity at Brian May for being ignorant of his own video legacy. Then again, maybe the cropping was to cut off the top of head, and hiding his horrendous hair-doo from future Queen fans . Sorry , couldn't resist!

 

[Ricardo C]

You only like the video for "Radio Ga Ga"? I mean, I know that their videos went to hell when they started collaborating with the Torpedo Twerps, but they had some other visually cool clips, I think:

-It's a Hard Life. Some people call it "Play the Game"'s ugly stepchild, but the video is fantastic. Pomp Queen at its best.

-Hammer to Fall. COME ON, MAN!! Even people who hate Queen cannot possibly hate this song/video. It's just too cool

-Princes of the Universe. The Chris Lambert cameo alone is worth it

-The Miracle (it's cheesy and it's campy, but damn I loved seeing Queen play alongside the "mini-me" version of the band ) Also, I love that Freddy wears the yellow jacket from the Magic Tour even though they'd stopped touring by then. To my sentimental self, it's the element linking the two periods, and a look at how things might have been in the 90s, had Freddie not left us :frowning:

-These Are the Days of Our Lives. Still can't watch it without tearing up at the end.

-I'm Going Slightly Mad. Not crazy about the song, but the video never fails rto crack me up.

-No-One But You. Makes me cry for Freddie, and it makes me sad because of the overall feeling of loss. You see Queen in the studio, surrounded by their gear (you can even spot the 1977 Queen logo in there ), but you know that's an age gone by. The band is over, despite this one-off reunion.

And well, the band didn't have a hand in it, but how can we forget the Wayne's World version of the BoRhap video??

ps-- One thing that does worry me about the Radio Ga Ga video is that the original 4x3 version contains letterboxing and picture zooming (during some of the closeups the picture is letterboxed, then the bars slowly move away AND the picture zooms in at the same time. This effect will be wrecked in a 16x9 tilt-and-scan hack job.