Question re: Once Upon a Time in America (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

Thanks for the info, Bill. I know I have seen both of the covers, but I couldn't remember if the LBX version said anyting on the front.

 

[Henry Gale]

...the P&S version is actually full-frame, the WS version is a matted WS.

I don't agree with that, and I do own both versions of the LD.

Jim

 

[JohnRice]

Jim,

If you have both versions, it should be easy enough to compare them and tell for sure if the full screen version is not P&S. I have both versions of Once a Time in the West but have never compared them to see if the full screen is P&S or not.

From my recollection of seeing America on AMC last week, and assuming that is even the same transfer, the one they showed struck me pretty clearly as being P&S.

 

[Bill McA]

I don't agree with that, and I do own both versions of the LD.

It says right on the back of the WS LD 'matted widescreen'.
If the WS version is matted, I would assume that the other version is unmatted, which is usually the case, unless of course there are too many boom mikes etc, in the shot.

 

[Henry Gale]

...it should be easy enough to compare them...

It would be easier still if I could provide screen shots with this comparison. I can't.
Late in the film DeNiro visits Weld at the [c]BAILEY[/c] [c]FOUNDATION[/c]. The location is identified with a closeup of the name painted on a parquet floor.
The wide LD reveals the whole name with several inches of floor to spare on the right. The F in Foundation is partially out of the frame on the left.
The P&S LD shows only "FOUNDATI"...however a little more of the F is visible.
The bottom of both of these shots are identical. The top of the P&S LD shows less of the floor above the lettering.
No boom mikes visible in a shot of the floor.
My understanding of matted and unmatted (and someone will let me know if I'm wrong) is that the sides of the frame would be the same but more info would be visible top and bottom.
I really should pick another scene to see if this one is consistant with the framing of the rest of these discs.
I've mentioned elsewhere that the LDs also have slightly different cuts of the movie, so I keep 'em both.
Jim

 

[Jo_C]

...but that still doesn't answer my query on the ownership of OUATIA and the legalities that's preventing a DVD release. Will someone please explain?

 

[Anthony Thorne]

There are no legalitites preventing a OUATIA DVD release. Warner mentioned in their last HTF chat that they were working on a major restoration of the film (picture/sound/possible extra footage) and the film would be getting a major DVD release in 2003. Producer Arnon Milchan has also mentioned in interviews that he is involved with the above.