Does anyone have any more information on whether or not Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and even Batman & Robin are going to see a BD release here in the US? I see they've been announced for the UK on 12/29. I'm wondering if this if going to play out like Gremlins and The Goonies (i.e. a UK release without a US one in sight)?
And as I believe I posted before, there is a lot of "dead space" in the 1.44 framing of The Dark Knight IMAX scenes that I saw. And it was almost always at the top of the screen. So if Nolan and Co. simply crop from the top, the loss/impact will be minimal.
If anything, I think the 1.78 framing would be more appropriate than the 1.44 given the amount of dead space (where absolutely nothing is happening, it is just the extension of buildings upwards, etc.) that exists. Keep in mind they knew that 90%+ of the audience would see a 2.35 framed The Dark Knight so they surely "protected" for that while shooting with the IMAX cameras.
Cropping IMAX to 16x9 isn't a big deal. They have to film for such a wide viewing area since your field of vision usually won't focus on the entire image. That's why I felt the transitions from full IMAX to 2.35:1 were seamless. It's not like they'd shoot without the foresight that it would later be cropped to 16x9 and 2.35:1.
It is absolutely true that Imax, by it nature and the proximity of the screen to the audience, that you can't really take in the whole image at once. The audience spends a great deal of time scanning the screen, not just with their eyes but neck as well. As a result framing an Imax film tends to be much looser than a standard film. Also many Imax films that I've seen tend to put people's head near the center of the frame rather than toward the top as you would on a standard film. This is done so that people aren't always looking way up at the top of the screen to see people's faces.
I'm sure that the filmmakers were protecting for 2.40:1 knowing that the vast majority of theaters were going to be showing the film at that aspect ratio. 1.78:1 is probably not a big deal with regard to cropping the original Imax image. I was just pointing out that its not the original aspect ratio.
RE: the changing AR thing, it's probably best to just withhold judgement until we see (and experience) the BD at home. Of course, ideally, they should just give us both via seamless branching since not everyone might experience it the same way, let alone feel the same way about what they do see.
Anyway, I plan to just get it preordered w/ a good discount from the WHV site (as w/ various other Warner titles)...
Yeah, I can't see it anywhere on their site either. I sure hope they honor previously submitted orders (I placed mine 9/30), as I got a great deal on this set.
No cancellation e-mails yet . . . fingers crossed.
Caballero meant "horseman" only in ancient Spanish and does translate into "knight" in modern Spanish, and oscuro means "dark", not hidden. But the correct title in Spanish for this movie is EL CABALLERO DE LA NOCHE (yes, The Night Knight).