The Message and Lion in the Desert DVD; cropped from 2.35 to 1.77 ??? (1 Viewer)

[John Stockton]

I just recieved the new 2 disc edition of both of these from Deep Discount dvd and was shocked that in the back it states that both films are presented in the 1.77:1 ratio when both were shot in Anamorphic Panavison and should be 2.35:1 .

Now I am hoping that this is just a typo on both counts. Can someone who has viewed the new DVDs please confirm if the picture on these is 2.35 or not?? I am not going to open my copies if they are cropped, and will promptly send them back.

Thanks

 

[John Stockton]

Speaking of typo, I made one myself :b. The correct title is Lion of the Desert not, Lion in the desert.

Both films star, the late Anthony Quinn.

 

[John Hodson]

From the DVD Talk review:

As with The Message, Omar Mukhtar - Lion of the Desert is presented in a 16:9 enhanced transfer that unfortunately crops the side of the 2.35:1 Panavision image to 1.77:1. This doesn't seem to too much damage, as was the case for countless CinemaScope movies 4:3'd for television broadcast beginning in the 1960s. Beyond that, the image is reasonably sharp with good color and good grain. The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, derived from original 4-track magnetic recordings, actually quite impressive. There is no subtitle or alternate audio options.

 

[John Stockton]

I cannot believe this. How can Anchor Bay do this??

I was waiting a long time to get my hands on anamorphic versions of The Message and Lion of the Desert and now this happens. The first version of The Message from Anchor Bay was correctly framed at 2.35:1 and looked decent but lacked anamorphic enhacement. It just does not make any sense why Anchor Bay would do something like this. Are the people in charge over there on Dope???

What's even more outrageous is that according to the back cover the Arabic version of "The Message" is presented in the correct ratio of 2.35:1