What was the FIRST movie you ever watched in WIDESCREEN? (1 Viewer)

[Tim_Prasuhn]

Whats the first movie you watched on tape/VHS/laser/etc that was widescreen? After being weaned on Pan-And-Scan, what was the widescreen experience you had?

As for me, my memory of the FIRST widescreen experience i ever had is lost. But I do remember the second movie I saw in widescreen. Blade Runner. VHS. I remember watching that in all its glorious 2.40:1 and wondering about all of the other movies I had seen. Is there really this much more to the regular (fullframe) tapes I own? And if so, how much? What am I missing? Wow, this looks so cool.

I was hooked on OAR from then on.

 

[StephenA]

Not counting seeing movies in theaters, I don't remember. My stepfather used to own quite a few laserdiscs, and we rented alot of laserdiscs, and I don't remember which one saw first. But the first one I personally owned in widescreen was VHS copy of Armageddon. Back when I first got it, I was unknowledgable about widescreen, pan and scan, open matte, and OAR and didn't like widescreen. Now all I buy is widescreen and OAR.

 

[Paul W]

I cannot remember. It was either Das Boot or Cook, Wife, Thief and Lover.

 

[Thomas T]

It was the Criterion laserdisc of Max Ophuls' Lola Montes.

 

[Jeremiah]

I am not really sure but I think it was either "Blade Runner" or "Thief" both on VHS.

 

[Bill Huelbig]

First VHS was MANHATTAN. The first time on TV was SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS on TNT, preceded by a long introduction on what letterboxing was all about. I remember thinking, both times: I sure hope this catches on.

--Bill

 

[Vickie_M]

Manhattan, and I HATED HATED HATED it! I think it was the or one of the first films to be released on VHS in widescreen, and for some ungodly reason, they chose to use GRAY bars at the top and bottom instead of black. I couldn't stand it. The gray was just too distracting, and I turned the movie off after just a few minutes.
Personally, I think it set widescreen for home video back years.
(gray or grey? I never can remember)

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

I'm sure this will be moved to Polls soon.
The Abyss: Special Edition back in 1996 on Sci-Fi Channel.

 

[Jordan_E]

JAWS
I got into laser discs when JAWS came out in widescreen. I bought the original widescreen disc, the boxed set and now have both the DTS and DD versions on DVD. Is that sad, or what?

 

[Jeff Bamberger]

I'm not sure, but I think it was my box set of the first 6 star trek movies on VHS.......

At the time, all I had was a 19inch TV, but I do remember wanting to have them cuz it was cool and it was the way it was to be seen. Gee, I was an OAR fanatic even then......

These days, I hate P&S not just because it is wrong, or that I lose information, but if I happen to be watching something that is not in OAR (it does happen from time to time with a 4 year old in the house), things just feel crowded.

On this note, I keep trying to get my Dad to understand OAR. It has not been easy. He listens, but not sure if he gets. Then I showed him the blurb on Star Trek 4. He started to get it. A few weeks ago I showed him the blurb on Die Hard 5Star and he seems to be getting it more now.

Now, if we only could get the studios to put something on the non-OAR credits in addition to "this movie has been formatted to fit your screen"......something like.....

"This movie has been formatted to fit your screen. It has been edited from its original aspect ratio and is not being viewed in the manner that was intended."

 

[Chuck L]

The first one that I saw Widescreen that really made me love wisescreen when Anchor Bay's VHS release of Halloween.

It was basically like watching a brand new movie and it opened the entire movie world to me in the proper OAR.

 

[Ric Easton]

A bootleg Beta tape of The Empire Strikes Back, back around 1981 or so. While the picture quality left much to be desired, I still loved being able to see the whole picture!

-Ric

 

[Jamie Cole]

The Color Purple, because my family rented it one night when I was a kid and the VHS has always been widescreen.

By the way, Halloween is for me the movie that changed the most when I finally saw it in all its widescreen glory. You really need to see the whole frame to understand how Carpenter built suspense. So much possibility in that 2.35:1 frame!

 

[Will K]

I believe mine was the original Halloween or it might have been Blade Runner. Of course, this was back in the golden age of laserdiscs.
Incidentally, I also remember that VHS Manhattan, complete with the gray bars. That was totally screwy.

 

[Brian Kaz]

Return of the Jedi on VHS in 1991 or 1992. I remember flipping out at the first scene inside the Imperial Shuttle. I was like, "Whoa, you can see the Death Star from their window!"

I was all about OAR after that.

 

[Scott_MacD]

Star Wars on laserdisc. I knew the movie inside out from Pan&Scan VHS, and the additional image blew me away. Truly an altering experience.

 

[Patrick Wilmes]

Blade Runner DC

 

[RobertR]

Manhattan. I saw it on a cable movie channel. Although the experience was totally new to me, I had very little trouble adjusting to the concept.

 

[SteveA]

The first widescreen movie I saw on VHS was Innerspace, which was ONLY released in widescreen and included a brief explanation of the need for letterboxing at the beginning of the tape. VERY cool!

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I believe it was the VHS Forrest Gump. I wasn't into LD at all and wasn't into watching movies until I was 19. I had been watching strictly full-screen and I kept noticing this "widescreen" thing and decided to check it out. I've never looked back.
Bruce