aspect ratios question

[Laertes]

I avoided buying the recently-released "On the Waterfront", because it was full screen. Suddenly, it occurs to me that perhaps that was its original aspect ratio. (Like the re-release I saw of "Gone with the Wind" two years ago, or so).

Same thing goes for "Truly, Madly, Deeply", which was released on DVD in fullscreen, which pissed me off and then I read somewhere that it was actually made for TV, so maybe it was made like that.

1) Is there an easy way to tell when a movie that's in fullscreen was actually made that way? I mean, I've rarely seen it put on the packaging, if ever.

2) Is there a date, say 1956 or something, when most movies started being made in some widescreen aspect ratio.

3) Is there a place I can check for original aspect ratios of films?

[pilauh]

dunno...

[Templar]

Go to http://www.imdb.com look up the movie in questions, then click on "Techinical Specifications". I think that's the info you're looking for.

If you mean being able to tell just by watching the movie, the only thing you can tell is if it's Pan & Scan...when they pan around the image.

Here's On the Waterfront...looks like it was so close to fullscreen they just transfered it that way.

Truly Madly Deeply seems a bit odd...there's probably a story there but I have no idea.

Check out The American Widescreen Museum for all the info you could ever want on aspect ratios and the history of widescreen formats.

Hope this helps.

[Laertes]

Thanks for all the info.

I checked out the technical aspects area at the IMDB and just looked a bit at the Widescreen Museum. I have another question.

As you've seen in Truly, Madly, Deeply, some movies, for instance, Fearless, have information listed like this:

Aspect ratio
1.37 : 1 (negative ratio)
1.85 : 1 (intended ratio)

I gather you don't know, but I'll still ask: What does that mean? To me, it means "Fearless" was filmed in 1.37:1 but was meant to be shown in 1.85:1.

If that's correct, how do you feel about the DVD, which is only in fullscreen? Am I only getting part of the picture, or am I seeing the whole negative, which was cropped (don't know if that's the correct terminology) for showing in theatres? Which is the more "correct" way of viewing it, in your opinion?

[Nexus 6]

All this used to bug me, too, Laertes. Templar's right; the Widescreen Museum site is very useful, and it could definitely give you much more information than I could, but in a nutshell:

Most major movies released before 1953 were filmed in the Academy Standard Ratio of 1.37:1, which doesn't lose much when transfered at 1.33:1. That was the way they were intended to be seen. Nowadays, most "flat" ratio films (1.85:1) are still filmed in 1.37:1 "open matte", and then projected at 1.85:1, with the top and bottom "matted" or cut off. So, you are losing picture there, but usually, it is picture that was not intended to be seen; there may be boom mikes hanging down or power cords on the floor. So, if you're watching a flat movie in a theater, and boom mikes pop down into the frame, chances are it's the projectionist's fault, rather than the filmmakers'.

Anyway, when these films are transfered to full-frame video, this picture area is often opened up, but usually not all the way. Often, I've noticed that the bottom is opened up more than the top, to hide the boom mikes. And then when that is done, the picture is cropped some on the sides, as well.

At any rate, if the "intended ratio" is 1.85:1, then that usually means the film was meant to be seen in that ratio, even if it was filmed in open matte. So, the point is, widescreen is still better

I'd check out that Widescreen Museum site, though. It is very informative and useful. The IMDB can be useful, too, but I've noticed incorrect information on more than a few of their pages. Just a warning.

I hope all this helps.

[Chris in OC]

For the past several years, all videos of films altered in some way contain a boxed note somewhere, usually at the bottom of the back, indicating that the film has been modified to fit the TV screen, etc. I've even seen this on movies and miniseries made for broadcast TV, even though they were originally broadcast in full screen. I don't know if this is a requirement, but since it appears on so many videos and also on TV broadcasts, I would guess that it is. That doesn't mean that everyone adheres to it, of course.