Posted on 12/06/2004 11:15:57 AM PST by ambrose
A plea: Avoid full screen DVDs
THE "Spider-Man 2" people sent me a "full screen" copy of their snazzy blockbuster. Glass half full: It's always nice to be remembered, especially with one of the year's best films and one of the all-time great comic-book adaptations.
Glass completely empty: I hate full screen. It's like watching only part of a movie. If paintings were presented in full screen, a Mona Lisa close-up would lack ears. Or she would appear with only half a smile.
I exaggerate, but that's my job, and you get the idea.
Most DVDs let you choose between full screen or widescreen. Some give you both options of the same disc, one on either side. Others, such as "Spider-Man 2," insist you purchase one or the other. Buyer's remorse gets you no sympathy in this business. Choose widescreen.
On standard TVs, compressed widescreen, aka letterbox, versions play across the middle of the screen. Horizontal black bands appear above and below the picture.
Reportedly, many people find the black bands annoying so they opt for full screen, which is also known as pan and scan. Pan and scan is a crime against nature. Carrying the warning, "Formatted to fit your TV screen," pan and scan fills the entire screen.
But to do so, it must cut out slices of the original images the filmmaker worked so hard to create. Often, so much of the picture is trimmed that the fragmented leftovers look like visual noise.
In "Spider-Man 2," for instance, rather than the Web-slinger swinging gracefully across vast cityscapes, he appears hemmed in by narrow passageways as he swings back and forth like a repressed pendulum. Oh, the inhumanity. When Spidey and evil Doc Ock face each other in the same frame, you sometimes get half of Doc Ock addressing half of Spidey.
This is not a horror film, but it could be. At times the camera pans from one character to the other instead of allowing you to see both at the same time.
That's not the worst sin in the universe but it comes close, especially if you view movies as art.
So let somebody else watch full-screen versions; you deserve better and so do the movies.
Buyer be aware ... If you are hunting for the perfect DVD for a holiday gift, take a peek at the Home Theater compilation of "The top 100 DVDs of all time, with a new attitude." The list was printed in the August 2004 edition of the glossy.
I'll give you the top choice in each category. You can chase down the rest on www.hometheatermag.com
Best music DVD was "The Beatles Anthology." Best TV on DVD, "Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series Limited Edition."
"The Alien Quadrilogy" was No. 1 under best extras. "Finding Nemo" earned the top slot under best video, meaning clearest image. "Saving Private Ryan DTS" was picked as best audio.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended DVD Edition" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Special Extended DVD Edition" were chosen Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in best overall DVDs.
Keep in mind that the selections were made prior to the release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Special Extended DVD Edition." The latter comes out Dec. 14.
Around the Bay ... Five films by San Francisco residents will be screened at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 20-30 in Park City, Utah.
Announced last week, the selections include three features in the documentary competition: "The Fall of Fujimori" by Ellen Perry, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" by Henry Rosenthal and "Romantico" by Mark Becker.
"Ballets Russes," a documentary by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, will be shown in the noncompetitive "special screenings" division. "The Joy of Life," an experimental film by Jenni Olson, will play in the noncompetitive "frontiers" section.
Name that film ... Don V. wants to know the name of an old "farcical comedy." Here's what he remembers; The scene is a bishop's or priest's residence office. "The featured actor (Woody Allen?) is there to make some kind of request," Don writes. "The bishop's housekeeper, way up in age, is bringing them coffee(?), and it takes forever; she is a very slow walker, and she suffers from an extreme case of flatulence but doesn't know it because she is also deaf. Ring a bell?"
Maybe. Any of you know? Call or write; you know the drill.
DVD spotlight ... The December glut begins with an eclectic array.
"The Bourne Supremacy" should satisfy those in the mood for bloodletting and blurry car chases shot with hand-held cameras. The all-action, no-substance sequel to the superior "The Bourne Identity" plays better on the small screen than on the big. And Matt Damon succeeds for the a second time (eat your heart out, Ben Affleck) as troubled, amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne. Extras include a feature titled "Blowing Things Up."
Its goofiness is the raison d'etre for the Vince Vaughn-Ben Stiller comedy "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story." Any movie built around adults playing competitive dodgeball can find a spot in my house. The disc includes a blooper reel.
"Matrix" junkies will no doubt drool over the more than 35 hours of extras included in the 10-disc "The Ultimate Matrix Collection." Isolate them from the rest of the people at your party.
Out Tuesday on DVD ... "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," "Bandit Queen," "The Bourne Supremacy," "The Complete Pluto (Volume One)," "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," "The Girl from Paris," "Hermitage Masterpieces," "Hi, Mom!," "How to Steal a Million," "Infernal Affairs," "Julia Child! America's Favorite Chef" and "The Love Machine."
Also: "Maria Full of Grace" (with best-actress possibility Catalina Sandino Moreno), "The Mickey Mouse Club (Week One)," "Mickey Mouse in Black and White (Volume Two)," "The Phantom of the Opera" (with Robert Englund), "Smooth Talk," "Species III," "Transfixed," "The Ultimate Matrix Collection," "Wild at Heart Special Edition" (Nicolas Cage meet David Lynch) and "Young Doctors in Love."
Mail your movie-related questions, answers or insights to The Movie Guy, c/o Bay Area Living, 4770 Willow Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Faxes can be sent to (925) 416-4874. E-mail The Movie Guy at bcaine@angnewspapers.com or call him at (925) 416-4806.
Full Metal Jacket in PAS is a POS. I've seen both, and while I did not suffer an aneurysm watching the PAS version, I sure WANTED one.
The letterbox of Strangelove is also far superior, though hard to find on tv.
Obviously they've never heard of the "zoom" feature most DVD players have.
Back in the early 90's, I had a bet with a friend that didn't think it was Sean Young.
Got me a free lunch. 8^>
So since not everyone has a lot of time to read does that mean books should be avaiable in shorter, bowderlized versions? You don't need a widescreen tv. That's what the black bars are for to duplicate the widescreen aspect ratio.
Easy fix... but a newer 16x9 TV that's 42" or bigger...
But at least you can see it if you squint. Otherwise you'll never see it no matter how hard you look. Try watching Lawrence of Arabia or Ben Hur in full screen. I dare you! :-)
I have no complaints. I got a projector :)
Just rationalizing.
That is true of the Back to the future movies as well. In fact, I have a copy of My Bodyguard that has both full screen and letterboxed versions on opposite sides. And yes, the letterboxed version is nothing more than the "full screen" version with the top and bottom covered.
You can sometimes spot these types movies when watching the "full screen" version when you see an obvious microphone, etc. in the area that was blacked out for letterboxing and theaters.
Had the FBI been on the lookout for those who wanted to "pirate" jet planes to destroy buildings and lives, than in protecting the profits of the already well-connected and well-to-do, then full screen or wide screen would truly be important.
"I continue to buy VHS in full screen..."
Honey you need to get with the program... As technology evolves you're going to have less and less choices for movie watching...
People should also know that before about 1953 or 1954 movies were made in 1:37:1 which is just about the TV radio (1:33:1) therefore they don't need letterboxing. In the 1960s they re-releeased 'Gone with the Wind' to theaters and decided people wouldn't want to see a windowboxed (black bars on the sides instead of the top and bottom) movie. So they cropped it out to a 1:85 which had become the standard theaterical aspect ratio. It became a movie about Vivien Leigh's nostrils.
I sold tv's back in 1982. One of the reasons laserdisc failed was that most tv's at the time didn't have the resolution to demonstrate it's advantages over tape.
Tv's got better...
The same is true with this. As more and more people get flat screen TV's and projectors, fewer and fewer will want the panned and scanned versions.
Now if bar and hotel staff would just quit squashing normal tv to fit their new wide screens...
What I find funny is how TNT offers an HD channel and it offers movies in 4:3 in HD and edits it for language and content...
That is good to know. Thanks for post.
"One of the reasons laserdisc failed..."
You obviously haven't been to ebay lately and seen what people are paying for copies of the OT of SW or Hamlet with Kenneth Branaugh...
There are some phony "widescreen" films out there that apparently do nothing more than add the black bars to a fullscreen format. A Christmas Story supposedly does this...
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