joltman

I just saw Last Action Hero last night, and was looking into getting a copy of it. From what I can tell, it was originally released as a flipper with widescreen on one side and fullscreen on the other, but now it is fullscreen only. I see that it has been released in two double-packs, with The Sixth Day and with Iron Eagle. The packaging on both of those double-packs indicate LAH is widescreen, but after doing some research, I'm not sure whether that's true or not. Can anyone tell me for sure if either of those double packs include the widescreen version?

riotinmyskull

if anyone owns this and can confirm LAH is widescreen, me and the OP would greatly appreciate it.

Dan Average

[nothing to see here]

beebs

I watched this in HD from On Demand in Widescreen (w5.1 sound). Took a copy off with HD PVR. Looks good.

tylergfoster

All I can say is I've yet to buy a Sony double feature that had inaccurate tech specs.

Julie Walker

This was posted on imdb.com

Re: Widescreen DVD
by RevengeFan (Thu Feb 5 2009 16:38:17) Ignore this User | Report Abuse
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I just got the last action hero/iron eagle dvd, and it is still full-screen!
ARGH!





..and Sony has had the wrong specs on packages before. The Labamba/Buddy Holly Story dvd claims BHS is widescreen, when it's really fullscreen.

I do think their tactic of dropping the widescreen side of their flippers and repressing them in pan & scan only with the same UPC was a terrible decision!


But the original flipper release of LAH can still be found in pawn shops, if you look carefully at the packaging. It'll turn up occasionally, though i'm unfortunately finding the P&S version predominately now.

joltman

So, the packaging is different between the flipper and the fullscreen only?

Julie Walker

No,they look exactly the same, except for the tiny portion at the bottom that would list the aspect ratio of the film. The P&S only version has one tiny line stating it's 'fullscreen'. While the flipper version has a slightly larger box, stating one side is widescreen and the other fullscreen'. So you must carefully look at that portion of the packaging to make sure you are buying the correct version.

tylergfoster

On the back cover, near the bottom, there will be a rectangular bar that says either "This is a FULL SCREEN version formatted to fit your TV." or "Side A contains a WIDESCREEN VERSION preserving the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Side B contains a FULL SCREEN version formatted to fit your TV." or something to that effect.

My recommendation when looking for Sony flippers is to try Half Price Books. Just for fun, when I'm in there, I always check copies of The Cable Guy and Last Action Hero and there are usually flippers in there.

Also, at least on The Cable Guy, another tip is the spines are slightly different. My flipper copy of The Cable Guy, from top of the spine to the bottom, has an image of Carrey, a catalog number, the DVD logo, the title, and the Columbia logo. I believe the new versions go DVD, Carrey, title, catalog number, Columbia logo. I know they're different, anyway.

While I guess I was wrong about the double feature, I would guess, since the 6th Day/LAH 2-pack has been out of print for a long time, that if you could find one of those (maybe on Amazon Marketplace or eBay), it would contain the flipper.

Doctor Zoidberg

I got an Anaconda/Anacondas double feature DVD from Wal Mart that listed both movies as widescreen. When I went to play Anaconda I was greeted with "This film has been modified from its original version." When I emailed Sony and asked what could be done about this all they said was it was printing mistake. They should have just said "We don't give a fuck."

So between that and their two other mistakes I'm staying away from Sony double features unless someone confirms they're in the aspect rations they're advertised as.