Also, just to let you know, if you do buy the full frame version, the picture looks a whole lot better than the faded crappy tv version.

You can solve both problems by buying a used copy. You'll have the movie and it won't count as a new sale. This open matte version actually shows too much. A couple of the gags a ruined because of "over exposure"

Very good news indeed. I hope Christmas at least makes it out by this Christmas. It will be a joyous holiday indeed watching this on my WS set.

Actually, that's not necessarily true. It could be that VACATION was shot open matte and the matte has simply been opened for the full screen presentation.

I just bought DROP DEAD GORGEOUS which allows you to view it in either 1.85:1 anamorphic or full screen (not bad for $5.88). I wanted to see the diference, and I noticed that the matte was opened to get the full screen presentation. THE BIG LEBOWSKI is the same way. So is the new ROGER RABBIT set. In these cases, you actually get more picture in full screen, but it's nothing that you would want and is not the director's OAR.

For instance... On PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE, which often is shown full screen, open matte on cable channels, in the scene where he's pulling the chain from the basket to lock his bike up, you can see that the endles chain is coming thru an opening in the bottom of the basket. In another scene, when he's driving along and signs are going by, you can see the ropes on the bottom that are pulling the signs past him while the car is actually standing still. In Kevin Smith's DOGMA, (which was shot full and matted to 2.35:1), when it is shown on cable, near the end there's a shot of the camera moving along a group of dead bodies and at the bottom you can see the people playing dead moving out of the way of the camera.

Certainly, I want the director's original vesion for the film. But there is a big difference between pan & scan and open matte. If I HAD to choose, I would pick open matte.

Again, I'm just speculating on VACATION. I don't know how it was filmed. It's been a while since I've watched the DVD and I would need to take a close look at it for clues before I could venture a guess.

Also for Jay and Silent Bob strike back in the ET spoof scene, we can see something at the bottom when in the widescreen version it looks like a direct spoof.

...and J.S. advises you strongly to ignore C.B. as EV is clearly the weakest of the 4-some. If that's C.B.'s only criteria for buying an inferior DVD, then perhaps some priorities should be looked at closer.