digiboy

In Glen Erickson's review of the new Wolfman Legacy collection DVD he mentions that This Island Earth "needs a quality widescreen presentation..."

I don't see any evidence of cropping or panning in the full screen standard AR of my Image DVD and the composition seems correct.

The IMDB technical specs list two AR's, 1.37 and 2.0.
Was it shown at 1.37 and also matted for a wide screen run?
Not that I swear by the IMDB but this is puzzling.

Can anyone expalin?

skipnet

"This Island Earth was released in two OAR's in 1955. This was due to the relative rarity of Widescreen theaters in that time.
1.37:1 and 2.00:1

Skip

digiboy

If IMDB is correct then it was shot 35mm spherical and that would imply the widescreen was probably matted from the full frame.

If so, since the film was released to theaters in both formats, I would think the full frame would be the best for any DVD release if not both versions.

PatrickMcCart

It was made for 1.37:1. It was released in 1954, but remember... it took 2 1/2 years to actually make due to the special effects photography and other stuff. It was also shot in real Technicolor 3-strip.

marty888

I agree - the Image release seems comfortably framed throughout, and never do you feel that you are seeing anything other than what was intended.

darkside

It is widescreen with a row of seats along the bottom and a guy and two robots sitting there making fun of it.

digiboy

interesting point,

Did the MST3K version use a widescreen format? Was that out on DVD and if so, did you have the option to watch"This Island Earth" without the wisecracks?

RMSpuhler

"This Island Earth" was released on MST3K DVD - it was, in fact, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, now OOP. It did not come in a full-film stand alone version on that disc.

RS

Matthew Chmiel

But Image also released This Island Earth on DVD (in it's original 1.37:1 OAR), but just like all the other Image/Universal titles it is now OOP.

digiboy

Yes, as we have been discussing above. My question was really whether the widescreen 2.0 AR of TIE would be something worth looking for on either a previous release or in some new release.

From what I gather here, the 2.0 widescreen AR release of this film was probably just matted from the 1.37 version. If both versions were released to theaters in the films' first run, either AR might be considered "original", which would explain IMDB listing both. Considering this, I'd prefer to have TIE in full frame though it might be nice to have a future DVD release that presents the widescreen version as an second option.

skipnet

Digiboy:

FYI there is a copy of TIE(Image) available on ebay at present time, the owner is opening bids at $42.95, I suspect it will probably sell for $200-$250. No I am not the owner, my copy is NFS. It is also incorrectly listed as being a 2.0:1 version.

Skip

digiboy

Thanks Skip, one of my few lucky finds was a cherry used copy of the TIE image DVD sitting in the used bin of a local shop for $10 about 8 months ago. I don't have that kind of luck very often.

I'm asking about TIE because Glen Erickson commented that he wants to see a widescreen version released. I'm very happy with the Image dvd but if there is ever a special edition with worthwhile features, I wouldn't hesitate, TIE is one of my favorites.

PatrickMcCart

MST3K: The Movie was shot for 1.85:1, but it's partially hard-matted during the theater segments

marty888

Holy spaceshit! (I've been motivated to sell a few DVDs by the high prices they fetch on eBay, but this is one title that I wouldn't part with even in that price range.)