hey all, i was reading time magazine at the table durring breakfast this morning, in it was an add for Universal DVDs. 7 osar winners, to be exact. it wa predominantly focusing on the upcomming release of schinler's list. but the other titles featers included The Sting (redford and Neuman). i was under the impression that this title was OOP. i never picked it up because its pan and scan, but i was wondering if anyone out there has heard if they are rereleasing it and weather its going to hit as OAR???

info please ?!??!

thanx

THORN

Nope, it's still fullscreen and comes in a very unattractive gold slipcase.

well am i correct that the current version is NOT OAR? i honestly am not 100% sure. i have seen it kicking about from time to time and truely enjoy the film, but its OAR or bust for me. i see no point if buying a film if its not in OAR.

It ain't. Which is why I have the Aussie WS edition.

How many covers has this DVD had, 3? Yet still no new widescreen disc.

I agree. I saw this at Costco and was hoping it was AOR, but sadly, it was still just full screen. I did not buy it, and won't until it's done correctly.

What is the OAR on this?

IMDb says 1.85:1.

Region 4 Aust/NZ

Widescreen 1.85:1 / 16:9 – Dolby Digital Mono – Colour – 124 Minutes - PAL

According to a reviewer on Amazon, who apparently contacted Universal about the OAR, Universal claims (with details) that The Sting was actually FILMED AT 1.33 ratio!!! however it was shown matted at 1.85 in the theaters.

here's the quote from Universal.

""THE STING was shot in 1.33 but projected in a matted 1.85 aspect ratio for theatrical distribution. The full frame DVD carries the modification disclaimer for this reason. This is one of those rare cases where you actually see more picture information on the full frame home video presentation than was shown in theaters.""

and here's the review on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...ultimagangste/

Can anyone else confirm this? seems there are still some who don't believe that reviewer, or others who claim there are other widescreen versions available.

It makes sense if it was filmed in 1.33, due to the title cards (between "acts" in the film)....

(and IMDb isn't always correct, btw)

Lots of movies are filmed in a 1.33 ratio, with the intent of matting them in the theater to their proper aspect ratio.

OAR isn't about more picture, it's about the correct picture. The Sting was filmed to be shown in theaters widescreen; they can make up all the little stories they want, 1.33 is not now or ever the OAR for this movie.

BTW, it's not rare at all; I'm not technical at all, so won't explain this well, but many films will show more "open-matte"--also added bonuses like boom mikes, crew-members, etc.



Edit: To learn more, read the Super-35 and Open Matte portions of this page.
http://www.widescreen.org/aspect_ratios.shtml

Any news on a new version of this anytime soon?