Erm...the ultimate Troma thread? So, uh, does Troma and widescreen have any connection whatsoever?

I think most of the films they release were never formatted widescreen to begin with, in other words I guess they are OAR. I could be very wrong though, so someone else more in the know should verify or answer this.

Would adding "released a DVD in widescreen?" to the title have been too much? Not to pick on you, but vague thread titles can be frustrating.

If I'm not mistaken, Killer Condom, was released in widescreen.

I'm think because the movies are pretty much filmed for direct-to-video or 4:3 television. Therefore it's not "formatted" for fullscreen, it's just fullscreen. It's possible some day they may matte them all and release an anamorphic version "formatted" for widescreen TVs though.

The Stendhal Syndrome, which was released by Troma in the states, is in 1.66:1 non-anamorphic widescreen.

I recall seeing 'widescreen' listed on the Unspeakable cover,but I have never seen the film itself.

So that and the Argento film are widescreen at the very least.


While the majority of Tromas films are made in 1:33. I think they should put some effort into their pick up titles and give them original aspect ratio releases(even if they don't put effort into transfer clean up). Since they have released a few pick up releases like Graduation Day(1:85),New Gladiators and a kung fu film or two(with OARs of 2:35!) using VHS tranfers in pan & scan of course.

So while they may claim to 'respect film art' and all that fiercely indie spin. They should actually sow some care to films not made or intended for the 1:33 aspect ratio.

That's not widescreen, that's verticle-screen! I know, it's annoying when someone points out an obvious typo?

I read somewhere -- don't recall where or even if it's true -- that they matted a cropped transfer to give it a faux-widescreen appearance.

From the FAQ on Troma's website:

I saw in one of the dvd's, I believe, that Lloyd films or likes films in 4:3 because, honestly, that's where most of his films end up being seen [on home tv's, not in theatres.]

I know the answer to this question: It's...














(annoying isn't it)

He says exactly that in his book "All I Needed to Know About Filmmaking..." in reference to the films he directed or produced. He says he likes to think of it as giving the viewer 10% more on the top and bottom, rather than less on the left and right sides. Since they've gotten more into distribution than production, Troma will probably have more widescreen releases in the future.

I read that they didn't do widescreen movies because that would make them be regarded as "art", and that was a bad thing.

Yeah, I've heard that too, but I haven't seen any comparisons from other regions to the Troma version.

...properly released a movie on dvd?

No.

Will they ever?

Probably not.

I cringe when I hear they are releasing certain titles that I like. For god's sake give the film to someone else!

I don't mind Lloyds films being released in 1:33. They look good that way.

But I do avoid their pick up releases like the plague. I have been burned too many times by some truely awful..in a bad way(not the good campy way like in Lloyds films) films that are a chore to sit through.

so dont expect their newest aqisition THE CHILDREN to be in OAR!

Shame on you...

The Stendhal Syndrome, is widescreen because IT IS NOT A TROMA FILM. They picked it up..... It's made by Master Argento.

M

A lot of Troma films were picked up.

There is one glaring example that comes readily to mind; Troma's dvd of "Cry Uncle!" It's a fun movie, just a wacky inner city hardboiled sleuth comedy.

Well, here I am watching it for the first time, and the credits are classy as hell, this velvet backdrop with bright red, classic calligraphy font, and to my utter amazement, it was letterboxed. I was estatic that Troma actually had at least one friggin' dvd in OAR. Then of course the credits end, the image changes to the first scene, and there before your eyes is the blatant, unapologetic, soul-shattering zoom, and the rest of the film is pan and scan.

I know I should have been expecting it, but nonetheless, it made me cry.

I have that Graduation Day release, just because it's probably the only DVD release that movie will ever get. What irks me is how Lloyd has to put his crummy intros before the film, talking up the "digitally remastered" movie, or whatever it is. So transferring a movie to a DVD is all you need to do to digitally remaster it? Sheesh. Plus he shoves the Tromo logo before all the pickups, and loads it with garbage extras. At least he used thge original artwork for the cover, although I have a feeling that what more of a money saving issue than to acknowledge the fanbase.

Still, I'll likely grab The Children despite all this, because I haven't seen the movie in about 20 years and I need to get it out of system once and for all.

Howdy, folks. Chris Lanphear from Troma here.

I'm surprised I didn't see this topic earlier... but I'm glad to see that it's sparked so much discussion!

Yes, the reasons for the Troma in-house films (i.e. Lloyd Kaufman/Michael Herz-directed) to be released the way they are is the exact same reason that BkdTatrHrt quoted from our website.

As for films in widescreen, The Stendhal Syndrome was released with the master that we were given by Dario... at least to the best of my knowledge. Other films we have distributed in widescreen are Unspeakable, which was shot in Super 16 with a 1.85:1 ratio. If you want an interesting Troma pick-up, grab that one... but fyi, it's quite disturbing.

Cry Uncle is not actually a Troma pick-up. Being as Lloyd was a primary investor (and associate producer) on the picture, the distribution rights reverted to Troma when the original production partnership dissolved.

Sunday Morning, I appreciate the feedback and will be forwarding it to Troma Team Video. Believe it or not, we are constantly looking to improve the quality of our DVD releases and have been making some strides recently.

The floor's open, everyone. Any other Troma DVD questions for the community at large?

ok, will THE CHILDREN, THE MUTILATOR, NIGHT BEAST come out widescreen/OAR (which is 1:85)?? Also is the director of THE CHILDREN be involved in the dVd in anyways? When I spoke with him last, he wanted to do commentary and stuff!

salamander2,

For these titles, we're going to use the masters we have (I don't know if they're video masters or reels) unless we can locate better materials. As for The Children, we certainly want the director to be involved as much as possible and hope that he can add some supplements to the DVD. Look for an official announcement (hopefully) soon!

Chris,

Thanks for answering questions on here. One major problem I've had with the Troma released I've picked up (and I've probably bought 20-25 over the years) is that because so many unreleated (and often annoying) extras are packed onto the disc, the quality fo the movie itself's presentation sufferes. Every Troma release I have tends to look not so hot, with lots of compression artifacts (due to the extras taking up more disc space and disc space not being available for better picture quality)

I'd much rather have the movie look great than have stupid unrelated music videos, or more footage of Lloyd Kaufman acting like a clown. And it did also irk me when he says "digitally remastered" when it's not.