Top Gun SE aspect ratio question
 

I am watching the Top Gun SE that I got with some X-Mas money and notice that it is in 2:35 . I remember having this movie on VHS widescreen and seem to recall it being 1:85 then.

Any info as to whether or not this is a mistake?

Yeah, I had it on VHS WS as well, and remember that it was 1.85 on VHS. Check DVDTalk's review to see for sure.

According to the reviews, it is a new 2:35 transfer. I don't know what this means, as I don't see why they would take a 1:85 movie and make it 2:35 or vice verca.
I guess it was 2:35 originally and the VHS release got it wrong.

I was in WalMart today and itching to buy some DVDs, so after grabbing Star Trek Generations, I spotted Top Gun. But... yeah, you guessed it, full screen only. Sales clerk said that was the only version they got, and it went straight to their middle of the isle bargain rack. He said if I want widescreen, I'd have to go to BB.

Yeah, from what I can tell it's just the 1:85 cropped to 2:35 (with no extra info on the sides). Kinda sucks, but I guess if that's the intended ratio I can live with it.

Top Gun was filmed in Super35 so the ratio is somewhat variable. Theatrically, it was probably 2.35:1. My old laserdisc is around ~2.1:1, which is somewhat closer to the original theatrical release if the VHS is 1.85. Strange though.

"Top Gun" was shot Super 35 and shown in theaters at 2.35:1. For whatever reason, for the widescreen VHS release the studio chose to open up the mattes a little and present the film at 1.85:1.

Why would a 2:35 Super 35 still not be shown 2:35 at home? I see this all of the time. Why do they make it some other ratio for home?

Previous DVD was reframed at 2.00:1.

This new DVD contains the OAR of 2.35:1.

It took some looking but I found a widescreen copy of Top Gun SE at my local Wal-Mart. They had lots of fullscreen left. At least at my Wal-Mart they received some widescreen, although no idea how many.

Paramount did this with Ferris Bueller's Day Off, too.

The widescreen laserdisc is 1.85:1, despite the film being made for matted 2.35:1 (It's a Super-35 film as well). The DVD gets the 2.35:1 framing right.

I suspect that as more people buy 16:9 TVs we will see many 2.35:1 movies released in 16:9 on DVD. It will become the new "fullscreen".

In some cases, it's because the director was not happy with the 2.35:1 framing. Nicholas Meyer shot Star Trek VI for 2.35:1 theatrical exhibition to be consistent with the other Trek films, but felt that the framing was too tight on the top and bottom. Since he shot it in Super35, he opted to lift the matting a little bit for a 2.0:1 ratio. Similar story with Jay Roach on the first Austin Powers.

Tony Scott at one point felt that way about Top Gun, but reconsidered for the new DVD master.

It does feel a little cramped imo, I preferred the 1:85. All well.

I guess this wouldn't be a good disc to illustrate how you are losing stuff with P&S/full screen discs on a regular TV then?

No, you should choose a movie that was shot with anamorphic lenses or in 65mm.

Star Wars usually works for most people. For example:

http://www.ryanwright.com/ht/oar.shtml

Re: Top Gun SE aspect ratio question
 

Quick comparison of the various AR from BD to FS DVD.

https://imageshack.com/i/nmxah0j

Re: Top Gun SE aspect ratio question
 

I recall the film "Bird on a Wire" with Mel Gibson arrived on DVD with packaging that stated 2.35:1 (non-anamorphic, 4:3 format) yet the DVD itself was framed 1.85:1 non-anamorphic 4:3.

I'm guessing, especially back in the 4:3 TV era, that most people found movies that were framed 2.35:1, the picture was far too small even on a "big" 36" set.

The 1.85:1 framing gave the widescreen look without the viewing area being so small.

The same concept is probably why Top Gun is 1.85:1 because people don't like the black bars and 1.78:1 (or 1.85:1) is the new "fullscreen" in the 16:9 era.

Added: Didn't realize this was a nine-year-old thread! I realize Bird on a Wire was also shot on Super35 according to IMDB so the 1.85:1 version may actually show more picture. I haven't compared it to anything.