I purchased ...And Justice for All assuming that the original 1.85:1 ratio is the way it would be presented. Reading some reviews made it seem as if both the OAR and MAR versions were on the same disc. Now, has Columbia completely gotten rid of the OAR version because I ordered mine from Amazon and that was the only one version that was listed. Best Buy also lists the DVD as having a 1.85:1 with no mention of a pan and scan version. What the heck is going on?

Columbia/Tristar has been quietly reissuing a lot of titles in a pan-and-scan version only, even though they apparently retain the same UPC code as the version that was OAR.

Two of the titles I ordered during the DDD sale were Suspect and About Last Night - both showed up in the "new" release version. Fortunately, I was able to sell them off pretty fast on eBay (actually made a little $$ on the deal - lol) but the lesson has been learned: I'll only buy their catalogue titles at a B&M where I can verify that what I have in my hand has the OAR version as originally released.

That doesn't always work. I bought Eye of the Beholder (another of the Columbia /Tristar bargain DVDs) at Walmart. It said it had both WS & FS versions. When I got home and opened it, the DVD only had the FS version.

You can add Last Action Hero to that list. Now available only in P&S, with the same UPC as the previous edition.

Any clue why Columbia would start doing this (it makes no sense)? And why they'd leave the UPC the same (which also makes no sense)?

Wow, thats just really a pain in the ass. Well, as marty888 said, I'll also never purchase another one of their catalogue titles unless I can personally check the back of the box.

I got one of those to at Walmart. So far no more like that.

When And Justice for All showed up in the Walmart bin it was FF. A month or so later all I could find of that title in the bin were WS & FF. Glad, I didnt buy it the first time it was there.

THis happened with Johnny Mneumonic as well. I purchased the WS version from wal-mart and found the disc was only in FF.

they can't just remove the pan and scan side if they have to remove a side?

I was thinking of picking up Bugsy today for $5.99, and was wondering if anyone had problems with it being FF only.

The cover said widescreen on side A and fullscreen on side B.

I bought SHEENA, THE BEAST from DDD sale and they were fullscreen versions

Apparently the reason why some of them say on the box that they have both WS & FS is because they're using up the cover art they have remaining from when they produced the versions with both formats. There's no way to tell which one you're getting without opening it.

As for Johnny Mnemonic, you can always buy the Superbit version for 3-4 times as much money.

MY "and justice for all" is Anamorphic widescreen.

Given the recent class action settlement against MGM for their packaging that supposedly deceived or mislead customers about the AR of some DVD's, it seems to me that Columbia is just screaming to be sued in a similar fashion by adopting this much more deceptive/lazy/cheap method of marketing their budget titles. Lots of customers are obviously getting taken in by packaging that is outright lying about the content within.

Someone get hold of Jackie Chiles. This is outrageous...

My And Justice for All DVD is the new full screen version.

Sue them!

how's the flick though? good courtroom drama? i was thinking of getting this a # of times at BB for $5.99, but i think it was FS, but for that price you can't go wrong with Pacino.

did you buy this at Best Buy? and did it say WS on back and it turned out not to be true?

It is a great movie and Pacino is phenomenal. I recommend it, even if you can only find the full screen DVD.

I bought "The Bear" which said on the back cover it had both versions, but turned out to only have the pan and scan version. I took it back to the store and checked 2 more copies and it was the same thing, so I decided to keep the one I got and send it to Sony Pictures with a letter stating that this was unacceptable and demanding they send me the proper disc. Maybe I'll actually hear back from them sometime, but until then I'm not buying any more of their titles, period since I can't be sure what I'm going to get from them.
If I had more time and money to waste, I WOULD file a lawsuit.
I've already got And Justice For All on CED Videodisc in a lovely full frame transfer, don't need to buy another one!

I went to circuit city today, saw four and justice for all on the shelf, just to be consistent, I checked and the last one was BOTH
got home opened it and it had both versions
all other 3 were fullscreen only

just be patient and it will come, I waited so long to finally get lucky

now to just get last action hero

When Columbia Pictures first released the movie on DVD a few years ago, it contained both full, and widescreen, and was originally priced at $19.99. It appears that both, the original, and the newly reissue (full screen)version have been stocked, combining the new, and previously released editions in their warehouse , when they are shipped to the retailers.

I bought mine a few years ago when it was harder to get (and more expensive) and it's WS, but yeah I've noticed that now you can get it for pretty cheap but it's only FS. I thought the stone age of FS DVD's was coming to an end.

I started noticed this policy when I'm looking for info about Sweet and Lowdown just a couple weeks ago and I'm surprised that the aforementioned movie has been re-released on full screen only. I find some articles about it. One of them from Widescreen Advocate:

http://www.widescreenadvocate.org/news.php


Sony Pictures Re-issueing DVDs without Widescreen Part III
Sat, May 14, 2005

Sony Pictures sent the following e-mail to select DVD retailers. Of the 91 titles listed, 75 are being stripped of the Widescreen option, but only 16 are being stripped of the Full Screen option. It’s truly maddening.

April 8, 2005
Dear Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Customer:
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is currently in the process of reworking the Aspect Ratios on select DVDs. These particular DVDs, which in the past have included both Widescreen and Full screen presentations on a single disc, are now being reworked to include only one presentation, Wide OR Full screen. A number of these have been completed and repackaged to reflect this change, and are listed in the table below.

Catalog numbers and UPC Codes remain the same. Please update your systems as necessary to reflect these changes.

We will continue to update you regularly as more DVDs are converted. Please contact your Sales Representative or Client Operations Associate with any questions.

Sincerely,
Client Operations

Title - New Aspect Ratio
3 Ninjas Knuckle Up - Full Screen
About Last Night - Full Screen
Adventures of Milo and Otis, The - Full Screen
Air Force One - Full Screen
All About My Mother - Widescreen
And Justice For All - Full Screen
As Good As It Gets - Widescreen
Assignment, The - Widescreen
Bear, The - Full Screen
Beast, The - Full Screen
Big Daddy - Widescreen
Bite the Bullet - Full Screen
Black Dragon - Widescreen
Body Double - Full Screen
Body, The - Full Screen
Breed, The - Widescreen
Buddy - Full Screen
Buddy Holly Story, The - Full Screen
Chances Are - Full Screen
Cheap Detective, The - Full Screen
Cruel Intentions 2 - Full Screen
Dance With Me - Full Screen
Deep End of the Ocean - Full Screen
Desert Heat - Full Screen
Desperate Measures - Full Screen
Dick - Widescreen
Excess Baggage - Full Screen
Eye of the Beholder - Full Screen
Fan, The - Full Screen
Forsaken, The - Widescreen
Futuresport - Full Screen
Gattaca - Full Screen
Geronimo: An American Legend - Full Screen
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner - Restored - Full Screen
Hard Times - Full Screen
Hero - Full Screen
Hideaway - Full Screen
High School High - Full Screen
Hollywood Knights - Widescreen
Homegrown - Widescreen
Hush - Full Screen
I Dreamed of Africa - Full Screen
Idle Hands - Full Screen
Iron Eagle - Full Screen
It Could Happen To You - Widescreen
Jackie Chan’s Who Am I? - Full Screen
Jawbreaker - Full Screen
Juror, The - Full Screen
Knock Off - Full Screen
Last Action Hero, The - Full Screen
Last Dragon, The - Widescreen
Lords of Flatbush -Widescreen
MacKenna’s Gold - Full Screen
Madeline - Full Screen
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - Full Screen
Mercy - Full Screen
Mirror Has Two Faces, The - Full Screen
Mixed Nuts - Full Screen
Mortal Thoughts - Full Screen
Moscow on the Hudson - Full Screen
Mrs. Winterbourne - Full Screen
My Life - Full Screen
My Stepmother Is An Alien - Full Screen
No Mercy - Full Screen
No Way Back - Full Screen
Nowhere to Run - Full Screen
Odessa File, The - Full Screen
Order, The - Full Screen
Peggy Sue Got Married - Full Screen
Revenge - Full Screen
River Runs Through It, A - Widescreen
Roxanne - Full Screen
Rudyard Kipling’s The Second Jungle Book - Full Screen
School Daze - Full Screen
Screamers - Full Screen
Sheena - Full Screen
Silent Rage - Full Screen
Sniper - Widescreen
So I Married An Axe Murderer - Widescreen
Spice World - Full Screen
Starman - Full Screen
Stepmom - Full Screen
Suspect - Full Screen
Sweet and Lowdown - Full Screen
Thirteenth Floor, The (Special Edition) -Full Screen
Toy, The - Full Screen
Two Moon Junction - Full Screen
Universal Soldier: The Return - Full Screen
Whatever It Takes - Full Screen
Whipped - Full Screen
Wild Things (Rated) - Full Screen


It has been confirmed. The company was run by monkeys.

......was...........?

Pro-B

Still is