wrdrobeguy

I did the same a couple of years ago. "Muppet Christmas Carol" is the only DVD of a film I have not presented in its OAR. Simply because it was the only option, and I enjoy the movie so much.

Of course, I also wonder about "The Wiz". I have it and it's in widescreen but it appears they made a compromise on its OAR. It's obviously shot in 2:35 but presented 1:85 on the DVD. But, then again, my only option, and even though the movie is really hit and miss, I have a soft spot for it.

NestoJR

I just picked up Full Metal Jacket today. When viewing the back of it I was surprised to see a note on the back saying the picture had been modified to fit my screen. I came home, checked IMDB and after checking his other films, seems Kubrick favored the smaller formats 1:33 and 1:66 except for 2001: A Space Odyssey which was shot in 2.20:1. Which is odd as that movie was made near 2 decades earlier than FMJ and you'd think for a war movie you'd want a wider picture *shrug*

just looked again and under technical specs for FMJ @ IMDB, it states 1.37:1 is the "negative ratio" but "intended ratio" is 1.66:1 for Europe and "intended ratio" for US to be 1.85:1.... ???

bboisvert

It was only a matter of time before Kubrick came up...

legend42

The Kubrick DVDs are a looong story, Nesto. Just take some comfort in the fact that the DVDs are presented with the aspect ratio in which Kubrick wanted them to be shown. But it is a head-scratcher.

(and to your previous point, there have been some theatrical releases in the past 40 years shown in Academy Ratio. Coppola's One From the Heart comes to mind.)

Al_Tahoe

I assume he's referring to the remake with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange.

Cameron

got ya...

Qui Gon Jim

In additon, you votewith your cash and buying a 4:3 DVD shows the studios that it is OK to bastardize pictures.

It worked with Willy Wonka.

talemyn

That's a little confusing . . . I don't think that I've ever seen a TV release that wasn't in OAR.

Timsterino

You are correct. I have fixed my post. I think I had too much cafeine when I wrote that, yeah that is the ticket.

sracer

I don't have any "hard and fast" rules about purchasing non-OAR discs. I look at the title in question, how important it is to me, and try to gauge the probability of it being re-released in OAR.

One example is LAST MAN ON EARTH. I picked up Diamond's double-feature disc (with HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL). While HoHH had a decent transfer, LMOE was P&S and probably taken from a VHS tape. But for $5 (4 years ago) it was worth having it in my collection. Last Oct I found LMOE in Target's Dollar Spot for $1. It was in widescreen and the print was pristine.

I was happy to have paid $5 for the P&S POS version... and even happier to pay $1 for a far nicer copy.

There are some older films from the 60's that I will jump on no matter what... FLESH EATERS (b/w SciFi-Horror) and LADY IN A CAGE. There are just some films that are "must-haves".

---------------

I wonder how many who say "OAR only" actually know what the OAR of the film in question is... or are they simply assuming that because it is widescreen, that the widescreen ratio is OAR.

Duder

I would agree with your "put up with it" if and only if DVDs were a necessity we needed to survive. Like, sometimes you need to compromise by buying a car that isn't your first choice, or sometimes you need to buy generic brand food to save a few bucks, or you may need to take a job that isn't your ideal career in order to make ends meet. These are all things that people need to put up with.

A DVD, on the other hand, is a piece of entertainment, and people can be as finicky as they want when it comes to deciding whether or not they'll purchase a certain title. I personally don't think skipping on a FS-only DVD is being overly picky, but even if I did, there'd be nothing at all wrong with doing that.

Feathers McGraw

Yup, give me OAR and idealism all the way.

Some say "but if you don't buy the Foolscreen version, then they'll just think there's no interest in that movie". I don't buy that at all. I think that companies can figure it out when all their FS movies do poorly, and their OAR movies do well.

The alternative is buying the f'd up version, and proving to them that OAR doesn't matter. That just leads to *more* movies being screwed up later on.

Dan

I refuse to buy any non-OAR DVDs. My only exception being the Stanley Kubrick 9-disc set. I hate that The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut are all modified, but owning the other films (and documentary) makes up for it. Also, the three I mentioned are open-matte which makes it slightly more acceptable (at least the INTENDED information is still there. And, if played on a 16x9 TV, you can zoom in to cut off most of the unintended information, leaving a 1.78:1 image, as opposed to the intended 1.85). But, if they're ever released separately in OAR (region 1), I'll buy them without hesitation.

I even refused to buy the canadian Lost Highway DVD because it was fullscreen (LH is my favourite film of all time), and opted for the OAR VHS (which is still available) for about $15 CAD a few years ago. That was satisfactory until I came by an OAR .mov file of the film on Kazaa Lite sometime last year. Then, in January, I found the R4 DVD for $14.95 USD.

I've become hesitant about purchasing non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs now, even though I don't own a 16x9 TV. I know that I will one day, so I'm just keeping myself safe. I can understand DVDs that were released between 1997 and 2000 being non-anamorphic. Those were the experimental years. But now, there's NO reason to release a non-anamorphic widescreen DVD. It's just... stupid.

darkside

OAR is all I will buy. I have a ton of Fullscreen movies, but that is because they were all made in the 30's and 40's. The issue is not fullscreen it is OAR. If the film is not OAR then I almost always pass. I do have a couple of films like Evil Dead that are not OAR, but the issues surrounding that one is confusing and the OAR version is still faily easy to find as well.

jpdude

I am constantly seeing movies in the WalMart dump bin that i want, but i refuse to purchase them because they are FS. I can't understand Wal-Mart's love affair with FS titles...even in the New Release section many major titles that they carry are FS only. What Bullshit that is! This is even more frustrating because it seems that these days they are really pushing their WS TV's.....it just doesn't add up.

One title in particular that i would love to have in WS is Running On Empty.

NestoJR

They should just stop making Full Frame non OAR dvds period and just let people get used to it since thats the way television is headed anyhow. Instead of "pleasing" the stubborn folk, just release Full Frame on VHS for 'em. =P

DavidH

I agree Nesto, but do corporations ever think about the longterm? I mean look at the short term thinking of releasing non-anamorphic OAR DVDs.

Ginwen

Full-Screen only releases I've purchased:
Star 80 (didn't notice it was FS, it actually works ok in FS due to the claustrophobic nature)
Miracle Mile (ordered before I realized it was FS only, tried to cancel the order)
Take the Money and Run (this is the only one I can think of that I ordered knowing full well it was non-OAR -- I just really, really wanted it)

Most movies, though, I won't buy if they are FS only--I just prefer not to watch them that way. That's why I don't have The Sting, Fearless, or Remo Williams--the day they come out with WS releases of any of these is the day I'll own them.

SteveJKo

Your DVD of The Wiz is correct, is was shot at 1:85.

Original Aspect Ratio is the only option for me.

Tarantino

I still haven't picked up Kindergarten Cop for this reason.

fargus

I don't think Kindergarten Cop has ever been released in OAR... my laserdisc is FS also, but at least I only paid $2.49 for it.

I try to avoid non-OAR whenever possible, and have built a fairly nice collection of LD's that aren't available in OAR (or at all) on DVD.

sracer

Okay, honestly....how many of you "OAR only" people check the actual OAR against the ratio specified on a DVD?

talemyn

To a certain extent, yes. For the most part, I don't think that you need to check anything presented in WS on DVD (there aren't many . . . if any . . . films that were originally presented in a 4:3 format in the theaters that are then presented in WS on DVD). But I do check most DVD's marked as in 4:3 (except ones that are obviously exempt . . . really old films, most TV series, The Blair Witch Project . . . ) to see what their OAR is, just to be sure that I'm not mistakenly thinking that it is supposed to be in WS.


But technically, no, I don't check up on the OAR of every DVD that I purchase.

petroc

I'd love to buy Mr. Mom, The Paper, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island. There are just too many other OAR movies out there to buy.

L.A.

Yeah, I wish Full Metal Jacket was in WS. Sigh.