Are any of these 18 titles available w/ anamorphic transfers in R1?
 

I can't find them if they are - thanks in advance.

12 Angry Men
The Abyss
Arachnophobia
Armageddon
Dirty Dozen
Emma
Ever After
Giant
Jet Pilot
Mr. Holland's Opus
Rainmaker
Rocketeer
Romancing the Stone
Shadowlands
Three Musketeers
What About Bob?
While You Were Sleeping
Young Frankenstein

Not that I know of.

Ever After was a "quiet" re-pressing by Fox. Look for the disc that has both widescreen & fullscreen versions. This disc has an anamorphic transfer.

18 is such a random number... ;)

Just about everything on this list is 16/9....overseas!!

Ciao,
Pro-B

Do you know if the box says it has both versions on it? You wouldn't happen to have the UPC code would you? Thanks very much!

I had a few more, but these are the important ones! :-)

I haven't been able to find widescreen presentations of Citizen Kane or Casablanca either. Is that because they were originally released in a "fullscreen" type aspect ratio, or some other reason?

I'm going to assume you are serious. Yes, these movies were released in "Academy Ratio" which is 4:3, just like a conventional television set. Most domestic movies released before 1953 were released that way. I'm sure that there are probably some exceptions but that rule of thumb has helped me out quite a bit.

Yes, the special features box states both anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions. Some boxes even have a sticker on the front that says it.

FWIW, you can check http://www.dvdcompare.net/ for specs on different releases between regions.

Armageddon should be anamorphic on the Criterion Collection DVD. I'm pretty sure there was a bare bones one repressed that is anamorphic too. Good luck.

The Criterion release of Armageddon is not anamorphic.

Wrong on both counts!!

Ciao,
Pro-B

Double-checked this for sure - sadly non-anamorphic. I shake my head in wonder how a company could release such an all-inclusive release without ensuring anamorphic. Same is true for Criterion's Charade. I stumbled across an anamorphic version of Charade that looks great btw on the flip side of The Truth About Charlie, so I'm good there.

Criterion could only press what Disney would give them, and in that case it was non-anamorphic.

Why didn't you put Clifford (Martin Short) in your list?

"Look at me like a human boy."

bpatt...

Criterion re-released Charade as an anamorphic release in 2004. I had the old one and I have the new one which looks fantastic on both of my 16:9 sets.

Any difference to the case to tell which is which?

I'm pretty sure that it is listed as anamorphic on the back of the case. I'm thousands of miles from home so I double-check.

but wasn't disney's The Rock non-anamorphic?

yet the criterion release is 16x9 Anamorphic...

:hscratch:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment provided the audio/video transfers and special features. Criterion handles distribution only.

This way if the special edition doesn't sell, then it won't be a huge financial hit to BVHE.

Been hoping and waiting for a 16:9 12 Angry Men. When select films of director Sidney Lumet were announced for new release, I was hoping the jury would find a new home. Alas...still hoping and waiting.

--THX

I think you've got that reversed. BVHE very definitely handles distribution of the Disney titles, it says so right on the back of my copy of "The Royal Tannenbaums." This is why certain Disney Criterions have gone on sale or have been discounted in price, and the driving force behind "The Life Aquatic" having two different Criterion releases.

As for the transfer and special features, I think it may be split a bit. Criterion of course is dependent on Disney for certain aspects, but the DVD themselves are produced and mastered Criterion, including I think a number of the special features.

Criterion didn't support anamorphic enhancement for the first year and a half of the DVD format's existence. Their belief at the time was that the downconversion process for viewers watching on standard 4:3 TVs produced too many artifacts.

Starting with their release of Insomnia on 5/29/98, all subsequent widescreen Criterion DVDs have been anamorphically enhanced.