Stage Beauty (reformatted here but OAR in other regions)

I would also like to see a list of movies that were modified from their OTAR for the DVD release. I think that's what the OP is gathering. If others are on the list that don't fit this category, maybe OP could mark the ones that fit the modified from OTAR category...

I assume he approved because by replacing the mattes for the home version, he restored the Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio (OTAR). A side effect of this is that it can be encoded anamorphically to DVD which increases the resolution by 25-33% (or so).

I assume also that Evil Dead was filmed this way with the intention of showing the 1.85:1 in the theaters and then removing the mattes for VHS to prevent a pan&scan/cropped transfer. Kubrick did it on some of his films, but he made it clear that the shot was composed in the widescreen field and noted to keep the 1.33:1 field clear as well (for an anticipated home release in full screen). Now that widescreen releases are common, this is unnecessary.

Many prefer the OTAR always.

Holy Testicle Tuesday, ME TOO!!

Btw, I remember rather...heated...thread about Kubrick's composition; did he compose for 1.33:1 or for 1.85:1? It appears that there is no definitive answer, but after looking at screen shots, I know where I stand.

Gleaming The Cube (The only all P&S title I own, the rest are Open Matte)
Exit To Eden
Problem Child
Problem Child 2
Caddyshack II
Doc Hollywood

BTW, The Evil Dead was released in Full Frame by Image, though it is OOP.

The consistently unrated Mr. Mom ...

That whole Kubrick debate is a rather tricky one. I don't quite know where I land on that issue myself. I mean I don't think he intended for the helicopter shadow to be in the majority of the opening shot in The Shining like it is on the DVD.

Also add Drop Dead Fred and Fright Night Part II to the list.

Hot Dog The Movie!

Ah! Interesting. I'll have to relook at that. But look at Full Metal Jacket; to me, that screams "composed in 1.33:1!". Others disagree, of course. We'll have to resurrect that thread.

Indeed. I like Full Metal Jacket the way it is on DVD, but feel cheated while watching The Shining.

On the Kubrick films... it's obvious that he wanted the most resolution utilized on TV monitors in the laserdisc era. He only gave pointers to transfers made during that time. Since laserdisc was relatively low res and non-anamorphic, I think Kubrick rather would let image that would be fine to show to be visible in lieu of black bars.

We can pretty much surmise that he would have been fine with 16x9 DVD's since they're less wasteful than non-anamorphic formats. Do keep in mind that Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, and Barry Lyndon MUST be shown at 1.66:1. 1.85:1 ends up cropping the bottom of the frame and throws off the compositions.

Actually, the current DVD has the correct framing for either 35mm or 70mm presentations. It's also 2.55:1, not 2.35:1. 2.55:1 is correct for Ultra Panavision films (the widest it could be shown would be 2.60:1 in a Cinerama theater).

The original Image Entertainment DVD is 1.20:1. Still looks great, despite being a 14 year old transfer. It's funny how MK2's HD origin transfer pales in comparison to an NTSC transfer made in 1992.

Kindergarten Cop
(1.33:1 transfer on DVD; OAR is 1.85:1)

My Fellow Americans
(1.33:1 transfer on DVD; OAR is 1.85:1)

--THX