Warning - Ski School is P&S!
 

The Ski School DVD just released by MGM says Widescreen 1.85:1 on the back, but does not say Enhanced for Widescreen TVs or anything. However, I noticed the top sticker says P&S, and the DVD is clearly 4x3 with the "this DVD has been modified" notice before the movie. Why is this still happening in 2007! I'm debating the merits of arguing with the store about this ... I wanted this movie badly, then we get this pile of &%*$.

MGM
1-877-MGM-4YOU
[email protected] or [email protected]

I am writing to register a complaint with your DVD division. The DVD of Ski School was released on August 28th, 2007, with UPC 027616084293. The back of the DVD clearly states Widescreen 1.85:1, but the DVD is Pan & Scan – certainly not formatted to fit MY High Definition TV. MGM is the only studio that still seems to be releasing catalog titles only in Pan & Scan. Even though the market research to release this long awaited DVD P&S is certainly questionable, if it had been marked appropriately the consumer would have the choice to not purchase a defective product. The fact the DVD was deceptively labeled as widescreen ensures large sales, but will also result in large returns for the title as well. I have posted to multiple DVD sites about the Defective DVD, to ensure others do not make the same mistake of purchasing this disc.

Thank you for contacting MGM Studios Home Entertainment Group. Due to the merger of MGM and Sony Pictures the MGM Customer Service Department will no longer be available.

You can experience continued excellent service on MGM product by contacting Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

For new and existing orders, Sony Pictures can be reached at:
[email protected] or [email protected]

Thanks for the heads up. I;ve been wanting this movie for years. I guess I'm still waiting.

You will get nowhere by contacting Sony. MGM has been getting distributed by Fox for a while. Contact Fox for problems with new releases.

So wait, the DVD <i>says</i> it's widescreen, but when you play it the only option is P&S? Not to sound condescending, but you're sure it's not a double-sided widescreen-on-one-side, pan-n-scan-on-the-other side right?

I wish - its a single sided dvd, painted artwork on one side. As I posted over on other forum, I got an indication there was a problem on imdb (others reported it was p&s). I went ahead and took a chance, to confirm myself. The widescreen logo on the box is the same as on back to school (which did not say enhanced for widescreen, but turned out to be anamorphic). I've checked various online sources to see if this was a dual release (ws & ps), but there's only one item listed. The player also confirms there is only a 4x3 signal presen.

Isn't it Open Matte? Ski School 2 was that way. I recorded it off The Movie Channel on dvd recently and it looked ok, no pan/scan issues.

Hot Dog! The Movie was that way too?

Did Ski School ever come out theatrically? I suspect it was shot open matte as a DTV title.

According to Box Office Mojo, Ski School was released theatrically on January 11,1991. It made a *WHOPPING* $18,476.

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=skischool.htm

On investigating the Open Matte issue, I played around with the zoom option on my HDTV. The framing actually looks about right, with no obvious cropped heads, so it probably was open matte. It doesn't look bad this way, other than the obvious complaints about a loss of resolution.

Hmmm... tough call in that case. I had it in my hands yesterday (great cover art, btw) but I held off. It's just completely inexcusable in this age of HDTV to release <i>anything</i> in something other than it's OAR.