I finally upgraded to Blu-ray, and Nolan's Batman trilogy is the first Blu I watched. I noticed the aspect ratio constantly changes. I had the trilogy on DVD and that either never happened or I never noticed. Is there something wrong with the Blu-ray or is it supposed to do that?

Certain scenes of the second and third film were shot with IMAX cameras. The full ratio of IMAX is technically 1.44, but on Blu it's cropped to 1.78 to fit your screen on your HDTV. The rest of the film was shot in 2.39 scope (on 35mm, God fucking bless Nolan), so it switches back and forth to try to give you the most available visual image.

The DVD didn't change aspect ratios, did it, or am I just not remembering it right?

No the variable AR Imax presentation was exclusive to the Bd...and it was the only version of the films so far released (no 35 mm theatrical)

Do a lot of Blu-rays do this variable aspect ratio? I don't know much about movie tech, so much of this Imax, 35 mm jargon goes over my head. I just know the variable aspect ratio is distracting and makes me almost want to go back to dvd.

Very few Blu-rays have shifting aspect ratios. Off the top of my head I can only think of the last two Nolan Batman movies and a certain version of one of the Transformers movies (can't remember which one). It was just a coincidence that you picked two as your first experience. You won't run into it very often.

Life of Pi switches aspect ratios...again, that's the way it was presented in the theater.

The Grand Budapest Hotel does it. It has 2.35:1, 1.37:1 and 1.85:1 ratios at various times: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-r...el_blu-ray.htm

Every time I think about buying that Bluray box of the Nolan bat-films, I remember this issue with the aspect ratios and decide to stick with my DVDs (plus the work I went through finding the particular editions of each DVD).

Tron Legacy and the Walmart-exclusive "Big Screen Edition" of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also have shifting aspect ratios like the Dark Knight movies. (The general retail version of Transformers is entirely 2.35:1.)

Brother Bear and The Horse Whisperer AR's shift.


which I admit looks pretty amazing

Enchanted, the Amy Adams disney movie. starts at about 1:85, then shifts to 2:35

Also the Hunger Games Catching Fire has the last hour or so in the 1:78 aspect ratio due to scenes shot in imax

Also if you happen to see the new Transformers movie in IMAX (or Nolan's next one) both contain scenes shot in IMAX which would have a shifting aspect ratio in theaters

Shifting aspect ratios is a very rare phenomenon on Blu-ray. You just happened to watch one of the few mainstream movies with it. One of the Transformers movies has it as well.

BB is perfectly fine on BD.

TDK has issues with its regular 35 sections. We REALLY needed that one to be redone on BD. those 35 bits are rough.

TDKR is a fucking perfect in its technical presentation... As far as I know.

It's not an issue with the changing AR. it makes the films better IMO. Some films deservedly take advantage for the positive in its use. TDK and TDKR are such films.

So pissed that MI4 didn't have this... Yet my BD has a feature about using the IMAX. Lol.

TDK's master came from a digital encode made specifically for IMAX, which is why it looks like shit. Warner fixed that mistake with TDKR where they were stemmed from the original 35mm and 15/70 elements.

TDK, TDKR, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Tron: Legacy, and the Wal-Mart exclusive of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are the only five discs out there to maintain their changing aspect ratios as presented in IMAX.

I feel other films like Enchanted, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and others don't count as that's how they were originally presented in theaters.

I really wish we got Blu-ray presentations of films that were opened up for their IMAX releases (Oblivion, Prometheus in 3D, Skyfall, Underworld: Evolution in 3D, etc).

would you happen to know how much of the film's running time will be presented in full frame IMAX?

Do the digital LIEMAX theaters have the shifting ratios too? Weren't some of those films not actually shot with IMAX camera anyway, just DRM blowups?

So the TDK Blu is disappointing ? Why not use the DI as the master? It's usually 2K for most films anyway, which is almost the resolution of Blu anyway.

I wish that they'd do a rerelease of MIGP with it, but kind of doubt it. It's irritating enough that there's an inferior encode on the Best Buy Blu with the damn extras so you'd have to get both.

Guardians of the Galaxy will also have shifting aspect ratios in IMAX, though it was not shot in IMAX.

if they have scenes shot in imax, then yes, the "LIEMAX" screens do switch to an open non matte screen, similar to TDK, TDKR, Catching Fire blu rays

Digital IMAX theaters have a screen ratio of 1.9:1. Movies with shifting aspect ratios alternate from 2.35:1 to 1.9:1, which is much smaller than the difference between 2.35:1 and 1.44:1 in older IMAX theaters.

When I saw Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in digital IMAX, I was hard pressed to notice the change in ratio unless I specifically looked for it. I have a feeling that most people in the audience never noticed.

The Dark Knight movies actually don't have DIs, because Christopher Nolan doesn't like them and prefers to color time his movies the old fashioned way photochemically.

When Ghost Protocol was released on Blu-ray, Brad Bird wrote on Twitter that the alternating aspect ratio gimmick was something that only works in IMAX theaters, and he prefers the Blu-ray at one constant ratio.

That's an odd ratio I've never heard of for anything else. Why that, simply the one they chose because it was the easiest size to build inside a multiplex?

I must admit, while the sound system has a nice kick, I've found the digital IMAX at my local multiplex rather a disappointment overall. Though given that their actual 15/70 locations will probably be nonexistent shortly, it may be academic.

God fucking bless him, but then the WB people should do a better job of mastering them .

Yeah, but he's wrong though. He just made the movie, I'm the one who has to watch it .

IMAX has to make everything proprietary and incompatible with anything else just to be difficult. They're the Apple of movie theater chains.

Not entirely true as it depends on the theater. Digital IMAX screens can range anywhere from 1.7:1 to 2.1:1 based upon the size of the auditorium that was retrofitted.

Those theaters that used IMAX's MPX projection system while IMAX was waiting for their digital system to be implemented should have an aspect ratio of 1.7:1. When auditoriums began getting retrofitted post the release of their digital projection, it literally became a fucking free for all as IMAX didn't care for quality control.

My local independent chain's IMAX theater utilizes a rail system that can preform 15/70 or digital. However, Lionsgate and Paramount made very few 15/70 prints of M:I-GP or Catching Fire so our theater got the shaft and got DLP instead. The shift from 2.40:1 to 1.78:1 was noticeable, but it would've been far more noticeable had they got the 15/70 print. Since Nolan has total control over Interstellar, any theater with that railing system in place should get the 15/70 version of the film instead especially as those theaters will have their railing systems removed as they'll be first in line for the laser projection upgrades beginning at the end of this year.

Will all large format theater screens get a shifting ratio?

Cinemark has one.