SeanValen

Angel season one was filmed in 1:85 transer, and at they could do is a 5.1 dolby digital sound, Angel is asking for bass power. Very frusrated as a fan, especially widescreen anamorphic not being included, I won't buy it, does not justify the money.

Everything else is fine with extras., but thats it.

2001-10-25 09:11:00

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have announced "Angel" season 1 for release 10th December The six disk set includes the following extras:

Disc 1
Commentary: "City Of" - By Joss Whedon And David Greenwalt
Disc 2
Commentary: "Rm W/A/ View" - By Jane Espenson
Disc 3
Featurette - "Season One"
Trailer - "Angel Season 1 Video"
Cast Bios Pages - These Are Localized In The Languages Of The Menu Sets
Still Gallery
Disc 5
Script For - "Five By Five"
Script For - "Sanctuary"
Disc 6
Featurette - "I'm Cordelia"
Featurette - "Introducing Angel"
Featurette - "The Demons"
The release will cost £79.99 and will feature a full frame 1.33 transfer and Dolby 2.0 surround mix. Here is the Press Release:

ANGEL
Season One DVD

Prepare to embark on a hellish journey, cloaked in ghoulish mystery and demonic terror as Angel Season One is set to crucify the DVD market. Share in the tortured world of Joss Whedon's ground-breaking show, Angel and join him on his vengeful crusade against all that is evil in the City of Los Angeles. Released to buy from the 10th December courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, this chilling DVD boxset can be yours to own (rrp S79.99).

Enclosed in a stunning gloss print package this Angel DVD boxset marks the first in a collectable series and will provide hours of alarmingly grisly and uncut viewing. Not only can you now watch the critically acclaimed Season One time and time again, but you can enjoy a plethora of interviews with your favourite demons, colourful featurettes and uninterrupted commentaries by the show's makers including the grandmaster himself, Joss Whedon.

Follow Angel (David Boreanaz) in Season One to the cursed city of Los Angeles as he continues his path to redemption by saving other's from the city's dark side. There is the occasional crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season where we see our favourite slayer go to Los Angeles in search of Angel in emotionally charged episodes such as "I Will Remember You".

Sitting all alone in a state of lethargy in a Los Angeles bar the drunken Angel reflects on his dreary life and Buffy, his lost love, whom he has left behind in Sunnydale. Whilst sitting there in a state of angst ridden misery he meets Allen Francis Doyle (Glenn Quinn), half man/half demon, who is to change his life and ultimately become his mentor. We are also reintroduced to the superficial cheerleader from Sunnydale, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), who due to her father's economic demise has come to L.A searching for work. Having suffered from her father's fall Cordelia has shaken off her shallow pretensions and the three, Angel, Doyle and herself become an invincible force and form Angel Investigations.

As Angel Investigations embark upon conquering the startling evil element that has encroached upon Los Angles they recruit the blundering Wesley (Alexis Denisof) who introduces them and to the villainous law firm Wolfram & Hart whose terrifying actions put the entire city into a situation that almost no one can escape.

Angel Season One DVD boxset offers fans the perfect opportunity to immerse themselves into the series with its fascinating mix of special features and unseen extras. Without a shadow of doubt this has to be the start of the most essential and chillingly original DVD collection ever!

EPISODE LISTINGS

Disc 1
City of...
Lonely hearts
In the dark
I fall to pieces
COMMENTARY: "CITY OF" - BY JOSS WHEDON AND DAVID GREENWALT
Disc 2
Rm w/a vu
Sense and sensitivity
The Bachelor Party
I Will Remember You
COMMENTARY: "RM W/A/ VIEW" - BY JANE ESPENSON
Disc 3
Hero
Parting Gift
Somnambulist
FEATURETTE - "SEASON ONE"
TRAILER - "ANGEL SEASON 1 VIDEO"
CAST BIOS PAGES - THESE ARE LOCALIZED IN THE LANGUAGES OF THE MENU SETS
STILL GALLERY
Disc 4
Expecting
She
I've Got You Under My Skin
The Prodigal
Disc 5
The Ring
Eternity
Five By Five
Sanctuary
SCRIPT FOR - "FIVE BY FIVE"
SCRIPT FOR - "SANCTUARY"
Disc 6
War Zone
Blind Date
To Sanshu In LA
FEATURETTE - "I'M CORDELIA"
FEATURETTE - "INTRODUCING ANGEL"
FEATURETTE - "THE DEMONS"

Adam Tyner

Since Fox has said that the R2/R4 versions of their sets won't differ appreciably from the upcoming R1 releases, I'm not sure why this is so inappropriate for inclusion in the main DVD Talk forum.

SeanValen

I agree ctyner, someone though will probabley get another thread out on DVD talk when R1 is released.

The non-anamorphic transfer is not the way to go for Fox, there's going to be alot of mad Angel fans, I certainley would watch repeats on my digital cable, sound and picture will be about the same, and hope one day soon Fox will get another version out with widescreen, 5.1 mix would be a bonus. I hope there's alot of backlash and criticism with what they've done. I'm already hoping for a better version to come out, probabley would be the first re-release of a main tv dvd title, considering the negative reception, I hope it happens.

Shay

Do they shoot the series in widescreen aspect? I would think a TV would usually be shot full frame to correspond to the TV screen.

woemcats

I think people are bitching for no reason. Sure, the series is shown in widescreen in SOME markets, but it was composed for 4:3, and shown that way in the U.S. Whedon has said he wants the show released that way.

Why complain? Just because it won't use up all of your widescreen tv? Boo-hoo. People around here throw out the name "J6P" for a similar arguement involving OAR. Hmmm.

Adam Tyner

Anymore, nearly every television show shot on film is shot at 16x9 and cropped to 4x3 for broadcast.

The $64,000 question is -- which is right, the 16x9 version or the 4x3 version? There's not a hard and fast answer, since it depends on the show. For the first season of Angel, the answer seems to be 4x3, and as far as I know, these early seasons of Angel have never aired in widescreen, even in some of the same areas of Britain where Buffy has aired in widescreen.

Peter Staddon said in an HTF chat that Fox will be releasing anamorphic widescreen versions of its programming whenever possible, and the rumor mill is abuzz that the box sets for season 4 of Buffy and season 2 of Angel will be presented as such.

SeanValen

Well alot of people want things they have not seen before, and certainly more picture on the left and right of your favorite tv programme is a treat, especially if it was shot that way!

Angel was shot in the aspect ratio of 1.85, season one of Angel, happened same time as season 4 of Buffy which was aired widescreen, so Angel was not aired widescreen, so what, it could have, and that could have can be be availabe on DVD, as a DVD collector, I adore widescreen, so do the 2700 people and more who signed the signature petition for Angel widescreen.

I've seen pictures of the 16x9 compared to 4x3, so much cropped off, I've seen the episodes before on tv, but if I am going to fork out 80 pounds on the season boxset, I want a high standard of different things not offered on tv, people did not mind having full screen a few years ago, but times are changing, alot people love widescreen, so if the series was shot in widescreen, and fans want widescreen, then thats what I want to pay for. I want a better represenation to how it aired, so do alot of top reviews on dvd sites, alot of people have their widescreen tvs these days, some are not bothered, but I understand a fan wanting a widescreen format if they enjoy their widescreen viewing.

The X files season 5 or 6 will be in widescreen, if for example season 1-4 were shot in widescreen, but never aired that way, fans would love a opportunity to see the show in a new and different way, X files is like a movie in a way, so there you go, same thoughts on Angel.

vegasbaby

This is an outrage!

Jlbkwrm

Yeah, but here's the thing: The two shows, created simultaneously, were aired in seperate formats. Angel was aired full-frame, Buffy widescreen (not in the US, but in some countries). There was obviously some reason that AtS:1 was aired full-frame... Perhaps because the creator(s) decided they wanted it aired that way? That the fullframe version may actually be the director's intent is important.

Just because a season was shot in widescreen does /not/ mean it should be shown that way. Buffy Season 3, by all reports, was filmed widescreen, but framed for full-frame. Thus, a widescreen transfer of Buffy Season 3 would be more like open matte, less like OAR. Perhaps the director looked at Angel season 1, and realized the widescreen version, on the whole, looked worse?

I can't say for certain, but it seems rather silly to get upset about the transfer, simply because they didn't make it widescreen.

Adam Tyner

So in the case of comedies shot flat at 1.85:1, do you prefer open-matte versions to the properly framed widescreen presentations? You do get "more", after all.

I'd have to check the logs, but I think that's the longest sentence ever. We bugged Tim Minear about this a while ago, and the impression I got was that Angel was shot at 16x9, but framed for 4x3...he made a reference to guys eating cheese sandwich in the newly-opened part of the frame or something. It was a joke, of course, but it's not something that you'd expect to hear from someone who works on a series meticulously framed for 16x9.

You are getting a representation of how it aired. The first season of Angel has never aired in widescreen. As far as being "better", that's debatable. This forum is very pro-OAR, and modifying the OAR, even if it gives "more" (in this case, probably just dead space), isn't acceptable.

Even more people have 4x3 televisions. Should we pander to them and offer full-frame and cropped material only? No -- let's stick with presenting content as it was intended to be seen, and I haven't seen the faintest bit of evidence to point that the first season of Angel was intended to be seen in widescreen only. I should mention that I have a 16x9 capable television, so you'd think I'd be biased the other way.

You can't make comparisons like that. As I said earlier, it depends on the series. Wider isn't always better. If Angel was composed for 4x3, then that's how it should be presented.

If the 4x3 versions of Angel are center-cropped from the 16x9, perhaps Fox could use the 16x9 version on DVD and use pan-and-scan on the fly to show the series as it was apparently intended to be seen, but I believe that comes at the cost of resolution for those who want to watch the series properly.

SeanValen

Jlbkwrm Perhaps the director looked at Angel season 1, and realized the widescreen version, on the whole, looked worse?

There's no single director for Angel's tv episodes, there's like 8 or more, or more than that.

So I don't know who decides what, I have not heared anything about a vision being kept in intact, series creator Joss Wheadon and Fox don't get along too well, so the creative decisions about how it was aired was likely a toss of the coin decision.

The creators have not sent out a offical statement regarding its treatment on dvd, if they don't care that much about it, or Fox for some reason things it knows whats right, then its nothing to do with the creators, thus have a widescreen if you want it, thats my logic on it.

Fox has not released a explanation to why its not in widescreen, thats what I want clalifcation on, and the shows creators have confirmed it was shot in a aspect ration of 1.85, but have been silent to what they think dvd release should have, something to do with Fox, who knows? But I like widescreen, and seen no offical creative decision to why it should not be in widescreen!

Adam Tyner

Your statement that Joss and Fox aren't getting along is grossly inaccurate. In May, Fox signed Joss to a $20-someodd-million development deal, and the move to UPN was a direct result of Fox majorly going to bat for Joss and company. Please provide some sources for your statements.

As I stated earlier, Peter Staddon states on the HTF that Fox's official policy is to release 16x9 television programming in anamorphic widescreen. Joss has supposedly said that he's against widescreen for widescreen's sake, though, and that's exactly what you're asking for.

SeanValen

ctyner


As I stated earlier, Peter Staddon states on the HTF that Fox's official policy is to release 16x9 television programming in anamorphic widescreen. Joss has supposedly said that he's against widescreen for widescreen's sake, though, and that's exactly what you're asking for.

Ok, I understand it now, I don't mind too much in that case.

But what do you think about the 2.0 dolby surround? Twin Peaks has the first DTS for a tv show, would of been nice to have great sound for Angel, not complaining too much, but its nice for DVD tranfer to enchance the experience for Angel, thats got great sounds.