Aspect Ratio
 

Since some aspect ratios fill my whole widescreen TV and some aspect ratios do not, how does it work in movie theaters? Everytime I've seen a movie at a theater, it fills the whole screen regardless of aspect ratio.

Thanks,
Ray

They use the curtain to crop the screen.

Not always. The multiplexes I've been to don't bother to do that.

What's annoying is that I've been to a few screenings where they forgot to pull back the curtains for films that use that space. argh!

99% of the time, i see curtains

The Curtains are used, and also some theaters (usually the ones with many screens) have certain rooms that are set up for specific aspect ratio's...

I once tried to get tickets to see one of the LOTR films on one of Marcus Theater's Ultrascreens. They were sold out, but the ticket seller informed me that seeing it on their second largest screen was actually better since to fill the Ultrascreen they cropped the image on it. So that's always a possibility as well.

All the theaters I visit definitely adjust the curtains to properly frame for the movie, but usually they don't bother for the trailers which can often be in different aspect ratios.

P.S. - Welcome to the forum, but ..... since this really has nothing to do with DVDs, it should be in the Movie Forum.

The screens in my local theater are naturally either 1.85:1 (curtain drops from the top to crop the screen to 2.35:1) or 2.35:1 (curtains on the sides to crop the screen to 1.85:1)

I ususally see the curtains drop.

there's also a current trend to present movies at 2.40:1

2.35:1, 2.39:1, and 2.40:1 are so close to each other that most of the time people don't bother differentiating between them and lump them all together.

yes, it seems to be hovering around 2.35-2.40, I am just surprised that no filmmakers have exploited the full length 2.55 aspect ratio that have been common for the epic hollywood films of yore.

Probably because modern theater projectors can only handle 2.35-2.40:1 anamorphic, so any wider aspect ratio would have to be cropped on the film prints.

2.55:1 doesn't look like it lasted much past the 50's, even on Cinemascope:
http://us.imdb.com/SearchRatios?2.55%20:%201

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)

Ben Hur was 2.76:1

Yep, I see the curtains move

Even fewer films were made in 2.76:1.

http://us.imdb.com/SearchRatios?2.76%20:%201

Here's a note on the usage of the aspect ratios 2.35:1 and 2.39:1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_...ote-anamorphic

Maybe I'm just seeing it wrong, but a lot of the times at the theater's I attend (usually AMC, Regal, or Cinemark) it appears as if after the opening commerical show the screen expands into 2.35:1 (if it's in that ratio) without the use of the curtains. Maybe it's a cool illusion (or something they do in newer theaters made within the last few years) but it always looks like the screen shrinks down and expands to the sides for 2.35:1. Also, it doesn't sound like it's just the curtains moving.

Immediately after the movie, the screen always contracts back into the preshow mode usually just a few seconds after the blue rating screen.

I'm all for retaining the correct OAR for IMAX DM'rd films - but I really wish more 1.85 films could take advantage of the more box like aspect ratio of the IMAX screen. Ant Bully and Robots really filled up the screen to such great dynamic effect. I was very underwhelmed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2.35) on the IMAX screen.