> > That's "Original Aspect Ratio" -- the size the movie was originally (or intended) to be shown in theaters.
> >
> > Letterboxing vs. Pan and Scan:
> > If you don't understand the reasoning behind letterboxing, try this. What's the size of a television screen? Square (ish). What's the size of a movie screen? Rectangular.
> >
> > Now, how would you fit a rectangular movie fit on a square(ish) television screen? You'd make it smaller to fit within the available space.
> >
> > "I hate the black bars!"
> > What you should realize is that they aren't covering up any of the movie. If anything, when you watch a movie on television, you're usually watching a movie that's cropping off the left and right sides.
>
>
> I have to say, the advent of DVD has opened this right up as you now most often get the choice whether to view letterbox or pan-n-scan. The only trouble I find is that my better half generally wants pan-n-scan and I want letterbox!
>
> Be "kind to your nose and don't have unnecessary rhinopl" asty

I don't know if this choice is really the most common one. We have 44 DVD's (plus a few that we had and are missing) and only eleven (not counting the missing ones) give you a choice. In fact, here's a breakdown of our DVD's and which format they come in, as well as production companies, to give you an idea of who is "best" about these sorts sort of things.

WARNING: BORING STATISTICS AHEAD. SKIP TO END IF ON A TIGHT SCHEDULE.

DVD's OFFERING A CHOICE BETWEEN WIDESCREEN AND FULL SCREEN (PAN & SCAN)
Air Force One, Columbia Tristar
The Avengers, Warner Brothers
Blade Runner, Warner Brothers
Blazing Saddles, Warner Brothers
Dudley Do-Right, Universal
The Fugitive, Warner Brothers
Jakob the Liar, Columbia Tristar
Mulan, Disney
October Sky, Universal
The Pink Panther, United Artists/MGM
The Pink Panther Strikes Again, United Artists/MGM

DVD's THAT FORCE YOU TO WATCH THEM IN FULL SCREEN
Casablanca*, Warner Brothers
Chariots of Fire, Ladd Company/Warner Brothers
Doc Hollywood, Warner Brothers
Forever Young, Warner Brothers
Frantic, Warner Brothers
Life With Father*, Madacy/Warner Brothers
The Sting, Universal
Wrongfully Accused, Morgan Creek/Warner Brothers

DVD's THAT ALLOW YOU TO WATCH THEM IN WIDESCREEN, THE WAY THEY WERE MEANT TO BE SEEN, WITHOUT ACCIDENTALLY CHOOSING THE "FULL SCREEN" OPTION
Adventures in Babysitting, Touchstone
Amadeus, Orion
Amistad, DreamWorks
Apollo 13, Imagine/Universal
Das Boot, Columbia Tristar
Contact, Warner Brothers
The Court Jester, Paramount
Enemy of the State, Touchstone
Galaxy Quest, DreamWorks
Gallipoli, R & R/Paramount
In the Line of Fire, Castle Rock/Columbia Tristar
Joan of Arc, Alliance Atlantis/CBC/CBS
A League of Their Own, Columbia Pictures
The Matrix, Village Roadshow/Warner Brothers
Les Misérables, Columbia Tristar/Mandalay
Mister Roberts, Warner Brothers
The Mummy, Alphaville/Universal
The Omega Code, Gener8xion/GoodTimes/Providence
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Home Vision/Janus/Picnic
Pleasantville, New Line
The Return of the Pink Panther, Artisan/ITC
The Sixth Sense, Hollywood/Spyglass
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Paramount
Tarzan, Disney
To Kill a Mockingbird, Universal

An asterisk indicates a movie for which 4:3 (full screen ratio) was the original theatrical format.

Now, see, out of the six that CRUELLY FORCE you to watch it with the sides chopped off (full screen, not counting Casablanca and Life With Father), five were Warner Brothers and one was Universal. 83% of the DVD's we have that make you watch a, let's face it, mutilated version of the movie are Warner Brothers pictures. A disturbing 17% was Universal.

Out of our DVD's that give you a choice, four were WB, two were Columbia/Tristar, two were Universal, two were MGM/UA, and one was Disney. That's 36% Warner, proving that they're not entirely evil. 18% are Columbia Tristar, 18% Universal, 18% MGM/UA, and 9% Disney. That's OK, although having a choice is really unnecessary, since we all know that widescreen is superior.

Out of our DVD's that are in the only True Format, Widescreen, four are Columbia Tristar, three are Warner Brothers, three are Universal, three are Disney or Touchstone (same company), three are Paramount, two are DreamWorks, one is MGM/UA, one is Orion, and five are oddball companies no one a) has ever heard of, or b) cares about. That's 16% Columbia Tristar, 12% Warner Brothers, 12% Universal, 12% Disney/Touchstone, 12% Paramount, 4% Orion, 4% MGM/UA, and 20% oddball little companies.

What's interesting about this is that, out of the twelve Warner Brothers DVD's (not counting Casablanca, originally filmed in 4:3) we have, five of them make you watch it in the undesirable chopped off version. That's 42%. That's completely unacceptable. I vote we pass around a petition to make them change their ways, to give us more of a choice or at least have more Widescreen.

-eric "No, I don't know where I'm going with this. Sorry." sleator
Mon 26 Jun A.D. 2000