DVDs in general

[Admin]

I didn't realise this until a few days ago. But a number of films on DVD that are being cropped, in other words, parts of the picture are being cut off. Why? I think some studios are obsessed with releasing movie in the 16.9 picture ratio, so the film fits the shape of widescreen televisions. Which is bad if the said film was 2.35:1 when released theatrically. I think only a select few 'geeks' are still reading this post. But I'll carry on. The theatrical ratio 1.85:1 (times wider than it is tall) is popular, and a widescreen television is 1.78:1. So they're pretty close. The Godfather Trilogy was originally 1.85:1 but the DVDs were cropped slightly to 1.78:1. When the difference is as small as that, you're not going to notice much difference. Many DVDs parade themselves as 1.85:1 when in fact they have also been cropped to 1.78:1 (Jurassic Park). Gosford Park (which is pretty boring) was cropped from 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 and that's a big loss of picture from both sides.

Our main TV stations now show films in widescreen (let's call this TV widescreen, not to be confused with the actual real thing). The American President DVD is 2.35:1. The BBC showed it recently in 1.78:1. What tends to happen is you can't see what's going on on the left and right side of the picture. In some instances, you can see one side of a persons body, yet not their face, and usually they're saying something. We're getting talking shoulders in our movies. It's a new, ugly phenomena.

Are you bored yet?

Our movies are being massacred!