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Title: MGM DVDs Class Action Lawsuit? Post by: Andrew on January 28, 2005, 08:27:34 AM I just saw this pop up on Slashdot. Not really much to go on besides the website. Had anyone else heard about this?
In general, the website seems to say that many of the MGM widescreen releases were, in fact, pan and scan versions with the tops and bottoms cropped off. I hope that someone else has some more information. http://slashdot.org/articles/05/01/28/0235245.shtml?tid=97&tid=123&tid=1 Title: Re: MGM DVDs Class Action Lawsuit? Post by: Mr_Vindictive on January 28, 2005, 08:34:10 AM I don't know just how true this is. I'm pretty skeptical....
I only own a few of the films on the list. Mainly stuff like Killer Klowns, Phantasm, etc. I'm happy with the transfers on each and never noticed anything strange about the widescreen. I feel a hoax.... Title: Re: MGM DVDs Class Action Lawsuit? Post by: Menard on January 28, 2005, 10:17:03 AM I do not know specifically about the MGM releases, but in reading reviews on Amazon.com I have read an occassional review where someone complained about that. In one where they were quite specific, they had a full-frame VHS and were able to tell that the widescreen DVD was actually a cropped pan and scan. The DVD, though, I do not believe was an MGM release. I have, only on occasion, wondered about that myself when I have viewed a widescreen DVD. That type of practice would be seriously dishonest and cheap.
Title: Re: MGM DVDs Class Action Lawsuit? Post by: raj on January 28, 2005, 02:56:32 PM Here's a website about that:
http://www.mgmdvdsettlement.com/ The .pdf of the notice looks legit. I don't think any of my dvds are affected, but I'll have to check tonight. Personally, I hate these class action lawsuits, usually the lawyers make a bundle while the consumers get very little; though here you get a choice of a different MGM dvd, or $7.10 per dvd. Title: Re: MGM DVDs Class Action Lawsuit? Post by: Mr_Vindictive on January 28, 2005, 03:01:29 PM Why swap out your DVD for another DVD? I doubt that have replacements for all of these DVDs already with the correct transfer. You'd be giving it back to get the same. Just doesn't make sense.
Title: A lot of b***hing by a bunch of IDIOTS...... Post by: kriegerg69 on January 29, 2005, 12:09:13 AM ....IMHO.
Try reading some of the message board replies on that site. NOBODY seems to understand HOW various widescreen ratios WORK. The films briefly mentioned on that page were MEANT to be matted for theatrical release (such as almost all of Woody Allen's films) because they were shot in a 1.85:1 matted ratio.....and whatever was matted at the top and bottom for theatrical showings AND on the widescreen DVD releases were never MEANT to be seen. In the case of films which were done in a "hard matte" format, the matting would have been already placed there either on the original negatives OR on the prints themselves......and in such a case the film would naturally have had to be "panned and scanned" in order to produce a full-screen (non-widescreen) video. These idiots involved in this so-called suit are real frickin' morons who know NOTHING about how widescreen works.....such as: "These so-called "widescreen" DVDs give us LESS than the entire film. In the case of these movies, the "fullscreen" version gives you the whole movie, the "widescreen" version gives you less than the whole movie. That's butchered, in my opinion." That's idiocy, IMHO, because the full-frame format is NOT how it was shown theatrically. Title: Re: A lot of b***hing by a bunch of IDIOTS...... Post by: Andrew on January 29, 2005, 02:39:15 AM Okay, I finally was able to read the stuff. Right after I posted that message, and was starting to read exactly what was going on, one of the MP Marines was killed. Things got busy here.
This is bizarre and I wonder if MGM really is going to settle. It looks like they should tell the law firm to go and get bent. The films in question were issued in the correct aspect, exactly as they were intended to be seen. These people are, evidently, talking about matted frames. Title: Re: MGM DVDs Class Action Lawsuit? Post by: JohnL on January 30, 2005, 07:11:53 PM >Okay, I finally was able to read the stuff. Right after I posted that message, and
>was starting to read exactly what was going on, one of the MP Marines was >killed. What happened? |