Does anyone know of a reliable source that I can use to look up movies and find their original aspect ratios? I have avoided buying quite a few DVDs because the aspect ratios are 1.33 : 1, and I prefer widescreen. However, I realize that many older movies were filmed in a ratio of 1.33 : 1 and are obviously not available in widescreen. I have a feeling that I have missed out on a lot of purchases because I wasn't sure of the movie's original aspect ratio. Can anyone help me out here?
Cool!
Finally someone else who enjoys the widescreen format.
I constantly hear complaining fom others when I put in a widescreen DVD.
They often don't understand that that's the aspect ratio they'd see if they viewed it in the theater.
They usually come back with, "But we're not in the theater, we're in a house!"
Oh well......can't please 'em all
As for your query, I couldn't tell ya.
Maybe a Google search or the I.M.D.B.?
Post Edited (05-13-03 17:06)
The Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/) does have the aspect ratio listed (when the information has been submitted). Simply find the movie, then click on "technical details" - it is under "Other Info" about halfway down on the left side.
Every movie made before the early 1950s were in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, although in the 50s, the threat of television taking over movies as the preferred entertainment medium caused Hollywood to creat widescreen movies so that their films would never fit comfortably onto the small screen.
Some post 50s films, however, have been filmed in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, such as "Walking Tall" and "Aguirre the Wrath of God." 1.33:1 is actually a slightly cropped version of the 1.37:1 aspect ratio (cropped so it would fit the screen.)
I hope you enjoyed that!
Bubba wrote:
> Every movie made before the early 1950s were in an aspect ratio
> of 1.33:1
That isn't completely true, as there were some pre-1950s movies filmed in wider aspect ratios than 1.33 : 1.
I am glad that you mentioned WALKING TALL as being a 1.33:1 movie. I have been waiting for it to be released in widescreen . . . now I know why it hasn't been!
Thanks to all for the replies!
I also prefer widescreen. It's what the movie was shot in, don't chop it up! That is almost as bad as colorizing b&w movies.
Actually most movie weirdos (or learned people, as you wish) prefer widescreen versions.
I just prefer the original aspect ratio if possible but it doesn't mean the whole world to me if its not available. I do hate when movies are cropped (evil dead book of the dead for example) falsely in widescreen- I mean whats the point then? Is it just because the bars look pretty? You're losing picture instead of seeing more just like pan and scan anyway.
THE EVIL DEAD, though shot in the 1.33:1 Full Frame Aspect Ratio, was intended to be shown in theatres in the 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio, thereby the top and bottom screen was matted to present the film in it's original theatrical presentation. Hell, it was supervised by Sam Raimi himself, who intedned the film to be presented in 1.85:1 when shown in theatrical screenings.
I would also like to add to The Burgomaster that despite most films in the 1950's were shot in 1.33:1 Full Frame (with the exception of some bigger budget films shot in CinemaScope and Panavision 2.35:1 Anamorphic scope), the Full Frame features were intended to be shown in theatres in either a matted 1.66:1, 1.75:1, or 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. You can tell by the various open spaces on top and bottom of the screen when viewed in Full Frame. Those open spaces would be matted, and virtually no important information woule be lost. The case can also be said with the recent 1.85:1 presentation of THE EVIL DEAD.
Also, their have been in the past various attempts to pass of a 1.33:1 Full Frame film in a 2.35:1 matted scope. For example, Roger Corman's THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (1956) was adertised as being in 'SuperScope'. The film was presented in a 2.35:1 scope format. But recent discovery has shown that the film was shot originally in Full Frame by Corman and would be matted to 1.66:1 or 1.85:1, but the distributors James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff had the image squeezed and matted to 2.35:1 scope without Corman's say. Another example would be the Japanese monster film GIANT MONSTER BARAN (1958), in which the film was originally a U.S.-Japanese coproduction between ABC and Toho. The film was shot in 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio due to ABC and Toho only selling it to television. About 50% of the film was compleated, but by that time ABC backed out without loosing a dime due to Toho funding the whole damn project. With that, Toho decided to release GIANT MONSTER BARAN to theatres instead. But their was a problem: in Japan, all films at that time were being shown in the widescreen format and it was unheard of to show a Full Frame film in Japanese theatres. Therefore, the rest of the film was shot in 2.35:1 Tohoscope and the Full Frame footage was cropped and squeezed to 2.35:1. Even U.S. distributor Joseph E. Levine released his American cut of GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS! in Japan via a fake CinemaScope process, which was only done by placing black bars on top and bottom resulting in a lot on info being eliminated due to the film shot in 1.33:1 and meant to be presented in 1.66:1.