DVD sales figures: WIDE SCREEN vs FULL

[Mistwell]

STAR WARS is presented in its 2.35:1 Theatrical Aspect Ratio.--printed on the back of the official THX Laserdisc release.

End of discussion.

It isn't end of discussion - I didn't use the laserdisc (you're the first to even mention it), nor is it gospel just because it is in print.

Measuring it directly is more accuarte than trusting the back of a laserdisc. It is the most accurate you can get...or are you calling me a liar or my measuring tape inaccurate?

WHY are you so worked up over this issue? And why do you ignore all but the small portion of my posts that you feel like arguing about? At this point you are trying to discuss a difference of 7%, when the real issue is: Can you understand (not agree, just understand) that some people perfer more detail with less visable scene, while others prefer more visable scene with less detail? Or is your position that ONLY widescreen is valid, that everyone's opinion on fullscreen is ignorant, and they must agree with your opinion or else you will conclude they are ignorant (and not just having a valid difference of opinion)?

Isn't it just possible people can prefer fullscreen and yet be educated on the subject?

 

[Viking Bastard]

Guys. Chill. Really.

This is a stupid thing to start a flamefest over.

 

[John Crichton]

Guys. Chill. Really.

This is a stupid thing to start a flamefest over.

Too true. Watch what you like. Bottom line is that some folks don't mind loosing some of the picture and some do. No big.

 

[Mistwell]

Y'all are right. I'm embarassed I got in to it. Sorry for the overly emotional reactions.

 

[stevelabny]

heh. i really was just trying to get the sales figures and not start a flame war.
thanks ristamar for the link, but i've nosed around the site for a few minutes and still havent stumbled across the dvd-rankings, just lots of other nonsense

and i am amused the argus whoaed ME way back at the beginning of the thread

maybe this topic should be added to relgiion, politics and 3.5e vs 3e as taboo subjects nobody should talk about

steve

 

[Mistwell]

heh. i really was just trying to get the sales figures and not start a flame war.
thanks ristamar for the link, but i've nosed around the site for a few minutes and still havent stumbled across the dvd-rankings, just lots of other nonsense

and i am amused the argus whoaed ME way back at the beginning of the thread

maybe this topic should be added to relgiion, politics and 3.5e vs 3e as taboo subjects nobody should talk about

steve

Again, here it is:

TOP DVD SALES
For week of March 8th, 2003

1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (1st week out)
2. Sweet Home Alabama (2nd week out)
3. Brown Sugar (1st week out)
4. Dinner with Friends (1st week out)
5. X-Men 1.5 (1st week out)
6. The Bourne Identity - Widescreen (4th week out)
7. Signs - Widescreen (7th week out)
8. The Bourne Identity - Pan & Scan (4th week out)
9. 101 Dalmations II: Patch's London Adventure (4th week out)
10. Angel - Season 1 (1st week out)

 

[stevelabny]

yeah i saw that on the thread. i just wondered if the site had past weeks results archived, or actual numbers anywhere.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

You picked the perfect movie to prove the difference between wide-screen and full-screen.

The full-screen version of Star Wars ANH comes out very poorly against the wide-screen version.

Just go ahead and watch the lightsaber duel between Obiwan and Vader in FS and tell me what you think. Then go and watch the same saber duel on FS.

Its not just aspect that is changed. There are several points in that duel that are completely removed from the FS version.

Why?

Because Obiwan and Vader were at opposite ends of the screen and thus FS could not in any way be arranged to fit the scene onto the FS screen.

This is where FS loses out. It isnt so much in the lose of the top and bottom of the screen. It is in entire segments of the movie(few seconds here, few seconds there) that have to be entirely cut because no matter how they were played with they just would not fit the FS format.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

My conclusions are based on facts. Actual measurements, and actually doing the experiment. Yours are based on theory, not fact. Do the experiment yourself, and you will find I am correct.

No you are not.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama2.html

 

[Skade]

In a good Pan and Scan, there are a number of tricks that can be used by video editors to reduce the changes necessary to crop to the screen. The editors do the best they can to preserve the film in those cases that cinematography really matters. You also have to consider that multiple cameras could be used, to provide smaller framed shots for certain scenes. Obviously some movies are just tossed together and forgotten about, but since Star Wars is one of the big examples being used, you can bet that Lucasfilm did the best they could to preserve the movies integrity.

I am not personally a fan of Pan and Scan, but I must say that Mistwell has a point about the distance, and PnS on a "smaller" television. Sometimes its just better to get the meat of the pic, and move on. No point in going blind trying to see a 2 inch aragorn grappling an orc.

The other side of it is for you Widescreen fanatics, is that a movie in its original ratio is a beautiful thing, which once upon a time we could only fully experience by sitting in a theatre. Now, we can do it at home with our progressive scan, DTS, THX certified DVD player and sound system, and our 1081i resolution big screens. It sometimes looks better than the theatre. Not everyone has that, and not everyone wants it. Pan and Scan has its place, and I still own, and view both. I still buy both, partially because I sometimes use the small TV in the office, or the garage.

As to having both versions on a disc, it is more than possible. Very few movies utilize the full capacity of their discs. Even those Collectors Series 2 disc sets rarely fill a disc. The only reason they come in 2 discs so often is for marketting. The reason that multi versions sets wont come out on 2 discs is to prevent easy piracy.