disneystarsfan wrote:NEW INFO!
The Special Editon release coming this February 5th 2008 will have an aspect ratio of 1:75:1.
Well, that just plain SUCKS.
Sadly, I now have another out of print gold collection disc I will have to track down, because I will be BOYCOTTING this release, just like Robin Hood most wanted edition and Jungle Book Platinum, the first platinum I took a pass on!
ARISTOCATS, ROBIN HOOD, AND JUNGLE BOOK WERE DRAWN AND FILMED IN 1.33:1.
PERIOD.
Why can't BVHE get this?
On a film SHOT in widescreen like Lady and The Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Lion King, etc. I WELCOME the black bars on the top and bottom of my screen because I know they are NOT blocking information on the top and bottom of the screen AND they are allwing me to see MORE on the sides.
But with the sick, twisted, evil, HORRID ABOMINATION known as "matted widescreen", one must suffer the indignity of knowing those two black bars one is staring at are actually BLOCKING picture on the top and bottom of the screen that SHOULD BE THERE, as this info ALWAYS has been on past releases, AND the bars are NOT giving more info on the sides because the movie was NOT DRAWN IN WIDESCREEN.
And EVERY TIME you see someone's head get cut off on the top and bottom of these transfers, you would think, "if only the ****ing black bars weren't there, I could see what I am missing!"
Well, I am not going to set myself up for that kind of frustration. "Matted widescreen" will be avoided in my collection with the same level of passion that many people avoid pan and scan with, especially when there are open matte transfers already available! (they are out of print and hard to find, but nonetheless in the CORRECT ratio and well worth tracking down)
Are YOU reading this, BVHE rep? I thought DVD was about CHOICES. WHERE is my optional FULLSCREEN discs for Jungle Book Platinum, Robin Hood Most Wanted, and Aristocats Special Edition? I would GLADLY pay you for those as I am not "boycotting" the titles, just the current cropped transfers.
And WHY can I buy 1.33:1 cropped versions of some titles FILMED at 1.66:1 or wider, (or have that option included on the disc) but NOT these three films which were DRAWN and FILMED at 1.33:1??!!!
I have heard that some IMAX films, which by nature are SHOT fullscreen, are being released to high-def DVD CROPPED with missing info on the top and bottom, in order to conform to the precious darling widescreen tv 1.78:1 ratio. Yet, there is nary a peep out of the high-end home theatre enthusiast community, who have historically outspokenly criticized "ignorant masses" for wanting pan and scan/cropped on the sides transfers of true wide films in order to fill 1.33:1 fullscreen TVs.
So, it is "okay" to crop off the top and bottom of 1.33:1 films to "fill the screen" of their trendy new 1.78:1 toys?
I find the general attitude of indifference in the industry about this issue, and the HYPOCRISY making it "okay" to crop off the top and bottom but "sacriledge" to do it on the sides, quite ridiculous and disturbing, to say the least!
In closing I offer this quote from Disney in the Darby O'Gill DVD packaging:
BVHE wrote: "DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE is presented as it was originally shot, in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. When released to theaters in 1959, the studio recommended projecting the image at 1.75:1, to satisfy the public's growing appetite for widescreen movies. To give the illusion of this wider image, theaters often needed to crop films at that time, and some of the picture was not seen. The following presentation has not been cropped, and none of the original image has been lost."
Notice the key word here is "to give the ILLUSION of this wider image"
With this intelligent, well written explanation on this DVD, BVHE showed that they actually GOT IT back then. Sadly, they don't get seem to "get it" anymore now. With their OWN WORDS, they offer indisputable PROOF that the recent "matted" transfers of Jungle Book, Robin Hood, and Aristocats are FLAWED, FLAWED, FLAWED!