DVDizzy Forum

Is it just me or have most Walmarts stopped carrying Widescreen versions of some films? I want to buy Nanny McPhee on DVD, the only place I know of that has the movie in WIDEscreen is Best Buy. I've tried Target & Walmart and have only seen the movie there in Full Frame. I even tried a Walmart in Loveland Colorado on my way home from vacation - they only had Nanny McPhee in FullFrame/Screen.

Is this some sort of conspiracy or is it to get us to buy HD or Blu Ray?

Wal Mart and Target have always done that, After a certain period of time once the movie becomes older they only seem to stock Full Screen. Ocasionally they will carry Widescreen for certain titles.

Thats why I hardly ever buy DVD from those places, I usually go to Best Buy or Curcuit City.

You should also be wary of the $5 bin at all Wal-Marts. They have it stuffed with Full (fool) Screen versions of a lot of big hit movies that didn't sell well and they make a big thing about them being only $5.

Stick with the major stores - Best Buy, Circuit City - when looking for older titles. When buying new releases, you can save quite a bit shopping around at BB and CC and Target and Wally World.

dvdjunkie wrote:You should also be wary of the $5 bin at all Wal-Marts. They have it stuffed with Full (fool) Screen versions of a lot of big hit movies that didn't sell well and they make a big thing about them being only $5.

All of Wal-Mart is basically like that. But first, my Wal-Mart has re-done their Bin and turned into a shelf-rack system. Which is admittedly much better organized. Then, they like to mix Wide and Full. Most are full, yeah. But I have found some Wide. I just pick it up and if it says "Full...," I make a point to vocalize my displeasure with it somewhat. In case any manager is closeby and takes the hint. I don't expect to get anywhere with that technique - but you can't read other peoples' sub-consciouses. You never know what they'll pick up on. Worth a shot.

Waaay back when 102 Dalmatians (live-action) came out to DVD, I blind bought it at Wal-Mart, and I ended up with the fullscreen version. That was when I first noticed that DVDs were sometimes released in both fullscreen and widescreen editions, so that's when I really started checking. At the time though, I think they did have both versions. It was more recently that I noticed Target (and Wal-Mart too, but I think Target is worse) often only offer the fullscreen versions of movies. It's really annoying when they're on sale at really good prices. Target puts Hilary Duff movies on sale a lot, but I'm not able to get them because of they never have the widescreen versions. And, since they're not great movies, I don't want to get them unless they're at a great sale since I am just buying them for Hilary Duff. I mainly shop at Best Buy and Circuit City too now, but I do buy from Target and Wal-Mart from time to time if the price is good and there isn't an issue about no widescreen. As for those 5 dollar bins at Wal-Mart, I love those, but you definitely DO have to be careful. They do have a lot of fullscreen versions and some films offered in unrated versions are only available in the rated versions in the 5 dollar bin. Also, often movies in the 5 dollar bins are older editions, and you can get much better editions for a bit more at Best Buy or wherever.

I really like to check the weekly adds and catch the 4.99/3.99 deals at Circuit City and Best Buy, though those are like the 5 dollar bins in that often only the older editions are on sale, or you'll buy a movie that way and a better edition of it will come out soon after (that happened to me with "The Punisher"). Just got Stephen King's Silver Bullet for 3.99 at Circuit City yesterday, which is a favorite film of mine, though the DVD IS bare bones, but I don't expect to see a better release anytime soon. However, sometimes the stores are out of stock on those deals they offer, or try to screw you buy taking off the slipcovers that week, or taking the advertised, newer versions off the shelves and trying to sell you the single disc versions at the sale price instead. Recently, the Best Buy ad advertised the 3 disc King Kong for 9.99, but when I went, they had taken those to the back and were trying to pass off the single disc version as the sale one. That ticked me right off! Well, that stuff is a bit off topic anyway.

Here's a question though, anyone know which movies sold in widescreen and fullscreen both are actually better to have in fullscreen? I've heard that is the case with the Care Bears movie and Charlotte's Web (animated). Anyone know if that's correct? Also, is there something wrong with the old widescreen release of Annie? Because the rerelease is only in fullscreen, so was it a bad widescreen? Just curious, because I only have all those films on VHS still.

That's why Wal-Mart pretty much sucks. Well, one of the reasons.

slave2moonlight wrote:Just got Stephen King's Silver Bullet for 3.99 at Circuit City yesterday, which is a favorite film of mine, though the DVD IS bare bones, but I don't expect to see a better release anytime soon.

If it makes you feel better, the R2/R4 versions contain an audio commentary by the director, so if you've got multi-region capabilities and want some SB extras...

s2m wrote:Here's a question though, anyone know which movies sold in widescreen and fullscreen both are actually better to have in fullscreen?

Well, when it comes to animated films in the 1.33:1 animation aspect ratio, you'll have people with very strong opinions on both sides of that debate ("THEATRICAL FRAMING!" versus "I WANNA SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE!"). For live-action films, though, it's best to stick to the theatrical OAR, even if the fullscreen is open-matte instead of pan&scam hackjob.

If you're interested in 2006's The Good German, that's only available in open-matte 1.33:1, as that's how the director shot it.

s2m wrote:Also, is there something wrong with the old widescreen release of Annie? Because the rerelease is only in fullscreen, so was it a bad widescreen?

No, the re-release was fullscreen because Sony had classified it as a kid's film not worth putting in widescreen (same reason re-releases for Matilda and Stuart Little, and are in pan&scam hackjobs instead of OAR). The widescreen Annie disc has become extremely hard to find these days, and I'm still kicking myself for passing up on buying a copy when I saw it in a Walgreens a couple years ago.

Scaps

Our Wal-Marts and Targets are like this. If you don't get the film in the first week or so after its release all thats left stocked is Fullscreen.

A lot of the titles in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart are also only available in Fullscreen. Some were originally Widescreen/Fullscreen flippers, and the studios dropped the Widescreen side which is a shame in my opinion. Still the $5 bin has some pretty good deals sometimes if you want to brave digging into the thing. I found some Subway wrappers in there once.... I don't want to know why or how they got there though.

The thing I find horrible is Wal-Mart showing Fullscreen DVDs on the Widescreen TVs they sale. They stretch the picture as well. I've noticed the Sam's Club down the street does this sometimes, however they do tend to stock and show Widescreen as well.

I wonder why newer films are still released in full screen these days.......I own TWO films in Full Screen (not counting Disney movies and ones that never had a widescreen version anyway) and they are Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder version) and MIB II. MIB II I was SENT Full Screen by Sony, I did not choose it (it was a free DVD offer with the purchase of a DVD player). I noticed today when I was at Target (again looking for Widescreen Nanny McPhee) that they only had the NEW Charlotte's Web in FULL SCREEN. That movie is not that old - its only been on DVD for about what, 5 - 6 months?


I feel like writing a complaint to Target corporate about the Full Screen Issue.

jediliz wrote:I wonder why newer films are still released in full screen these days.......I own TWO films in Full Screen (not counting Disney movies and ones that never had a widescreen version anyway) and they are Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder version) and MIB II. MIB II I was SENT Full Screen by Sony, I did not choose it (it was a free DVD offer with the purchase of a DVD player). I noticed today when I was at Target (again looking for Widescreen Nanny McPhee) that they only had the NEW Charlotte's Web in FULL SCREEN. That movie is not that old - its only been on DVD for about what, 5 - 6 months?


I feel like writing a complaint to Target corporate about the Full Screen Issue.

Well Fullscreen still sells, or at least it does in my area. All the local video stores only stock Fullscreen here. To get a Widescreen movie you need to visit Movie Gallery or the Blockbuster that is in another town.

I'm not sure if the Widescreen just sells faster at Wal-Mart/Target, or they stock more Fullscreen. I remember when Cars came out our Wal-Mart didn't have any copies of the Widescreen at all. I looked though the huge display and it was all Fullscreen. Of course I went to a different store to purchase the Widescreen version.

Escapay wrote:
Well, when it comes to animated films in the 1.33:1 animation aspect ratio, you'll have people with very strong opinions on both sides of that debate ("THEATRICAL FRAMING!" versus "I WANNA SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE!"). For live-action films, though, it's best to stick to the theatrical OAR, even if the fullscreen is open-matte instead of pan&scam hackjob.

s2m wrote:Also, is there something wrong with the old widescreen release of Annie? Because the rerelease is only in fullscreen, so was it a bad widescreen?

No, the re-release was fullscreen because Sony had classified it as a kid's film not worth putting in widescreen (same reason re-releases for Matilda and Stuart Little, and are in pan&scam hackjobs instead of OAR). The widescreen Annie disc has become extremely hard to find these days, and I'm still kicking myself for passing up on buying a copy when I saw it in a Walgreens a couple years ago.

Scaps

Thanks for the info. In regards to the widescreen/fullscreen stuff, I usually am most interested in getting the theatrical release aspect ratio. However, I have heard that the widescreen version of the Care Bears movie no longer exists, and I think I heard that Charlotte's Web was only made in Fullscreen or something. I was wondering if anyone can confirm those two bits, especially in regard to Charlotte's Web since they do sell two versions of it, and I was wondering if anyone had heard of any other cases like this. Was Charlotte's Web even a theatrical release? I had always grown up thinking it was made for TV, because I think that's the only way I'd ever seen it.

I actually saw a new copy of the old release of Annie at a local Hastings Entertainment store just the other day for 10 bucks, but I had just spent all I can spare this month (getting the Vault Disney Old Yeller off Ebay, Silver bullet at Circuit City, and some other stuff I needed a bit more). I hope it's still there next time I can spare the cash!

There were some framing issues with the original widescreen DVD of Annie:

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/cut_list/annie.html

Before the disc went out of print, they did release a small number of corrected discs, but there was no indication on the packaging.

littlefuzzy wrote:There were some framing issues with the original widescreen DVD of Annie:

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/cut_list/annie.html

Before the disc went out of print, they did release a small number of corrected discs, but there was no indication on the packaging.

Oh wow, I didn't know there were any actual problems (like s2m mentioned). Still, I probably would've preferred the slightly misframed scenes in widescreen over the intense chopping that ruins the p&s version. I mean, even the main menu's movie clips are in widescreen, so watching the fullscreen version is all the more disappointing!

Scaps

Okay, now I am really ticked. I was thinking about this thread when I went to one of my local Wal-Marts (we have nine Super centers here in Wichita) and I made it a point to ask the manager of the electronics department about the reasons why they elect not to carry Widescreen versions of older titles, and I was told, quote: "The public doesn't really know the difference, it's people like you that cause us trouble!"

I tried to talk to him about maybe educating his sales people so that they can talk intelligently to the consumer about the differences between "foolscreen" and Widescreen movies. He just didn't seem interested. I asked him what he does when a consumer asks why he should buy a widescreen television instead of a square one, and he couldn't answer the question.

It is my firm belief that it comes down to educating consumers to look for Widescreen movies and put pressure on stores like Wal-Mart to carry more Widescreen versions than full-screen versions of movies. I think it is how we ask about these titles, and explaining the differences intelligently to the salespeople that might get our message across. I know that I am bold enough to talk with people when I see them taking a "foolscreen" copy over a Widescreen copy of a movie, and ask them why they made that choice, and after taking time to explain to them the differences, nine times out of ten I can get them to exchange it for the Widescreen version and I feel that my mission was accomplished.

Here in Kansas a group of DVD movie collector's has solicited a petition to send to Wal-Mart and Target Stores about the differences in Widescreen and 'foolscreen' movies, and that as consumers we want them to quit carrying the fullscreen versions of movies available in Widescreen, and we wnat them to educate their people in the differences so that they may intelligently inform their customers of the differences between the two versions. After all, by 2009, all television stations will be broadcasting in digital signals only, and all major television shows will be broadcast in widescreen, so it only makes sense that the education starts today, not tomorrow, about the differences between the two formats.

[Cletus-the-slack-jawed-yokel]Hey Brandine! Pack up the kids, we's goin' to Wally-mart! I's gonna pick up a movie so we's can finally try out that deeverdee thingy yer gramma sent us! Ooo-ee! We's just like the rich folks now!"[/Cletus-the-slack-jawed-yokel]






^ The reason why Wal-Mart thinks consumers don't want widescreen!

jediliz wrote:Is it just me or have most Walmarts stopped carrying Widescreen versions of some films? I want to buy Nanny McPhee on DVD, the only place I know of that has the movie in WIDEscreen is Best Buy. I've tried Target & Walmart and have only seen the movie there in Full Frame. I even tried a Walmart in Loveland Colorado on my way home from vacation - they only had Nanny McPhee in FullFrame/Screen.

If you don't mind buying used DVDs, I'm pretty positive Blockbuster has used copies in widescreen that you can buy. Heck, the last time I went to Blockbuster -- each movie they had in the used section was mostly in widescreen (or OAR). Or if you can't find it there, go to deepdiscount.com. They offer low prices and have free shipping on anything in their store.

And Nanny McPhee's original aspect ratio is 2.35:1, so definitely go for the widescreen. I'm not as fussy about films with OARs at 1.85:1 or smaller, but I get the wide anyway.

s2m wrote: Thanks for the info. In regards to the widescreen/fullscreen stuff, I usually am most interested in getting the theatrical release aspect ratio. However, I have heard that the widescreen version of the Care Bears movie no longer exists !

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.a ... #topoftabs

.....if you take a real good look towards the very bottom you can see that it says that fullscreen is the oringal format for the care bears movie.

s2m wrote: and I think I heard that Charlotte's Web was only made in Fullscreen or something. I was wondering if anyone can confirm those two bits, especially in regard to Charlotte's Web since they do sell two versions of it, and I was wondering if anyone had heard of any other cases like this. Was Charlotte's Web even a theatrical release? I had always grown up thinking it was made for TV, because I think that's the only way I'd ever seen it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070016/

Aspect Ratio:1.85 : 1
Release Date:1 March 1973 (USA)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... db-button/

^Widescreen dvd w/ book

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... db-button/

^Widescreen dvd

littlefuzzy wrote:[Cletus-the-slack-jawed-yokel]Hey Brandine! Pack up the kids, we's goin' to Wally-mart! I's gonna pick up a movie so we's can finally try out that deeverdee thingy yer gramma sent us! Ooo-ee! We's just like the rich folks now!"[/Cletus-the-slack-jawed-yokel]






^ The reason why Wal-Mart thinks consumers don't want widescreen!

Brandine: Oh Cletus, you done got that Weedscrine again! You know it has done negro stripes on the top and bottom of our 12 inch scrine! You best done go back ter that store and get filler scrine right now! Ya heer!

Cletus: But Brandine! I over heer's a guy what said this was showin' that whole imuge.

Brandine: Now Cletus!

Cletus: yes'am.

I know Nest entertainment doesn't give a sh*t what I think, but I refuse to buy the DVD of The Swan Princess because it's not in widescreen and has no effort put into picture quality. Meanwhile it's R2 DVD IS in widescreen and looks fantasic thanks to the restoration it went through.

Escapay wrote:The widescreen Annie disc has become extremely hard to find these days, and I'm still kicking myself for passing up on buying a copy when I saw it in a Walgreens a couple years ago.

I actually found that in a drug store for $10 earlier this year. I snatched it up immediately because I knew I'd likely never find it again, brand new, for THAT good of a price.

dvdjunkie wrote:Okay, now I am really ticked. I was thinking about this thread when I went to one of my local Wal-Marts (we have nine Super centers here in Wichita) and I made it a point to ask the manager of the electronics department about the reasons why they elect not to carry Widescreen versions of older titles, and I was told, quote: "The public doesn't really know the difference, it's people like you that cause us trouble!"

I tried to talk to him about maybe educating his sales people so that they can talk intelligently to the consumer about the differences between "foolscreen" and Widescreen movies. He just didn't seem interested. I asked him what he does when a consumer asks why he should buy a widescreen television instead of a square one, and he couldn't answer the question.

It is my firm belief that it comes down to educating consumers to look for Widescreen movies and put pressure on stores like Wal-Mart to carry more Widescreen versions than full-screen versions of movies. I think it is how we ask about these titles, and explaining the differences intelligently to the salespeople that might get our message across. I know that I am bold enough to talk with people when I see them taking a "foolscreen" copy over a Widescreen copy of a movie, and ask them why they made that choice, and after taking time to explain to them the differences, nine times out of ten I can get them to exchange it for the Widescreen version and I feel that my mission was accomplished.

Here in Kansas a group of DVD movie collector's has solicited a petition to send to Wal-Mart and Target Stores about the differences in Widescreen and 'foolscreen' movies, and that as consumers we want them to quit carrying the fullscreen versions of movies available in Widescreen, and we wnat them to educate their people in the differences so that they may intelligently inform their customers of the differences between the two versions.

There's really no point in forcing a particular presentation upon people who couldn't be bothered to learn the difference. The vast majority of households still primarily (if not exclusively) have 4:3 televisions, and most average consumers find the letterbox effect irritating on these screens. There's also the fact that almost any child will prefer having a picture fill the entire screen... I've seen several of my younger cousins complain about widescreen presentation on regular TVs.

Why do you even care what other people are watching, anyway? It's equivalent (though, admittedly, much more trivial) to trying to force a particular religion or political position on someone for no other reason than you'd rather they agreed with you. Speaking for myself, as both an atheist and fairly left-leaning individual (on the Canadian spectrum, which I suppose makes me even more left-leaning in the U.S) I can say I find it incredibly irritating when I have people knocking on my door jabbering about some religion I could care less about and how I should join up, or some political candidate. Personally, I prefer not to have such discussions with strangers.

As far as these consumers go, it's not as if their buying habits will result in studios not issuing widescreen DVDs... so there's really little point in trying to change their habits.

dvdjunkie wrote:After all, by 2009, all television stations will be broadcasting in digital signals only, and all major television shows will be broadcast in widescreen, so it only makes sense that the education starts today, not tomorrow, about the differences between the two formats.

Yes, but the ATSC standard incorporates everything from SD to HD and both 4:3 and 16:9. It's true any new show will obviously be widescreen, however anything made for TV in the prior century... not to mention many TV programs in the early 2000s (and to date, pretty much any animated series) are still 4:3. The digital broadcasting will probably convince a fair number of people to upgrade their TVs... though even more will probably just stick with what they have and pick up an set-top ATSC tuner. And going by the trends, by 2009 we'll be facing a program lineup that's 95% reality trash, 4.5% generic mediocrity and 0.5% quality... so the broadcasting standards in use that year aren't exactly paramount if what's being broadcasted isn't worth watching.