Let me state right from the outset that when it comes to home video I am an elitist snob. I love a letterboxed laserdisc or DVD that retains a movie’s original theatrical aspect ratio. The black bars at top and bottom do not bother me, and I’m not so simple-minded to think that I’m “losing” picture information. But I’ve been seeing a lot of web pages that are quite dismissive about the fullscreen version of the new
Fellowship of the Ring release. And
one web site in particular (featured on
The One Ring) is completely misleading in its “comparison”.
The Lord of the Rings was not a 35mm anamorphic release, where the only way to present a full-screen version is to “pan & scan” left or right. The trilogy was shot on Super 35 which can handle variable aspect ratios (and can also produce a sharper image). What this boils down to, in this instance, is the fullscreen version of
LOTR:FOTR presents more picture from top to bottom but loses it on the sides; while the widescreen version (similar to what was shown in theaters) has more picture side to side but less on top and bottom.
Unlike the site linked above, here is a
real comparison taken from both releases:
Notice how the same holds true for both normal and special effects shots. (For instance, the moonlit cloud effect above Amon Sûl, in the second picture, is only viewable on the
fullscreen version.) So what am I trying to say here? Maybe that the choice is not as simple as some would make it out to be. That, in this instance at least, the fullscreen version is not all that bad. That the movie is pretty darn good in either version. And, that geeks like me can’t go wrong in getting both.
Added August 6: There. I added three more images, and I also brightened them up a bit to make them easier to study.
Added August 7: There. I added the “fellowship” group-shot comparison, by popular demand. (The full-size version looks like it’s been squeezed to fit a TV screen.)
Have you bought your copy(ies) yet?
I recently saw an unexpected Buffett mention in an AOL article titled “Millions Given to Tyco’s Ex-CEO”. Along with filching $6,000 for a shower curtain, “[l]ast summer, Tyco picked up half the tab for a $2.1 million trip to the Italian island of Sardinia, [according to the Wall Street Journal]. The central event was a 40th birthday party for [Tyco Chairman and Chief Executive Dennis] Kozlowski’s wife, Karen, with a performance by singer Jimmy Buffett.”
It’s no secret the recent success of the movie Jackass has caught the more staid Hollywood institutions by surprise. Other production companies have noted the small budget, the public interest, and yes the notoriety, and are trying to mold the idea to fit their own agenda. Therefore, instead of a bunch of masochists beating themselves up, I would humbly suggest a show where people would eat unlikely items or food combinations. It could be called Fatass and it could air on the Food Network with the potential to attract a large youth market.
I confess I was so obsessed with The Fellowship of the Ring last night that I completely forgot I had killed off my Short Fat Message Board earlier in the day. I’ve managed to restore it (that is, I’ve managed to undo the stupid setting change that made the board inaccessible), and it should be back up and running for the masses to ignore once again.
