The part I saw of TWWL did look cropped at the sides, but as I didn't see the film in the cinema and haven't on DVD I can't confirm, but as far as I'm aware it's meant to be 2.35:1.

FRIDAY THE 13th is definitely meant to be 1.85:1, though the DVD I saw was opened up slightly to 1.78:1.

I went looking for details on this one a long time ago, to see if it WAS meant to be 2.35:1, and could find absolutely no conclusive evidence one way or the other! Unless anyone is lucky enough to catch a theatrical screening (unlikely), or some enterprising distrib puts it out on home video at the original ratio, it seems this one will remain a mystery...

Didn't realise LIMITLESS was 2.39:1, but C4 screened it OAR the other night, which was very welcome. Good film, too.

D.A.R.Y.L. surprisingly screened OAR on Movie Mix yesterday, and PASSENGER 57 got its OAR premiere on C5, after languishing in 16:9 cropped hell for many years on the ITV circuit.

Makes a change for Passenger 57. It's looked terrible on ITV2 for many years. Will have to check it out on C5 at some point. It's not the best film ever, but it's a bit of a laugh.

Unless there's a great clamour for their return, I've opted to drop the name of the photographic process from the relevant entries. Prior to 1990, the vast majority of films were shot in what I'd call 'real' widescreen, whereas the vast majority (though not all) post-1990 films are shot in 'crop-scope', in exactly the same way that 1.85:1 films are shot, except for the wider aspect ratio. All other details in the following list remain the same.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all films in the following list were projected at 2.35:1 prior to 1971, and at 2.39:1 thereafter)

Scope and 3-D movies across the Freeview platform for the coming week (16 - 22 March):


Saturday (16 March)

• 27 Dresses (Film 4)
• Africa United (BBC 2)
• Air America (ITV 3)
• The Bravados (Film 4)
• D.A.R.Y.L. (Movie Mix)
• Elektra (5*)
• Julia's Eyes [Los Ojos de Julia] (Film 4)
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (BBC 3)
• The Legend of Zorro (5*)
• Mars Attacks! (ITV 4)
• The Prophecy (Movie Mix)
• Rollerball (Movie Mix)
• The Singer Not the Song (ITV 4)
• Summer Holiday (ITV 3)
• The Transporter [Le Transporteur] (5 USA)
• Transporter 2 [Le Transporteur 2] (E4)
• U-571 (5 USA)
• Where Eagles Dare (ITV 4)


Sunday (17 March)

• 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Film 4)
• Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (C5)
• Down in the Valley (BBC 2)
• The Elephant Man (ITV 3)
• King Kong (ITV 2)
• The Lady Vanishes (Film 4)
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (BBC 3)
• Legally Blonde (C5)
• The Legend of Zorro(5*)
• The Long Kiss Goodnight (C5)
• The Perfect Catch [Fever Pitch] (Film 4)
• Salt (C4)
• Silent Light [Stellet Licht] (C4)
• Summer Holiday (ITV 3)
• Sunshine (C4)
• Transformers (E4)


Monday (18 March)

• Australia (Film 4)
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• In God's Hands (Movie Mix)
• In Too Deep (Movie Mix)
• Mars Attacks! (ITV 4)
• Revolver (C5)
• Speed (5*)


Tuesday (19 March)

• The Contract (5 USA)
• Cradle 2 the Grave (5 USA)
• Man About Town (Movie Mix)
• Robin Hood (Film 4)
• Storm Over the Nile (Film 4)
• The Year of Living Dangerously (BBC 1)


Wednesday (20 March)

• 17 Again (E4)
• Blue Thunder (Movie Mix)
• Bulletproof Monk (5*)
• The Devil Wears Prada (Film 4)
• Dragoon Wells Massacre (Film 4)
• Pushing Tin (C4)
• The Remains of the Day (Film 4)
• U-571 (5 USA)


Thursday (21 March)

• Entrapment (Film 4)
• The Lady Vanishes (Film 4)
• Training Day (ITV 4)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Film 4)


Friday (22 March)

• Blind Date (Movie Mix)
• Copycat (More 4)
• Lake Placid (Film 4)
• Monsters (Film 4)
• The Perfect Catch [Fever Pitch] (Film 4)
• Primal (Film 4)
• Scream (BBC 1)
• Transporter 2 [Le Transporteur 2] (E4)

The film The Transporter on 5 USA on Saturday 16th was changed when they got into it! They cropped it to 16:9!

Africa United available in HD and OAR on the iPlayer... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...Africa_United/

Nice to see ITV has updated their copy of THE ELEPHANT MAN - it 'premiered' OAR on ITV 3 last night. A great example of scope photography, it's also pretty damn timeless - produced 33 years ago, it might just as well have been made yesterday.

Absolutely agree with that - it's an all-time favourite of mine. It's a great example of black and white photography too - shot on real black and white 35mm film, not shot in colour and printed in b/w like almost all new b/w films.

The 1979 version of THE LADY VANISHES is currently showing in 16:9 on Film 4.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all films in the following list were projected at 2.35:1 prior to 1971, and at 2.39:1 thereafter)

Scope and 3-D movies across the Freeview platform for the coming week (23 - 29 March):


Saturday (23 March)

• Australia (Film 4)
• Babylon A.D. (E4)
• Blind Date (Movie Mix)
• Bunny & the Bull (Film 4)
• The Comancheros (More 4)
• Cradle 2 the Grave (5 USA)
• The Green Berets (C5)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC 2)
• King Kong (ITV 2)
• Kung Fu Panda (BBC 1)
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (BBC 3)
• National Treasure (BBC 1)
• Notorious (C4)
• Police Story III - Super Cop [警察故事III超級警察] (Movie Mix)
• The Proposal (BBC 1)
• The Silence [Der Letzte Schweigen] (BBC 4)
• Slumdog Millionaire (Film 4)
• Speed (5*)
• Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew From London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (Film 4) [Todd-AO] [2.21:1]
• The Three Musketeers (Film 4)
• Thunderbolt [霹靂火] (Movie Mix)
• The Time Traveler's Wife (C4)
• Venom (BBC 1)
• The Young Ones (ITV 3)
• Zodiac (BBC 2)


Sunday (24 March)

• 17 Again (E4)
• Blind Date (Movie Mix)
• Blue Thunder (Movie Mix)
• Cheaper By the Dozen 2 (Film 4)
• The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (Film 4)
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (C5)
• The Goonies (C5)
• I'm Not Scared [Io Non Ho Paura] (C4)
• Kill List (C4)
• Legally Blonde (C5)
• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (ITV 2)
• Red (C4)
• The Way West (ITV 4)
• The Young Ones (ITV 3)


Monday (25 March)

• Bulletproof Monk (5*)
• Dragoon Wells Massacre (Film 4)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Film 4)
• Road House (C5)
• Storm Over the Nile (Film 4)
• Street Fighter (Movie Mix)


Tuesday (26 March)

• Passenger 57 (5 USA)
• The Remains of the Day (Film 4)


Wednesday (27 March)

• Copycat (More 4)
• First Men in the Moon (Film 4)
• Grease (E4)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Film 4)
• Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew From London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (Film 4) [Todd-AO] [2.21:1]


Thursday (28 March)

• The Comancheros (More 4)
• Kelly's Heroes (ITV 4)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Film 4)
• The Punisher (5 USA)
• Watchmen (Film 4)


Good Friday

• Babylon A.D. (E4)
• Barabbas (C5) [Super Technirama 70] [2.21:1]
• Carlos (C4)
• Casualties of War (Yesterday)
• Cheaper By the Dozen 2 (Film 4)
• Escape to Victory [Victory] (ITV 4)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Film 4)
• Fiddler on the Roof (5 USA)
• The Iron Giant (C4)
• Kelly's Heroes (ITV 4)
• Lawrence of Arabia (Yesterday) [Super Panavision 70] [2.21:1]
• Lonely Are the Brave (ITV 4)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Film 4)
• No Country for Old Men (More 4)
• North West Frontier (BBC 2)
• Ratatouille (BBC 1)
• The Robe (More 4) [CinemaScope] [2.55:1]
• Son of Rambow (BBC 1)
• Street Fighter (Movie Mix)
• The Three Musketeers (Film 4)
• The Transporter [Le Transporteur] (5 USA)
• Unbreakable (ITV 2)
• Universal Soldier: Regeneration (ITV 4)

I know Libretio doesn't post lists of Scope films getting Blu-ray releases any more, but I'd just like to mention the 2012 Australian horror film 6 PLOTS, which is out on DVD in the UK tomorrow.

Let's pass over the jokes about it being a cheesy film (the female lead is called Brie) that can't come up with one good plot...

The film was shot digitally (Red camera) and shown theatrically in a ratio of 2.39:1. The DVD transfer is in a ratio of 1.78:1, apart from the opening and closing credits which are letterboxed in the correct ratio. Given that the Red has a native ratio of 16:9 (apart from those movies shot using anamorphic lenses, e.g. some recent ones from Steven Soderbergh) a 1.78:1 transfer should keep the full width and just increase picture height. In the case of this DVD, they've taken the 2.39:1 version and cropped the sides off it - as can be seen by comparing certain shots with those in the trailer, which is the only extra on the disc and is in 2.39:1.

Not impressed.

Trouble is, if some/all of the SFX have only been composed for scope ratio then the 16:9 ratio will look a bit odd if they transfer it like that.

True, but there's not much in the way of special effects in this one.

it sounds like they have lost the plot on this one regarding original aspect ratio, I know that blueray/HD films have had this problem but this is certainly worse! I wish when widescreen formats for TV were decided that the 2.35/2.39:1 ratio had been chosen or that flatscreens were started in this ratio so when blueray came out it was natively 2.39 by default. Then this wouldnt be an issue but we are now stuck with 16:9 as the main format just like 4:3 was the only TV format pre widescreen. This really is a step backwards for OAR and im very unimpressed!

if I remember rightly when films like Titanic were made with a 4:3 frame on the film and just the special effects were made in scope they only did pan and scan on those bits or so I am aware I wonder why it wasn't considered like that for this? or why they do this butchery in the first place when there is enough resolution to put a scope film in 16:9 anamorphic without to much loss in quality or to much letterboxing!

letterboxing and pillerboxing are obviously seen as unpopular but some people just dont realise they are there for a good reason

Who knows. There's a reasonable 4:3 version of Reservoir Dogs available, but C5 just seem to crop the 2.35:1 version.

Many thanks for posting a heads-up on this one. I've seen a few DVD/BR's which do this (BURIED being a recent - and highly egregious - example), and it's always a pain in the arse. The distribs are either oblivious or contemptuous of the viewers, along with the films themselves. Either that, or a 16:9 master is the only thing they've been given by the rights-holder. But since they never bother to explain themselves, it just makes it look like incompetence or contempt. Take yer pick.

I have to echo DVDfever's response to the above comment. This is something that so many people seem to believe about 16:9 transfers of 'open matte' scope films, that they're somehow just opened up at top and bottom for the 16:9 version. If that was true, it would throw some compositions off so much, it would become clearly obvious that something was 'up'. In fact, most transfers are just as 'pan-scanned' as anamorphic films, except that the extra head-room and leg-room (as it were) gives the telecine artist more room to manoeuvre his/her way around the image, in such a way that it becomes invisible to the viewer whilst hiding the compositional imbalance (ie, they don't just pan-scan from side to side, they zoom in and out/up and down, too, if you see what I mean). This is true for intimate dramas, along with FX-heavy extravaganzas.

I knew they did that years ago with 4:3 for vhs years ago, but I didnt know they did that now with 16:9! Its a blatant rip off in the extreme! they clearly dont need to ether rights reasons or not, in face what is it that they cant show the whole thing 'due to rights reasons'? and if its to please people who want a image to fill their screen then those people have not been educated properly and it should start in the shops with the sales reps who sell TVs and explanations on TV and whatever other ways they can.

Just to mention that Movie Mix screened both THUNDERBOLT and POLICE STORY III - SUPER COP in OAR the other night. The latter was dubbed (Jackie Chan using his own voice for the English version) and screened in its US variant, with the onscreen title SUPERCOP. It was the last 20 minutes of this film that persuaded me - beyond any doubt - that Chan was (is?) worthy of the greatest respect. Just that bit with the helicopter alone makes your jaw drop, given the possibilities for death and destruction for all involved. And don't even get me started on the motorbike landing on top of a moving train...

Road House on Channel 5 was cropped to 1:85.1 on Monday night.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all films in the following list were projected at 2.35:1 prior to 1971, and at 2.39:1 thereafter)

* = May not be screened in all areas (check your local listings).

Scope and 3-D movies across the Freeview platform for the coming week (30 March - 5 April):



Saturday (30 March)

• 300 (ITV 1)*
• The Big Country (C5) [Technirama]
• Brooklyn Rules (BBC 2)
• Carriers (Film 4)
• The Devil's Own (Movie Mix)
• Entrapment (Film 4)
• Eragon (Film 4)
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Film 4)
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo [Män som Hatar Kvinnor] (Film 4)
• Guns of the Magnificent Seven (C5)
• The Incredible Hulk (ITV 1)
• Matilda (Movie Mix)
• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (ITV 2)
• Oliver Twist (More 4)
• The Secret in Their Eyes [El Secreto de Sus Ojos] (BBC 4)
• Universal Soldier: Regeneration (ITV 4)
• The Wackiest Ship in the Army (Yesterday)
• The Way West (ITV 4)


Easter Day

• Anaconda (Movie Mix)
• Blade: Trinity (E4)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [3-D]
• City of Ember (Film 4)
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (Film 4)
• Enigma (BBC 2)
• Galaxy Quest (BBC 2)
• Ghost Rider (C5)
• The Goonies (C5)
• Grease (E4)
• Hairspray (Film 4)
• Matilda (Movie Mix)
• The Mummy (ITV 2)
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (ITV 1)
• Peter Pan (ITV 2)
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers [CinemaScope] [2.55:1]
• Shrek Forever After (BBC 3) [3-D]
• SWAT (C5)
• Vampires (Movie Mix)
• Waterloo (Yesterday)


Easter Monday

• Anzio (Yesterday)
• Beauty [Skoonheid] (C4)
• Bird on a Wire (ITV 3)
• Dr. Who and the Daleks (C5)
• Escape to Victory [Victory] (ITV 4)
• Executive Decision (C5)
• How to Train Your Dragon (BBC 3) [3-D]
• The Jewel of the Nile (Film 4)
• Lonely Are the Brave (ITV 4)
• Matilda (Movie Mix)
• The Mummy Returns (ITV 2)
• Rollerball (Movie Mix)
• The Spiderwick Chronicles (Film 4)
• Underclassman (BBC 1)
• Unknown (Film 4)
• xXx: The Next Level [xXx: State of the Union] (Dave)


Tuesday (2 April)

• Casino (ITV 4)
• The Devil's Own (Movie Mix)
• First Men in the Moon (Film 4)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Film 4)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Film 4)
• Poltergeist (BBC 1)
• The Punisher (5 USA)
• Vampires (Movie Mix)


Wednesday (3 April)

• And When Did You Last See Your Father? (C4)
• The Golden Compass (Film 4)
• Insomnia (BBC 1)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Film 4)
• The Matrix (5*)
• No Country for Old Men (More 4)
• Shrek the Third [3-D]


Thursday (4 April)

• Eragon (Film 4)
• Ghost Rider (C5)
• He's Just Not That Into You (Film 4)
• The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (BBC 1)
• Micmacs [Mic Macs a Tire-Larigot] (Film 4)
• Scarface (ITV 4)


Friday (5 April)

• Adrift [Open Water 2] (Film 4)
• Anaconda (Movie Mix)
• The Art of War (5 USA)
• Blade: Trinity (E4)
• The Bourne Identity (ITV 2)
• Breaking and Entering (BBC 2)
• Casino (ITV 4)
• City of Ember (Film 4)
• The Disappearance of Alice Creed (BBC 1)
• Hairspray (Film 4)
• Heat (Film 4)
• King Kong (ITV 1)*
• Man About Town (Movie Mix)
• Oliver Twist (More 4)

I wish Channel 4 HD removed the DOG as its very distracting !

No chance of that anytime soon - it's a battle that seems to have been lost.

Who else noticed that ITV 1 has started adding an unwelcome pimple to the top-left corner of that particular channel? Thank god I don't watch it very often...

You mean the bit that says 'HD'?