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Channels Showing Full Widescreen Films
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Libretio
14-03-2011
Originally Posted by Paddy C:
“I've only ever seen 2 films on Channel 5 in 2.35:1. Monster House and Last of the Mohicans. One is a Sony release, the other 20th Century Fox. As Channel 5 have shown other premieres from both these studios but cropped, it makes you wonder if it's two 2.35:1 showings were acidents or not.”

JCVD was also screened at 2.35:1 sometime last year, and I'm sure there was one other whose title escapes me at the moment.

The titles are so random that 'accidents' is the only word to describe it. Aside from C5, the BBC seems to be having too many 'accidents' for it to be described as random, but they're horrifically inconsistent...
Libretio
15-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“JCVD was also screened at 2.35:1 [on Channel 5] sometime last year, and I'm sure there was one other whose title escapes me at the moment.”

My memory was jogged last night by LOST IN SPACE on 5Star, which was screened at 2.35:1. It premiered on Channel 5 at the same ratio, but subsequent showings were cropped to 16:9. Yep, 'accidents' is most certainly the word to use...
RussellIan
15-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“It was 16:9 again but not stretched, just very badly 'blown up' in terms of PQ. The colour wasn't so much faded as just 'wrong'-seeming.

I didn't catch the repeat of DEATH DRUMS ALONG THE RIVER, but it sounds very much like the same print C4 have been flogging to death from the outset. Mind you, there was very definitely a vertical squeeze on the version I saw, which took pounds off the cast's collective waistline! And, yes, the colours were really quite ugly...”

I remember your DDATR posts on the C4 forums, and indeed I caught it in that period too and noticed the vertical squeeze. This definitely wasn't the case in last week's screening - it was just very poorly 'blown up' (or rather, down, I supposed technically speaking) into the 16:9 frame. The colours - well they were just smudged shall we say, which is what I expect really from such a poor frame-filling job, comes with the low-grade resolution territory.
pad_ehh
16-03-2011
Universal Soldier: Regeneration was shown in 2.35:1 last night on ITV 4.
DVDfever
16-03-2011
Originally Posted by Paddy C:
“Universal Soldier: Regeneration was shown in 2.35:1 last night on ITV 4.”

Blimey, that one came around quickly. I was really looking forward to it when I saw it on Blu-ray, but it really was a missed opportunity for a number of reasons.
Libretio
16-03-2011
Originally Posted by RussellIan:
“I remember your DDATR posts on the C4 forums, and indeed I caught it in that period too and noticed the vertical squeeze. This definitely wasn't the case in last week's screening - it was just very poorly 'blown up' (or rather, down, I supposed technically speaking) into the 16:9 frame. The colours - well they were just smudged shall we say, which is what I expect really from such a poor frame-filling job, comes with the low-grade resolution territory.”

The fact that it was shot in Techniscope on gawd knows what kind of film stock wouldn't have helped the resolution! But there again, I've seen a number of 2-perf movies on DVD which looked quite beautiful (including DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS). Not perfect, mind, but a hell of a sight better than poor old DEATH DRUMS ALONG THE RIVER...
Libretio
16-03-2011
Originally Posted by Paddy C:
“Universal Soldier: Regeneration was shown in 2.35:1 last night on ITV 4.”

You beat me to it!

Will be checking this one out when it's repeated next week. I've always liked JC Van Damme - he doesn't take himself too seriously (see any of his interviews), he's got a fabulous bum (see the original UNIVERSAL SOLDIER), and he can act very well indeed when given the right material (see JCVD, especially the scene in which he gives a heartfelt speech directly to camera which comes out of nowhere and is genuinely moving! I mean, who'da thunk?!). Oh, and in his day, he could kick butt with the best of 'em, too...
Libretio
17-03-2011
Surprised to see no one has jumped in to note that AMADEUS: DIRECTOR'S CUT was, indeed, screened at 2.35:1 by the Beeb last night. It would have been unforgivable to do otherwise. I haven't seen the film in a while, but the BBC version looked scrubbed and beautiful, over and above any other version I've seen on TV before.
DVDfever
17-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“Surprised to see no one has jumped in to note that AMADEUS: DIRECTOR'S CUT was, indeed, screened at 2.35:1 by the Beeb last night. It would have been unforgivable to do otherwise. I haven't seen the film in a while, but the BBC version looked scrubbed and beautiful, over and above any other version I've seen on TV before.”

I glanced at it last night, but assumed someone else would've beaten me to it as it was at least half-over
Libretio
18-03-2011
2.35:1 movies across the Freeview platform next week (19 - 25 March):


• THE 51st STATE (E4)

• THE APPALOOSA [1966] (ITV 4)
• APPALOOSA [2008] (Film4)
• ARIZONA RAIDERS (C4)

• BLOOD ALLEY (Channel 5) [2.55:1]
• THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (ITV 2)
• BOY ON A DOLPHIN (More4)
• BULLETPROOF (5USA)
• BUNNY & THE BULL (Film4)

• CASINO ROYALE (ITV 1)
• CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (More4)
• CONSPIRACY THEORY (5USA)

• DEATH RACE (Channel 5)
• DUNE (5USA)

• EVAN ALMIGHTY (ITV 1)

• FATHOM (Film4)
• FROM HELL TO TEXAS (Film4)

• GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (ITV 1)
• GOOD MORNING, MISS DOVE (C4) [2.55:1]
• GUNMAN'S WALK (C4)

• HELLFIGHTERS (Channel 5)
• HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (Channel 5)
• THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (ITV 3)

• IN BRUGES (Film4)
• INFERNAL AFFAIRS [Wu Jian Dao] (Film4)
• THE INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS (Film4)

• JAWS III [Jaws 3-D] (ITV 4)

• KALIFORNIA (C4)
• KEEPING MUM (Film4)
• K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER (Film4)
• KNOCK OFF (Channel 5)

• LADYHAWKE (Film4)
• THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (Film4)
• LOST IN SPACE (5Star)

• THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (BBC 2) [2.55:1]
• McLINTOCK! (More4)
• MERCURY RISING (ITV 1)

• THE QUEST (ITV 4)

• ROMEO MUST DIE (Channel 5)

• SERENITY (ITV 4)
• SHATTERED GLASS (BBC 1)
• SHOOTER (C4)
• S1MΨNE (Film4)
• SIN NOMBRE (BBC 4)
• STEALTH (Channel 5)
• ST. ELMO'S FIRE (5Star)

• TAXI (E4)

• UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION (ITV 4)

• WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS... (Film4)
mike65
19-03-2011
I was watching Fathom on Film Four yesterday in full widescreen, there was a notable curvature at the left/right edges when the camera panned.
Libretio
19-03-2011
Originally Posted by mike65:
“I was watching Fathom on Film Four yesterday in full widescreen, there was a notable curvature at the left/right edges when the camera panned.”

That was a consequence of some early anamorphic lenses (the movie was shot in Franscope), which created slight distortions at the very edges of the frame. It was especially pronounced in some of the early titles shot with CinemaScope lenses, but not to the point where it would distract from the compositions, narrative, etc.
mike65
19-03-2011
Cheers for that, I was tending towards blaming a poor transfer.
Libretio
19-03-2011
Something I forgot to mention about those early 'scope' films is that they were designed to be projected onto H-U-G-E, curved screens, much bigger than many of the screens operating in today's cattleplexes, and the distortions at either edge of the frame were often 'corrected' when viewed on appropriately curved surfaces, since the curvature tended to 'flatten' things out again. Sadly, when viewed on a TV screen, the distortions are rendered all the more apparent. But, as I say, not to the detriment of the overall visual effect.
DVDfever
20-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“That was a consequence of some early anamorphic lenses (the movie was shot in Franscope), which created slight distortions at the very edges of the frame. It was especially pronounced in some of the early titles shot with CinemaScope lenses, but not to the point where it would distract from the compositions, narrative, etc.”

I kind of miss the days when films were shot like that, not with a massive distortion (I didn't see this particular film) but when watching, for example, The Man Who Fell To Earth, recently, it gave it something that today's 2.35:1 films just don't have (mainly because they're just shot 'flat' with Super 35).

That said, the Blu-ray due out in 2 weeks, isn't a great thing to shout about in terms of the picture quality:
http://dvdfever.co.uk/reviews/manwho.shtml
Libretio
20-03-2011
Originally Posted by DVDfever:
“I kind of miss the days when films were shot like that, not with a massive distortion (I didn't see this particular film) but when watching, for example, The Man Who Fell To Earth, recently, it gave it something that today's 2.35:1 films just don't have (mainly because they're just shot 'flat' with Super 35).”

[Sharp intake of breath] Don't get me started on the way Super 35 has corrupted the use of lateral composition in widescreen films!

What you get in most films shot in this 'process' is nothing more than a 1.85:1 or 1.33:1 image with the top and bottom cut off. Add to that a ridiculous emphasis on close-ups and medium shots, and now a reliance on 'shakey-cam' for (ahem!) 'documentary realism', and you have nothing more than a visual mess, with no sense of composition at all, whether lateral or otherwise. Most filmmakers seem to be going for size rather than width, which wouldn't be so bad if it was confined to a handful of films, but it's now become the norm, and those films which really DO use the scope frame to any meaningful effect stand out for precisely that reason.

Excuse the rant. I'm off the medication again...
DarthFader
20-03-2011
I think that on the EPG there should be a new set of initials. Instead of just W for everything widescreen, there should be a CS for Cinema Scope or something on those lines.
DVDfever
20-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“[Sharp intake of breath] Don't get me started on the way Super 35 has corrupted the use of lateral composition in widescreen films!

What you get in most films shot in this 'process' is nothing more than a 1.85:1 or 1.33:1 image with the top and bottom cut off. Add to that a ridiculous emphasis on close-ups and medium shots, and now a reliance on 'shakey-cam' for (ahem!) 'documentary realism', and you have nothing more than a visual mess, with no sense of composition at all, whether lateral or otherwise. Most filmmakers seem to be going for size rather than width, which wouldn't be so bad if it was confined to a handful of films, but it's now become the norm, and those films which really DO use the scope frame to any meaningful effect stand out for precisely that reason.

Excuse the rant. I'm off the medication again... ”

Fully agreed... on the first bit, not the medication. I'm not a doctor

On that note, Something for Tim Lovejoy's Ego showed a clip of the new BBC drama, "The Crimson Petal and the White". I was only half-watching the show at the time and didn't realise it wasn't a film, but it looked like an open-matte scene from a 2.35:1 film where the composition was all over the place.

It'll be on Iplayer later, around 20 mins in when Chris O'Dowd (who's in the film) was interviewed.

Originally Posted by DarthFader:
“I think that on the EPG there should be a new set of initials. Instead of just W for everything widescreen, there should be a CS for Cinema Scope or something on those lines.”

Or, for most of the channels, (WDIPFAC) "We're Doing It Properly For A Change"
Libretio
20-03-2011
Originally Posted by DVDfever:
“Or, for most of the channels, (WDIPFAC) "We're Doing It Properly For A Change" ”

And they can add: "AFTT" (About Time, Too).

One of the words is missing from my translation of that acronym, but since it starts with 'F', I'm sure you can all work it out for yourselves...
DVDfever
20-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“And they can add: "AFTT" (About Time, Too).

One of the words is missing from my translation of that acronym, but since it starts with 'F', I'm sure you can all work it out for yourselves... ”

*checks dictionary* Fuchsia?
Libretio
21-03-2011
Originally Posted by DVDfever:
“*checks dictionary* Fuchsia?”

So close, and yet so far...

On a day when so many scope films were cropped and ruined across the Freeview platform yesterday, only SIN NOMBRE was broadcast at the full 2.35:1, on BBC 4.
DVDfever
21-03-2011
Originally Posted by Libretio:
“So close, and yet so far...

On a day when so many scope films were cropped and ruined across the Freeview platform yesterday, only SIN NOMBRE was broadcast at the full 2.35:1, on BBC 4.”

Blimey, that premiere went out without fanfare. It's on again Tues night/Weds morning at 12.30am but I didn't go a bundle on it. Paulina Gaitan was also in We Are What We Are, which is out today, but that didn't work for me either (I've put links below to save going into detail here). However, I'm prepared to give Ms Gaitan another chance


http://dvdfever.co.uk/reviews/sinnombre.shtml
http://dvdfever.co.uk/reviews/weare.shtml
jzee
22-03-2011
BBC One showing Bronx Tale in 4:3 , though the anamorphic widescreen release seems rare, only on DVD in Scandinavia and even imdb doesn't seem to mention the original ratio . BBC One HD is not showing the logo, are they dropping this for all upscaled programmes now or just films or 4:3 content?
pad_ehh
22-03-2011
The have dropped the DOG for films recently I have found. So major plus there.

Death Race premiered on Channel 5 last night in HD. But unfortunately, cropped.
jzee
22-03-2011
Originally Posted by Paddy C:
“The have dropped the DOG for films recently I have found. So major plus there.”

On BBC HD too? Regarding Bronx Tale, given the credits I think 4:3 may have been the correct ratio i.e. open matted and the 16:9 version is actually a crop?
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