The Film Talk - Latest Comments in ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Touch of Evil’ on DVD

Re: ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Touch of Evil’ on DVD

Tom — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:44:19 -0000

Poor you! I've heard about folks putting their backs out through sneezing, so it's not that unusual.

I like watching films in the ratio they were intended to be by their makers. It was such a great breakthrough when we were finally able to see films in their full format at home. I always smile to myself now when watching older films where the director has deliberately added a shot that is going to completely screw the guys who then had to create the pan and scan version - like two characters talking at opposite sides of the frame.

Re: ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Touch of Evil’ on DVD

Jett Loe — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:23:51 -0000

Aspect Ratio Action

Re: ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Touch of Evil’ on DVD

Phil — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:20:05 -0000

It depends on the movie, I guess. I certainly prefer a larger picture than a smaller one, and certain widescreen ratios really squeeze the "letterbox" down - but if I'm seeing a movie like "Lawrence of Arabia", I want to see the entire width of the shot. Something else that is more "character" driven and not as "cinematic", I'm fine with the old pan 'n scan.

I still have figured out the widescreen tv ratios - are they 1.85/1 or something else? And why can't they format a movie to fill the widescreen TV, without blacking out the top and bottom and without distorting the picture to fill in the entire screen, in a format just like HDTV shows do? Or do they and I can't figure it out? This would seem like a fair compromise.