***Official*** AOTC DVD Thread

NEVER FULLSCREEN!!! you lose 33% of the picture with fullscreen, take a look at this.

Widescreen Thing

 

Thanks Widescreen it is!

 

Official Site:

Choosing a Format

When it comes to filling out a home video library, today's consumer has more options than just a few short years ago. The popularity of the DVD format has overflowed beyond a small niche of videophiles and A/V gearheads, and is now attracting the casual consumer who enjoys movies, but may not have his or her den lined with the latest bone-shaking sound system and crystal clear plasma screens.
As a result, the choice of purchasing a full screen edition versus a widescreen edition of a movie is sometimes filled with confusion or misinformation. Aspect ratios can get even the most avid movie buff momentarily confused when terms like "4 x 3," "pan-and-scan," "2.35" and "cropped" are casually thrown about.

Come November 12, Episode II Attack of the Clones will be available on DVD in both a full screen and widescreen edition, and on VHS in full screen. Starting November 1, Episode I will be reissued on DVD, this time in a new full screen format. For those Star Wars fans that aren't completists, which version is the right one for you?

A widescreen edition of a movie presents the film frame as it was seen in the movie theater. Since a movie screen is a wide rectangle and a television screen is more like a square in shape, the movie image has to be sandwiched between two black bars to fill up the space, because you can't fit a rectangle into a square and fill it. This is also referred to as the "letterbox" format.
A full screen edition of the movie does away with the black bars, and instead fills your television from top to bottom with image. However, since it's impossible to cram a rectangle into a square, the sides of the film frame have to be chopped off (or "cropped"). You're only seeing a portion of the entire image, but that image at least fills up your television screen. This is what the disclaimer "This film has been formatted to fit your TV" means. It is also known as "pan-and-scan" format for reasons explained later on.

Most film enthusiasts will point you towards the widescreen edition. This is the version that best preserves the filmmaker's original intent. You get to see the entire frame as it was envisioned; nothing gets cut out. Considering how visually dense a Star Wars movie is, scenes like the Geonosian arena, the Clone War ground battle or the Coruscant speeder chase are jam-packed with characters and action, so cropping the image invariably results in losing some intricately-designed detail. Easter egg-hunting viewers won't be able to find the X-wing and TIE fighters in the full screen Episode II DVD, for example; they were cropped out of frame in order to fit the more important action on the screen.

But widescreen takes up valuable screen real estate with those black bars, and that annoys some. A viewer with a small television screen would be able to see the whole film frame, but at the cost of image size. With full screen, what's visible is bigger and in a higher resolution. Sure, you see less of the total image, but you are "closer" to what you do see. Some viewers think full screen provides a more engaging experience, especially in dialogue scenes, since the characters are bigger in frame, and you can more closely study their performances.
The disparity between screen sizes is the result of a battle for viewers that has been waged between the big screen of cinema and the small screen of television. Many wonder why the TV was designed as a square since most movies are rectangular in shape.

It didn't used to be that way. When televisions began to spread in 1950s, the square image area of the small screen was proportional to what you'd find in your local cinema as well. So, don't bother trying to hunt down that elusive widescreen edition of Citizen Kane -- movies of that vintage just weren't as rectangular. Their then-standard size determined the aspect ratio used in the manufacturing of televisions.

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Edit-Damn, Guff convinced you first!!

 

I just had a look at my Sunday paper and AOTC is all over the place in the ad catalogs, even right on the front covers of many. Best Buy's entire ad catalog has a Star Wars theme, with lightsabers, Yoda, Jango, etc showing up throughout.

Just thought it was interesting.

 

They were showing the Pan&Scam version of AOTC at Wal-Mart, god it looked horrible.

 

Well, the IMAX version is kind of like pan-and-scan... but I still prefer widescreen -- always have. Thank God I have a 27" TV...

 

NO Soliciting OR Condoning illegal activities

 

Never mind...

 

now more than ever have I been challenged for this selection of WS and FS. All thses things and crap have poisoned my mind in actually getting a FS version, I have always got WS. I have a 20" TV flat screen, and in WS this TV is excellent, but people say that in this movie you will lose some detail in backround, well let me tell you that in E1 I dont lose anything in backround detail. So WS will be a default option for me. I mean if you have a GOOD 20" TV like my Sony WEGA, definately get the WS version.

 

20 inches is too small. For me, anyway.

 

Anything less than 27" is too small for me!

 

Well there are a lot of us college students, like me, who don't have the money to buy a 25 or 27" inch TV. I'm content though just to be getting to watch AOTC on my 19" on Tuesday. I'll put AOTC to the test over Thanksgiving at my uncle's house and his $10,000 system. That will be fun.

 

I'll put AOTC to the test over Thanksgiving at my uncle's house and his $10,000 system. That will be fun.

Seems to me like you plan to crank up the volume...

 

$10,000 system! Whos your uncle? Bill Gates?

 

Years ago, I used to only have a 14" mono tv in my bedroom ( this is when I was still at school ! ). I still bought the original 1991 VHS releases of the Star Wars trilogy in widescreen. Widescreen is the only way to go

 

could someone post that magazine add of Toy's R us having episode 2 for 9.99$?

 

No he's not Bill Gates, but he does make quite a bit of money. His income, which is mainly on capital gains ranges from mid 6 figures to low 7 figures. He can afford those kinds of things. He has one of the most incredible sound systems I've ever heard. You should hear TPM or the Matrix on this thing. It's just as good as the movie theatre.

 

I heard Bill Gates has HD flat screen TV's on walls throughout his house that display alternating famous paintings.

 

OK well i got my copy of this long awaited set.

First this is a solid set, especially the audio and video of the film itself.

The extras are a real mixed bag sadly.

From puppets to pixels is solid, but not something that makes you want to watch it again in a hurry.

The pre-viz doco though, is way better with some fab animatics that will impress, plus Tiemens and Church's artwork is heavily shown.

Deleted scenes are duds. especially the special effects.

Menu's, trailers and tv spots are great.

usual web doco's----well already seen them.

The sound doco is pretty great as well.

The audio commentary, well not quite as interesting as it should be.

Overall a solid set but extra's fans will be somewhat mixed about it. Puppets to pixels and deleted scenes really kinda underwhelm.

So forget about the extra's on disc 2 and just watch the film again and again......

 

Hey there, I happen to be a lucky brit so I only have a few mere hours to wait now!

Its gonna be so wizard!





Yippee!

 

Ani?

 

[image=http://www.comingsoon.net/dvdreviews/images/reignoffire.jpg]

Does Matthew not look like Obi-Wan there? To me, the resemblance is striking.

Does this relate to the DVD? No.

 

Matthew?

$9.99 ??

 

that Reign of Fire cover is really cool. too bad the movie sucked.

ps. Lord Hydronium, thanks for the info.

 

Indy

I have to disagree with you there.
So far I've found the extras to be excellent. The Puppets to Pixels really showed the level of commitment that these people put into the movie. And how good they really are.
They were almost approaching some of the scenes as if an actor was deciding how to act in certain scenes. The Yoda "begun the clone war has' discussion was very insightful.
I was also very surprised at how much CG is actually used in the movie and how seemless it is. Some scenes you wouldn't expect to be CG are.

As for the deleted scenes. I really liked the Padme family scenes. I thought they should have been kept in the movie. Then I think some of those 'Natalie can't act' complaints would disappear. I do agree that some of the f/x were lacking though, compared to the movie that is.

as for the movie! I just have to say WOW. I have a pretty good system. and the sound was the best I have ever heard in a movie. better than a movie theater!
with progressive scan the movie was amazingly clean and just beautiful.
and I love how they include that THX optimizer. Even mentioning that it can be used as reference when setting up a new home theater system. It worked beautifully and made my viewing experience better.