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Widescreen or Fullscreen?

Discussion in 'Archive: The Amphitheatre' started by JediTrilobite, Oct 15, 2003.

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  1. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

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    Nov 17, 1999
    Maybe I didn't clarify..the discs are loaded with bonus stuff, they just split the bonus stuff between discs 1 and 2. I'm just glad we got both fs/ws in one package.

    Ah. Stargate did that two, except that they have the Theatrical Edition and the Director's Cut on two disks...
     
  2. Darth Dark Helmet

    Darth Dark Helmet Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 27, 1999
    waste of space... stick one version on each side of the disk. Then you have an extra disk for extras...

    Plus, I hate those discs. Call me picky and anal about my DVDs, but I like having the label on the side, it just looks better.
     
  3. weezer

    weezer Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    May 16, 2001
    The double sided discs seem incosistant too. It seems to me that there are some of my DVDs that you place the side you want up and others the side you want placed down. Its a poin cause I can't ever remember which disc works which way and I usually end up flipping the disk.
     
  4. EBSaints

    EBSaints Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    May 29, 2002
    It doesn't really matter to me. I have both wide and full screen DVDs in my collection. It took getting used to the widescreen version at first. I don't have a big TV, and widescreen looks small at first, but you get used to it while watching the movie.

    Most people have always seen full screen when renting VHS movies, so they are used to full screen. People go with what they are used to. I like having the choice, but instead of selling 2 different versions, I think it would be better to offer both versions in one and let the people choose after.
     
  5. SL-SX388

    SL-SX388 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2003
    The only bad thing I see with widescreen is the image size. People who don't have huge TV screens like all of us dorks in here don't want any of the screen taken up by black bars. And I wouldn't either. If you have a small TV, wouldn't you rather see a close up shot of Darth Maul in fullscreen, rather than wide? It just makes the image that much more powerful.

     
  6. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

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    Nov 17, 1999
    Plus, I hate those discs. Call me picky and anal about my DVDs, but I like having the label on the side, it just looks better.

    I agree.
     
  7. Darth Dark Helmet

    Darth Dark Helmet Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 27, 1999
    If you have a small TV, wouldn't you rather see a close up shot of Darth Maul in fullscreen, rather than wide?

    No. I've watched widescreen movies on everything from a 27 inch TV to a computer monitor to a 13 inch TV. I'd rather see the whole movie. I may not get to see the close up in all its glory, but in say, TPM, I'd rather see the object that Maul throws at the door control or Obi-Wan lazily twirling his saber as he walks toward him.
     
  8. rpeugh

    rpeugh Force Ghost star 4

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    Apr 10, 2002
    The only reasonable solution is to ban fullscreen. I am being serious. THere are very sound,logical,legal reasons to do this. The filmmakers have the right to present the films the way they want them to be seen. If GL has the right not to release the Original OT, shouldnt filmmakers have the right not to release thier movies in full screen? If you have a good movie, people wont refuse to buy them just because they are not available in the full screen format.
     
  9. TadjiStation

    TadjiStation Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jun 8, 2001
    Unfortunately, it's not that cut and dry. Films are the property of the studios that distribute them, not the director's.

    That said, if a director of considerable power (say GL or Spielberg) wants to wait for the right time to release a film of theirs on DVD, they can sway the studio to their thinking. The Indy Triliogy is a good example of this. I was under the impression that the quality of DVD's presentation was as much of a factor to release as were the digital FX cleanup and new 5.1 mixes (which, strangely enough, are not available in DTS, a parameter that Spielberg wanted on all of his movies...).

    As to my personal opinion, I like my Widescreen. I like to see the whole picture! :)
     
  10. weezer

    weezer Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    May 16, 2001
    If you have a small TV, wouldn't you rather see a close up shot of Darth Maul in fullscreen, rather than wide? It just makes the image that much more powerful.


    I'm pretty much just going to say was DDH said but...

    I think its more powerful to see the image as the director shot it. I can't think of a good Darth Maul example but look at the new Matrix movies (no comments on quality, its just an example). Yeah I could see a fullscreen shot of Keanu or Fishburn but I'd lose the hand movements and other nuances that would be off screen that make those scenes powerful.
     
  11. SL-SX388

    SL-SX388 Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Aug 9, 2003
    I fully agree that with a big TV, fullscreen is the only way to go. But if you have a small TV, wouldn't you rather see what you really need to see up close instead of squinting to see the characters and anything else that happens on the side i.e. the droid's head that DM flings?
     
  12. Darth Dark Helmet

    Darth Dark Helmet Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 27, 1999
    No. Like I said, I've watched widescreen movies on a 13" TV. For while that was what I had, and that was how I watched Star Wars. I never had a problem.
     
  13. Katya Jade

    Katya Jade Administrator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jan 19, 2002
    But if you have a small TV, wouldn't you rather see what you really need to see up close instead of squinting to see the characters and anything else that happens on the side i.e. the droid's head that DM flings?

    Nope. I've got a 19" tv in my bedroom and I'd still rather watch any movie in widescreen than in full screen. I was watching Ben Hur on tv the other day and was horrified at how much is cut out of viewing when they don't do widescreen. When you're watching the movie, you don't worry about having it a bit smaller in order to see the film as it was meant to be seen.
     
  14. SL-SX388

    SL-SX388 Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Aug 9, 2003
    I said: I fully agree that with a big TV, fullscreen is the only way to go.

    woops, i meant widescrean. heh heh.
     
  15. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

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    Nov 17, 1999
    There should be a way to replace your full screen DVDs for widescreen.
     
  16. itchytasty79

    itchytasty79 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Oct 2, 2001
    There is: you buy new widescreen dvd's and sell the fullscreen ones on EBay. :p
     
  17. Not George Lucas

    Not George Lucas Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Oct 20, 1998
    There needs to be a distinction between Fullscreen and Pan and Scan. Fullscreen is the aspect ratio of the standard television screen, and it used to be the standard ratio for a movie screen. This is why old movies like Casablanca always come in fullscreen. Some film companies will try to sell classics in widescreen format, but that just involves cutting off the top and bottom of the films.

    Pan and Scan is an abomination on all that is good and righteous. It is a cinematic abortion of a practice that needs to be shot and buried out back next to Grandma. It has no redeemable value whatsoever.

    With P&S, you only get to see about 2/3 of the movie. You miss out on important details. How many of us were confused when we watched our old Star Wars videos, and we couldn't see the Sandperson Luke was watching through his Macrobinoculars?

    P&S also disrupts the director's vision. It reframes scenes that should take up the whole screen and forces it to pan back and forth between people/things/events. There's nothing more annoying when watching ROTJ than watching an uncenterd transitional wipe.

     
  18. itchytasty79

    itchytasty79 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Oct 2, 2001
    I agree with you Not George Lucas. I was at one time stuck with only a P&S THX version of Star Wars to watch. When my Widescreen special edition VHS has issues (it got eaten), that was all I had left. Then I got a laserdisc player to view my widescreen THX. I was once again in widescreen bliss.

    I do own some fullscreen DVDs. They are all television shows (Star Trek and anime series) and were originally made in fullscreen. Otherwise all my films are widescreen.

    I also have a 19" TV and I still prefer to see the whole picture.
     
  19. weezer

    weezer Jedi Grand Master star 6

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    May 16, 2001
    Speaking of P&S...

    Since someone brought it up I thought I'd point out that while P&S is probably the most common method for making a widescreen movie fullscreen it isn't the only one. For example Super 35mm films or other "soft matted" films can just be opened up. They take the black bars off the top and the bottom and you actually do get to see more of the movie. You still run into the main problem which is that the film has been modified from how the director originaly intended (though Cameron has said that he prefers some fullscreen cuts of his films to the widescreen).

    The can also just crop which as I found out tonight is what they do with some widescreen TV shows that for whatever reason they represent in fullscreen. Cropping is super anoying. I was watching an Angel episode that way tonight and since they didn't do any of the ol' P&S tricks there would be parts of the show where people were talking but there was nothing on screen (a P&S would of at least focused in on one of them). People's faces that might of been half or 3/4 on screen for dramatic effect were just slivers of an ear. Very, very distracting. Probably even more so that some P&S movies I've watched.
     
  20. anakin_girl

    anakin_girl Jedi Knight star 6

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    Oct 8, 2000
    I usually buy fullscreen. I like the picture to take up my whole television set rather than having space at the top and bottom.
     
  21. Not George Lucas

    Not George Lucas Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Oct 20, 1998
    You can't be serious. You prefer to miss 2/3s of the movie just so you can have what's left of the picture fill the screen? Why? Do you feel guilty about paying for the whole TV if you're not gonna fill the screen or something? Do the other things in the background distract you from the movie? Why is that space soooo precious that you'd rather chop off 2/3s of a film to fill it? It doesn't make sense. Wouldn't you rather see the whole movie than have it fill up your precious screen? I know I would.
     
  22. The_Last_Gunslinger_

    The_Last_Gunslinger_ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Oct 2, 2003
    Wow I was just hearing about this yesterday at work. Of course I hear it all the time at work, widescreen or full.
    Alot of people come in that can't stand widescreen. They will go out of their way to rent the VHS copy of something just so there are no bars on the screen. It's ridiculous. And everytime you try and tell them the truth about it they won't hear it and don't care.
    Of course it's funny because 10 years or so from now whenever they only make widescreen TV's, all of the fullscreen copies of something that people have bought, won't their sides be cut off, instead of top and bottom? Probably totally wrong about that too. But if not, that would be funny and we would have the last laugh....
     
  23. itchytasty79

    itchytasty79 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Oct 2, 2001
    As far as I can tell, that is the case and we will have the last laugh.
     
  24. DANA28

    DANA28 Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Jan 15, 2002
    I got it at 13 but some people never will.
     
  25. Darth Dark Helmet

    Darth Dark Helmet Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 27, 1999
    I like the picture to take up my whole television set rather than having space at the top and bottom.

    Like I said before, the first time I ever actually saw the Tusken Raider Luke was talking about in ANH, I officially didn't care about the bars anymore.
     
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