Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard--W
Of course Psycho was intended for theatrical release at 1.85:1. No one has suggested it wasn't.
I must disagree that television was not considered as a necessary secondary market at the outset, in part because Hitchcock and cameraman John A. Russell layered the top and bottom with story-telling detail that is omitted in the theatrical ratio but present in the TV-safe ratio. This visual information is self-evident. It is not a matter of merely protecting for television; it is story-telling detail deliberately placed for television.
I first saw Psycho in the late 1960's and a number of times thereafter on television. I've also seen old 35mm prints projected in repertory theaters, many times before the DVD era. I've studied the film closely over the years. The TV framing is not the preferred viewing experience, but Hitchcock and Russell made sure that they made it visually interesting.
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You do realize like 50% of all movies are shot open matte? But just because they were doesn't mean we should have 1.33 versions of them all. Just because something is shot to be masked in theater doesn't mean we should have versions where we see what should've been masked just because it's there.
I suppose you think we should have 1.33 versions of all of James Cameron's films too, or any movie shot Super 35? No, because that would be silly.