Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

[LordCrumb]

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Original) is on TV at the moment, and was wondering what the original aspect ratio was.. its Widescreen on TV, but it doesnt quite look right... im sure it was 4:3. are the BDs in 4:3?

[Diesel]

1.85 I believe.

[Meeklo]

imdb says 1.33

The BD is 1.78

[LordCrumb]

Yeah thats what is confusing, as most of the DVDs are 1.78:1 or 1.85:1. I would prefer to have 4:3 if thats what it was originally intended to be viewed at. it shouldnt be called 'open-matte' either, as if it was, specifically filmed that way.

[steve_dave]

Actually, according to the IMDB: the negative was 1.33:1 but the intended aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

It was shot 1.33:1 and matted to 1.85:1 so there is some extra picture informaiton that should not be seen in a 1.33:1 4x3 presentaiton.

A Fish Called Wanda and The Police Academy films are the same way and by removing the mattes, some jokes are ruined by what appear to be "gaffes."

I.E. A Fish Called Wanda, Kevin Kline should appear to be nude in the widescreen version as intended. The open matte 1.33:1 version reveals he is wearing underwear.

Same goes for two of the Police Academy films where the characters are supposed to be nude but you can see the waistbands of the underwear in the 1.33:1 4x3 version.

[Beast]

Correct. It was filmed 1.33:1 and matted for Widescreen.

The intended and correct format of the film is widescreen, as the full frame picture reveals information that wasn't meant to be seen. Such as the hose used to inflate Violet when she becomes a Blueberry.

Movies shot full frame and them matted for Widescreen happen all the time. Just because you may see a little more picture information in the full frame versions, doesn't mean that you should. Such as the case here.

[Atreyu]

Another example is in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. The piece at the beginning when he appears to be taking this humugous chain from his basket on the bike. In the un matted version you can see the chain being fed from underneath the basket ruining the gag. And who has not seen movies from the 70's(example-Walking Tall) where you can see the microphone on the top of the screen. I heard they were filmed in the 1.33:1 format because it was cheaper to do it this way and then matte it afterwards.
Personally I like seeing films the way they are intended to be seen, in the matted or theatrical aspect ratio.

[ACMutd]