How do you feel about CinemaScope?

[bedlamfeuder94]

So here's something that has always bugged me as a Blu-ray collector/cinephile - why, with today's TVs, do we bother filming in CinemaScope?

It's a matter of aspect ratio for me. I'd like to see all my movies fill the entire screen without using a "partial zoom" or "fit to screen" mode on the TV, since that cuts off part of the movie filmed. As good as that might look on a movie showing on TV, I don't like knowing what I might be missing on the zoomed-in picture. I can live with those black-barred aspect ratios, but I prefer not seeing them.

Interested to hear what you all have to say about it.

[AmishParadise]

[lilboyblu]

If you want your entire screen filled, you'll need a wider TV. Like this one: http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/50PFL...and-multi-view

Discontinued 5 years ago, but I'm sure they can be found for cheap since nobody bought them.

[Leonidas King]

That more directors should opt for CinemaScope since its such a beautiful format to watch movies in.

[Yojimbo68]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

If you want your entire screen filled, you'll need a wider TV. Like this one: http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/50PFL...and-multi-view

Discontinued 5 years ago, but I'm sure they can be found for cheap since nobody bought them.

Actually, that looks like a really cool TV! And it even has what sounds like passive 3D!

[jarrod_inf]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

That more directors should opt for CinemaScope since its such a beautiful format to watch movies in.

I'd be happy if more directors went back to using film over digital in whatever format.

[bedlamfeuder94]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

If you want your entire screen filled, you'll need a wider TV. Like this one: http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/50PFL...and-multi-view

Discontinued 5 years ago, but I'm sure they can be found for cheap since nobody bought them.

If I didn't own an OLED (finally made the jump to 4K), it's something I'd definitely consider - had no idea they made those!

[bedlamfeuder94]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

That more directors should opt for CinemaScope since its such a beautiful format to watch movies in.

The aspect ratio is something I'm fine with, or else I'd have a hard time enjoying movies at all haha. It just seems like it would be more enjoyable if the film naturally fit the screen for home viewing.

[Dex Robinson]

Originally Posted by bedlamfeuder94

So here's something that has always bugged me as a Blu-ray collector/cinephile ...

Cinephile?

[shinobipopcorn]

Sleeping Beauty is a wonderful film and it makes me want to hang myself every time I see someone watch it in pan & scan. I keep my VHS and 2003 DVD around to scare the kiddies on Halloween.

[bedlamfeuder94]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

Cinephile?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinephilia

Just the formal term for being movie buffs/collectors/whatever you look at it as

[bedlamfeuder94]

Originally Posted by shinobipopcorn

Sleeping Beauty is a wonderful film and it makes me want to hang myself every time I see someone watch it in pan & scan. I keep my VHS and 2003 DVD around to scare the kiddies on Halloween.

Agreed! If it wasn't made to fit the screen, don't mess with the picture.

[motorheadache95]

Alright this came out longer-winded then I thought when I started writing it, but here it is:

You gotta remember that movies are still shot for the theater, and many theaters still equip themselves with a wider scope-screen for presentations of those films.

But the other thing is that aspect-ratio is as much a part of the aesthetic presentation of the movie as the cameras used, the color-grading, and the cinematography. It's all based on how the director wants shots to look and how he wants people to feel when watching the film. And at this point its pretty much engrained in our culture that the wider scope looks and feels more "cinematic," which I'm sure is also one of the reasons filmmakers still like using the ratio. Even some TV shows now don't follow the 16:9 standard in order to give their show a more cinematic quality.

But I get why the question is asked-- I know a lot of people will just give people shit for even bringing it up, but I think its worth addressing, especially for newcomers who aren't cinephiles or enthusiasts. I mean, movies have a short theatrical run and afterwards are forever watched on a TV, right? Why not just adopt a 16:9 standard and be done with it?

Well, using that logic, all movies prior to the rise of HDTV should have been conformed to an even narrower 4:3 standard--like they should have never changed the Academy-ratio for films so people could continue to watch any movie on TV with the proper framing. Except that now that would mean all films prior to, say, 2006 would be pillar-boxed on a modern TV.

And finally think about the future-- maybe we won't even have standard TVs 20 years from now. It could be all VR, or holographic projection, or you paint the screen on your wall, who knows? And maybe those images can be wider, and 16:9 isn't a standard screen anymore. Then it would seem silly to have conformed everything to fit your current home box.

[HD Goofnut]

I don't care how a film was shot. All I care about is that I get to see the film the way the director wanted me to see it whether that's scope or not.

[bedlamfeuder94]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

Alright this came out longer-winded then I thought when I started writing it, but here it is:

You gotta remember that movies are still shot for the theater, and many theaters still equip themselves with a wider scope-screen for presentations of those films.

But the other thing is that aspect-ratio is as much a part of the aesthetic presentation of the movie as the cameras used, the color-grading, and the cinematography. It's all based on how the director wants shots to look and how he wants people to feel when watching the film. And at this point its pretty much engrained in our culture that the wider scope looks and feels more "cinematic," which I'm sure is also one of the reasons filmmakers still like using the ratio. Even some TV shows now don't follow the 16:9 standard in order to give their show a more cinematic quality.

But I get why the question is asked-- I know a lot of people will just give people shit for even bringing it up, but I think its worth addressing, especially for newcomers who aren't cinephiles or enthusiasts. I mean, movies have a short theatrical run and afterwards are forever watched on a TV, right? Why not just adopt a 16:9 standard and be done with it?

Well, using that logic, all movies prior to the rise of HDTV should have been conformed to an even narrower 4:3 standard--like they should have never changed the Academy-ratio for films so people could continue to watch any movie on TV with the proper framing. Except that now that would mean all films prior to, say, 2006 would be pillar-boxed on a modern TV.

And finally think about the future-- maybe we won't even have standard TVs 20 years from now. It could be all VR, or holographic projection, or you paint the screen on your wall, who knows? And maybe those images can be wider, and 16:9 isn't a standard screen anymore. Then it would seem silly to have conformed everything to fit your current home box.

Well put. I've been collecting for several years but never really posed the question to anyone else except myself while watching movies, and I figured this would be the best place to ask. Thanks for the input! That's an angle I hadn't thought of before.

[yellowcakeuf6]

Directors don't give a #%!* what screen you're watching on.

[jawsfan1975]

To answer the original question.......I love CinemaScope! I wish all movies were in this ratio.

[KINGDANGER]

I love CinemaScope. It has such an epic feel to it, even on a TV. What's more, I've become a big fan of shifting aspect ratios and hope to see the technique used more in the future.

[HeavyHitter]

Once you go front projection with CinemaScope, there is no going back - trust me. It will all sink in.

[bedlamfeuder94]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Once you go front projection with CinemaScope, there is no going back - trust me. It will all sink in.

It will probably be awhile before I go projector, but I'm hoping it will be in the next 5-10 years. I'll keep this in mind though!