"The Red Shoes" on MGM HD -- Stay away! - Blu-ray Forum

McCrutchy · 09-12-2009, 06:54 AM

I don't know if anyone else noticed, but The Red Shoes recently debuted on MGM HD in the United States. Being that it was just painstakingly restored and screened for Cannes earlier this year, I assumed that this restoration would be what MGM would use for the 1080i broadcast. Well, the title sequence began, and that was in 1.33:1, but then, strangely,the film began and the image filled my 16:9 widescreen HDTV with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1! I haven't seen this film before but I know it was made before the 1954 development of widescreen releases, and a quick check online confirmed the OAR is 1.33:1. Beyond that, the opening scene with the young people in the audience at the ballet was rife with dirt and speckles, lending more weight to the idea that this is an older master being used. I stopped watching once I realized this, and I thought that MGM HD uses OAR...guess I learned my lesson.

Has anybody else noticed this?

EricJ · 09-12-2009, 03:06 PM

Um, no (don't get satellite HD cable)--
But good thing Criterion owns the disk/upcoming-Blu, then, isn't it?

09-12-2009, 06:54 AM	#1
McCrutchy Contributor Top contributor Member since:Dec 2008 Location:East Coast, USA Home Theater Gallery:2 4K collection:1263 Blu-ray collection:6773 DVD collection:253 Blu-ray reviews: 5 Trading Score:17	"The Red Shoes" on MGM HD -- Stay away! I don't know if anyone else noticed, but The Red Shoes recently debuted on MGM HD in the United States. Being that it was just painstakingly restored and screened for Cannes earlier this year, I assumed that this restoration would be what MGM would use for the 1080i broadcast. Well, the title sequence began, and that was in 1.33:1, but then, strangely,the film began and the image filled my 16:9 widescreen HDTV with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1! I haven't seen this film before but I know it was made before the 1954 development of widescreen releases, and a quick check online confirmed the OAR is 1.33:1. Beyond that, the opening scene with the young people in the audience at the ballet was rife with dirt and speckles, lending more weight to the idea that this is an older master being used. I stopped watching once I realized this, and I thought that MGM HD uses OAR...guess I learned my lesson. Has anybody else noticed this? Last edited by McCrutchy; 09-13-2009 at 03:54 AM.

Similar Threads
thread	Forum	Thread Starter	Replies	Last Post
The fight to stay "caught up"	Blu-ray Movies - North America	bone crusher	9	01-10-2008 10:57 AM
UK gets "Kill Bill" 1&2, "Pulp Fiction", "Beowulf", "Jesse James", and more in March?	Blu-ray Movies - North America	JBlacklow	21	12-07-2007 11:05 AM
WTF MGM? "Rescue Dawn" w/no extras @ $39.99 MSRP	Blu-ray Movies - North America	JBlacklow	34	10-12-2007 01:20 AM
MGM Announces "Mr.Brooks"	Blu-ray Technology and Future Technology	E-Dogg	2	08-23-2007 12:22 PM

09-12-2009, 03:06 PM	#2
EricJ Banned Member since:Jul 2007 Location:The Paradise of New England Blu-ray collection:6	Um, no (don't get satellite HD cable)-- But good thing Criterion owns the disk/upcoming-Blu, then, isn't it?

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals