Fullscreen edited versions on blu-ray

[Lum]

Do any blu-rays contain a movie's 4:3 cut? For completionists, or because it's a rare title the viewing experience somehow manages to be distinctive.

Usually indicated by the (dreaded) disclaimer like "this film has been modified as follows from its original version, it has been formatted to fit your screen"

[SpacemanDoug]

Robocop and Fast Times at Ridgemont High both contained open-matte TV cuts as bonus features if that counts for anything.

There were also a few Echo Bridge releases of Miramax's titles like Dracula 2000 (pan and scan) and Halloween H20 (open-matte) that were 2.35:1 features presented in 1.78:1. However the biggest and I think most notorious example is when the Canadian BD of Se7en was in an open-matte 1.78:1 presentation.

[BobSimms]

They need to release Ghost Story (1981) in its open matte format.

For… reasons.

[filmbuffTX]

Mac & Me (Shout Factory Collector’s Edition) has an Easter egg within the disc menu that allows you to play the 4:3 VHS transfer of the film.

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by Lum

Do any blu-rays contain a movie's 4:3 cut? For completionists, or because it's a rare title the viewing experience somehow manages to be distinctive.

To me, this would be equivalent to drinking decaffeinated coffee.

There's no point, and so, I don't do it.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by StarFuryG7

To me, this would be equivalent to drinking decaffeinated coffee.

There's no point, and so, I don't do it.

There are at least 2 points... 1) Nostalgia, which arguably may be pointless on the whole, but still is quite clearly a very major draw for many, and 2) In some instances the open matte presentations provide more visual information that the standard presentation. The best example I can think of was a few years back where there was quite a debate over a release due to the widescreen presentation not including a bit of nudity that had become an expected part of the viewing experience due to so many having watched the 4:3 experience over the years. In that case the nudity was reportedly never intended to be shown however because it was seen on the VHS 4:3 transfer for decades, it's what people expected and so when the new Blu Ray release didn't include it, it caused a bit of a minor uproar.

[vondrake]

has the PG-13 cut from a VHS source

[deet]

Halloween (Shout Factory): TV cut padded out with new scenes filmed during Halloween II's production.
Needful Things (Kino Lorber): TV cut that's an hour longer.
Super Mario Bros. (2021 Umbrella release): workprint cut transferred from VHS.

[bigdaddyhorse]

Private School from Shout has the uncut 4X3 since it has some extra nudity under the mattes.

Here's a prime example of why some of us like this kind of thing:


That is the WS version.
Google "bridget fonda jackie brown nude" to see what the 4X3 looks like. Spoiler alert, all dat butt! Can't post here cuz I'm not into being suspended.

[bigshot]

There are two films that may have originally screened cropped, but I still prefer open matte... Ed Wood's "Plan Nine From Outer Space" and Roger Corman's "Little Shop of Horrors". Matted, Plan Nine crops off a lot of the fun... the mattresses on the floor of the graveyard when the policemen fall, the top of the shower curtain in the cockpit of the plane, the 2x4 props holding up the tombstones, etc. Those things are important parts of why the film is so loved. Little Shop was shot very fast, and it was composed like a TV show. If you watch it open matte, you'll see staging very much like The Honeymooners. Cropped, it looks tight and the closeups are too close. Both of these films were originally seen by most people on CRT TV on late shows on local TV, not in theaters. That is the look we've all come to expect, even if it isn't the way it might have looked in the handful of theaters they originally played in back in the day.

The films of Herschel Gordon Lewis also benefit from being seen open matte. In this case, it's doubtful if HGL even gave much of a thought to aspect ratios when he shot the films, and many of the hole in the wall theaters and drive ins he booked them at may not have ever gone to the expense of regearing for widescreen. Some of them were little more than folding chairs and a sheet on the wall in a four-walled rented Moose Lodge. When you watch Blood Feast in crop, you lose a lot and it seems cramped in a lot of shots. Some sequences work fine, others don't. I think it depended on who as running the camera. Everything works in open matte though, so that is the best way to watch them.

Kubrick varied the aspect on his movies for home video, so it shouldn't be a hard and fast rule that the way it showed in theaters is the only way allowed.

[Infallible Presence]

This has a full-screen version of the film take from a tape. Supposedly this was done to get the English dub and just added as an extra.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Arcad...lu-ray/162170/
https://www.dvdcompare.net/compariso....php?fid=42401

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Blood Feast (Arrow Films The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast LE): 1.37 OM version

Scum Of The Earth (Arrow Films The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast LE): 1.37 OM version

Color Me Blood Red (Arrow Films The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast LE): 1.37 OM version

A Taste Of Blood (Arrow Films The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast LE): 1.37 OM version

The Wizard Of Gore (Arrow Films The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast LE): 1.37 OM version

Don't go in the House (Subkultur and Arrow Video Nasty LE): 1.37 OM version

Project A-Ko (Discotek): 1.37 OM version

Robot Carnival (Discotek): 1.37 version on 4k UHD+Pack-in BD

Gunbuster: The Complete OVA Series (Discotek): Bonus 1.37 OM version of Episode 6

Fist of the North Star: The Movie (Discotek): Bonus 1.37 version with home video ending

The Killers 1964 Remake (Criterion Collection): 1.37 OM version

I'm sure there's plenty more but off the top of me head...

[Infallible Presence]

Uncut Open Matte Version in 1080p

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Tales...104994/#Review

[Infallible Presence]

Television Version [in SD]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Army-...277667/#Review

[meremortal]

Mentioned it a few times, but I wouldn't mind seeing more open matte transfers and vhs rips as a bonus feature. At this point going down the vhs rabbit hole again just isn't feasible. Thought about making some custom vhs using the blu as source, but it ultimately sounds kind of wasteful and another hobby that I don't need.

[JackForrester]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhorse

Private School from Shout has the uncut 4X3 since it has some extra nudity under the mattes.

Here's a prime example of why some of us like this kind of thing:


That is the WS version.
Google "bridget fonda jackie brown nude" to see what the 4X3 looks like. Spoiler alert, all dat butt! Can't post here cuz I'm not into being suspended.

How about we also get a thread about open mattes we get to see more skin?

[Wummyhulk]

They should release all movie titles in both fullscreen and widescreen on the same blu-ray disc like they use to with DVDs.