The Shining (1980)

[bigbadwoppet]

Originally Posted by Steve Lilley

That's incorrect. It was always designed to be projected at 1.85:1. Only the home video releases were shown in "full screen" (let's just call it that for the sake of discussion) for a really long time because of Kubrick's wishes.

Exactly, BL was composed for 1.66:1 but by the time he got to shoot The Shining, he'd moved on to 1.85:1. The BD is 1.78:1 but that doesn't affect the visual composition (only a marginal, unnoticeable difference). The only reason for anyone to prefer the film open-matted is because they grew up watching it that way. It looks horrible. It loses all the horizontal symmetry and it was only a compromise ratio to show it on tv.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Steve Lilley

I did totally forget about TITANIC 3D. Which is super embarrassing, because that came out like ten seconds ago.

Yeah, it's interesting when talking about certain people who hated seeing their work cropped more than they loved an original ratio.

I don't understand why more people didn't just pull a Woody Allen - hasn't MANHATTAN always been in the same ratio, even on home video, because of his insistence?

Yes, sometimes it's not about preserving the ratio in and of itself. Cameron probably could've insisted upon widescreen for his movies back in the day, but as a techie he hated the fact that letterboxing lost a bunch of NTSC's already limited resolution, plus the movie ended up looking like a narrow sliver on anything less than a gargantuan display.

So he reframed his shows to bring the drama closer to the viewer, to try and better translate the emotional intensity of seeing x shot on a giant cinema screen. That's why he never shot anamorphic, he wouldn't even contemplate chopping his film in half for TV. (Edit: And it's interesting to note that Kubrick's 4:3 transfers serve to distance the viewer more from the action, instead of bringing them closer to it.)

And, even though there are now massive widescreen displays and projectors available, Cameron is still thinking along similar lines, opening up Avatar and Titanic for maximum impact.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I think that The Shining looks amazing on the existing Region A Blu-ray. Superb picture quality across the board.

I prefer watching the film on the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, although I'm not going to venture a guess on what the "correct" ratio is.

This is probably why these threads degenerate and end up being shut down - people not reading the other posts.

There should be NO debate about the aspect ratio of THE SHINING. In this instance we have Kubrick's own typed notes spelling it out. Nobody has ever questioned the veracity of that document. Nobody needs to "guess" anything.

The correct ratio is 1:1.85.

[yellowcakeuf6]

I WAS WRONG!

Thanks to duggie walker for that informative link and apologies to Steve Lilley. From what I can tell any confusion about the 1.66:1 aspect ratio may be due to some European countries using it as a standard.

[Steve Lilley]

That's okay. Europeans do wacky stuff all the time. I mean, "the Euro"? Seriously?

[bigdaddyhorse]

Originally Posted by Steve Lilley

The original EVIL DEAD Blu-ray also has multiple aspect ratios depending on your preference.


Question: can anyone else think of an example of another filmmaker who had different preferences for different environments like this?

Coppola with Apocalypse Now. All the dvds were cropped to 2.00 from 2.35 upon his wishes (at least from what I read and recall). Thankfully the BD is full 2.35 just like the theater run was. That was true cropping, not just opening the matte up a little more like Once Upon a Time in Mexico or Titanic.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

This is probably why these threads degenerate and end up being shut down - people not reading the other posts.

There should be NO debate about the aspect ratio of THE SHINING. In this instance we have Kubrick's own typed notes spelling it out. Nobody has ever questioned the veracity of that document. Nobody needs to "guess" anything.

The correct ratio is 1:1.85.

I just went back in the thread and saw the type notes on the storyboard. All is right in the world.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I do know that Donaldson altered The World's Fastest Indian for BD. It was composed, shot, and theatrically shown in 2.39:1, but for some reason he insisted that the BD be altered to 1.78:1. I find it ironic that the only BD in the world that is in 2.39:1 for the film is the AU disc, which is where Donaldson is originally from.

Robert Rodriguez does this as well.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Robert Rodriguez does this as well.

For which titles?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

For which titles?

Once Upon A Time In Mexico and the standalone release of Planet Terror spring to mind. Heck, I actually watched Sin City cropped to 2.35 and it never looked too tight or too cramped, even though it wasn't officially 2.35 to begin with.

[The Mhael]

I'm far from being enough of a technophile to decide what is and isn't Reference Quality video, but this transfer looks amazing.

I can't even begin to understand how I watched my old, crappy DVD of this movie for years.

[Bumblefeet]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

Does anyone else prefer to watch this film in 1,33:1 instead of 1,85:1 ?

This is why I imported the US version on DVD. I'd love to own it on Blu-ray, but the 1,85:1 ration really hurts the film imo. Having said that, I've never seen the longer US version before and I'm really excited. I love slow paced films. I love how they take their time and slowly build up the tension.

Same here! I still need to watch the extended cut and plan on getting this asap

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhorse

Coppola with Apocalypse Now. All the dvds were cropped to 2.00 from 2.35 upon his wishes (at least from what I read and recall). Thankfully the BD is full 2.35 just like the theater run was. That was true cropping, not just opening the matte up a little more like Once Upon a Time in Mexico or Titanic.

I think that was the fault of Vittorio Storaro who has created his own aspect ration Univirsum and is/was trying to push it on an unwilling world. Criterion Bluray of Last Emperor and the UK release of Bird With a Crystal Plumage have been cropped this way but, fortunately for us, Coppola had more say over the bluray for Apocalypse Now and put it back how it was theatrically.

[Sherlock_Jr]

Originally Posted by Steve Lilley

The original EVIL DEAD Blu-ray also has multiple aspect ratios depending on your preference.

Yes, it does now. But for the first 20-something years it existed, it did not. It only had one ratio, the OAR. There will always be only one OAR; everything else is a compromise as to how it was shot and composed. You can't compose shots for 2 different aspect ratios at the same time without compromising on one of them, so there's always a preferred version regardless.

[BladeRunner2007]

I just watched the longer US version for the very first time. I can't watch the shorter international version ever again. The new scenes improve the film greatly. Everything was far more fleshed out and things were explained a lot better. Everything seemed to make more sense and the movie flowed very nicely. I loved the slow pacing throughout the entire movie. The suspenseful, slow build up worked very well. The US version is definitely my preferred version of The Shining now. Masterpiece. 5/5

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

Everything was far more fleshed out and things were explained a lot better. Everything seemed to make more sense and the movie flowed very nicely.

Which is exactly why Kubrick cut it. The fact that so little is explain is what makes this movie so legendary.

[BladeRunner2007]

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

Which is exactly why Kubrick cut it. The fact that so little is explain is what makes this movie so legendary.

I'm not saying the US version explains it all, but in the international version Jack's actions seem soooo random at times. Here you can kinda see why he does what he does, and it still doesn't explain or show too much imo.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

I just watched the longer US version for the very first time. I can't watch the shorter international version ever again. The new scenes improve the film greatly. Everything was far more fleshed out and things were explained a lot better. Everything seemed to make more sense and the movie flowed very nicely. I loved the slow pacing throughout the entire movie. The suspenseful, slow build up worked very well. The US version is definitely my preferred version of The Shining now. Masterpiece. 5/5

Yup. The shorter international version is gaaabaaage.
All those websites dedicated to analyzing the hidden narratives and subtext and clues all default to the longer usa version.

The shorter version needs to make a b-line to your trash bin.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

I just watched the longer US version for the very first time. I can't watch the shorter international version ever again. The new scenes improve the film greatly. Everything was far more fleshed out and things were explained a lot better. Everything seemed to make more sense and the movie flowed very nicely. I loved the slow pacing throughout the entire movie. The suspenseful, slow build up worked very well. The US version is definitely my preferred version of The Shining now. Masterpiece. 5/5

I feel the exact opposite, but then I grew up watching the U.S. version so the international version felt like a breath of fresh air. I feel the movie flows so much better and I do not miss a lot of the more supernatural elements that are discarded in the shorter version.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

I feel the exact opposite, but then I grew up watching the U.S. version so the international version felt like a breath of fresh air. I feel the movie flows so much better and I do not miss a lot of the more supernatural elements that are discarded in the shorter version.

WhaaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaaaat!!??
Haahaaa that's fine. I never thought I'd read that. Not here. But to each their own.
That's cool.