The Shining (1980)

[demoni]

I remember watching my 4:3 full screen laserdic "back in the days" and noticing the shadow of the helicopter with the camera crew appearing on the hillside at the beginning of the movie when the Torrance family are driving to the Overlook Hotel... right at the bottom of the screen. This always annoyed me, and I couldn't believe that Kubrick would have overlooked this.

In the 1.85:1 Blu-ray presentation however, this problem is solved...

[phansson]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

Grubert, are you saying that I can't find shots in the Shining that appear to be framed for 4:3.? That's all I'm saying.

I think that what is being said is that "the shining" was filmed for 4:3 and 1:1.85 presentation. With the emphasis placed on the final theatrical cropping to 1:1.85 which would have been done in post production.

[Barbie-Shrimp]

I have a question:

When I rented the DVD a long time ago, it was 4:3. The scene where the blood is pouring out of the elevator seemed like it was cropped badly. You could barely see what was going on. Was the U.S. release of the DVD "formatted to fit your screen", or was it the full screen from the negative. I never bought it because of this and would probably get the blu version if this problem is solved.

[AKORIS]

[
This is a great example--- if anybody knows Kubrick at all they know that
he was insanely meticulous (spell check?) about every frame, every detail.
He filmed the most basic scenes up to 30 times!!
With that in mind, I doubt he would allow the helicopter shadow appear
over his opening scene.




QUOTE=demoni;1534279]I remember watching my 4:3 full screen laserdic "back in the days" and noticing the shadow of the helicopter with the camera crew appearing on the hillside at the beginning of the movie when the Torrance family are driving to the Overlook Hotel... right at the bottom of the screen. This always annoyed me, and I couldn't believe that Kubrick would have overlooked this.

In the 1.85:1 Blu-ray presentation however, this problem is solved... [/QUOTE]

[Adam_ME]

It looks just fine in 16:9 on the Blu-ray. I hate all the extra space about the actors' heads in the 4:3 version.

And like the previous poster pointed out, the helicopter shadow is now gone.

[Sammy]

It'd be nice if the red x's in post #9 were available for viewing... Maybe the network firewall?

[benricci]

Originally Posted by phansson

I think that what is being said is that "the shining" was filmed for 4:3 and 1:1.85 presentation. With the emphasis placed on the final theatrical cropping to 1:1.85 which would have been done in post production.

No, the matting is most often done at the theater, as was the case with The Shining. No post-production is necessary, the projectionist simply places mattes over the full-frame film so that it fits the screen dimensions and blocks the unnecessary top and bottom frame information. This is called soft-matting.

[kefrank]

I prefer having the Shining in its original theatrical aspect ratio finally (well, close enough anyway at 1.78:1).

My problem with the latest release of the Shining (on BD, HD DVD and DVD) is the inexplicable change in color timing of a few scenes where Danny's toys and tennis ball that should be yellow are bright pink.

[AintNoSin]

Originally Posted by kefrank

I prefer having the Shining in its original theatrical aspect ratio finally (well, close enough anyway at 1.78:1).

Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut, too.

[Travis]

Correct me if I'm wrong. (I know you will)

What I can gather from the above posts is it was filmed in 4:3 with plans for a 1.85 theater screening.

So,the Blu-ray is the US theatrical release and the DVD is the TV release. Right? Soft-matting

The blu-ray has cropped the top and bottom of the 4:3 negative, but that is what Kubrick wanted. Right? So important footage isn't missiing (unless you like helicopter shadows).

Shadow of helicopter in Shogun annoying also.

So, Blu-ray release is the definitive version of The Shining, a must own. Right?

[andyman1970]

Originally Posted by Travis

So, Blu-ray release is the definitive version of The Shining, a must own. Right?

Personally I think all of Kubrick's movies are must own's on BD.

[Mr.White]

This widescreen version is the way it was shown in theaters!!! If you have the old DVD's that had the 4:3 version it did have a little more on top and bottom beacuse it was filmed in 4:3, also known as "Acaemy Ratio",the 1:78,1:85 or whatever matting is to conceal stuff like Microphones,ALA (Dolemite,and Saturday Night Fever),hoses blowing people like blueberries(Willy Wonka 1971),chains coming out of bikes and ropes pulling street signs(Pee Wee's Big adventure),The Sting(Best Picture 1973) was also filmed in 4:3 as were the Beatles classics Hard Days Night and Help! GIMMIE THE ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN VERSION ANYDAY

[reece]

This is one of the most interesting threads i've read in a while. A year ago I was still one of those people that get mad at "those annoying black bars" that cut off the picture. But once you understand the idea of aspect ratios it brings a whole new light to the way you look at movies...

[Mr. Joshua]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

[
This is a great example--- if anybody knows Kubrick at all they know that
he was insanely meticulous (spell check?) about every frame, every detail.
He filmed the most basic scenes up to 30 times!!
With that in mind, I doubt he would allow the helicopter shadow appear
over his opening scene.




QUOTE=demoni;1534279]I remember watching my 4:3 full screen laserdic "back in the days" and noticing the shadow of the helicopter with the camera crew appearing on the hillside at the beginning of the movie when the Torrance family are driving to the Overlook Hotel... right at the bottom of the screen. This always annoyed me, and I couldn't believe that Kubrick would have overlooked this.

In the 1.85:1 Blu-ray presentation however, this problem is solved...

[/QUOTE]

You do see the helicopter blades in the 4:3 aspect ratio version.

[reanimator]

Grubert has definitively brought this debate to resounding and conclusive end.

For those who might be unfamiliar with the process…

When films are being shot, a much larger area of the 35mm camera negative is exposed then is ever intended to be viewed by the audience. Among other things, during editing this allows the filmmakers to move the image around if they wish to reframe or correct a mistake (i.e. shift the image up , down, left, right, or even enlarge the shot if desired.) When a director looks through the camera’s viewfinder, a ground-glass shows this entire area, but also includes black framing lines illustrating the 1:1.85 aspect ratio. It is within this outlined area that the filmmakers are framing the composition they want the audience to actually see.

In the 4:3 full-screen version of THE SHINING, the audience is seeing far outside the intended composition. And as mentioned many times before, Kubrick approved this presentation only because he despised seeing the wide-screen version artificially panned and scanned. Is short, the 4:3 version was (at the time) the lesser of two evils.

You always have to come back to the original composition, which is the intended artistic vision. Kubrick’s desired composition is never more clearly illustrated than in the photo Grubert has provided.

It might be nice to add a frame-grab showing how that story-board image compares to the movie itself.

Thanks again, Grubert!

[F-Man]

Originally Posted by Grubert

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom.../18.21-new.jpg

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...20PDVD_008.jpg

Nice example; I was watching the film yesterday and during that scene I had the exact thought about how it was perfectly framed for widescreen and how great it looked. That was only a few hours before your post!

[demoni]

Originally Posted by wsciv123

You do see the helicopter blades in the 4:3 aspect ratio version.

Even worse... As we all know Kubrick is (was) the number one perfectionist, so this always bothered me. Why would "Mr. 30 takes per scene" overlook a thing like this?

I see this new Blu-ray version as the deffinitive version and a must have for fans of the movie.

And once again; this IS one of the best horror movies of all time.

[demoni]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

Personally I think all of Kubrick's movies are must own's on BD.

RESPECT!!!!!!!!

[F-Man]

Originally Posted by demoni

And once again; this IS one of the best horror movies of all time.

To me it belongs in the top 3 best films of all time, but I haven't seen too many films.

[reece]

Originally Posted by demoni

RESPECT!!!!!!!!

eyes wide shut is a bit of a stretch...