aspect ratio


on the dvd of "it! the terror form beyond space" (midnight movies) it is mentioned that the aspect ratio has been adapted from 1.85:1 to full screen for this dvd. i know that the movie was photographed with a spherical lense so the was the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio was necessarily achieved through hard matting. can anyone tell me if the for the dvd, the hard matting was removed or if additionally also the sides were cut of? cheers

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This is what I discovered by accident while replacing my full screen VHS tapes with wide screen, 1:85 ratio. I noticed that some of the movies on CD with ratio of 1:85 did not show very much more picture left and right but less top and bottom. After months of comparing and researching this issue, I have come to the conclusion that a number of full screen prints are actually the full print minus the mask that was used during filming to make it 1:85. During the days of VHS why would a studio crop a 1:85 to full screen when the film minis the crop was already full screen. If it is a major film they might have done pan & scan but a lesser film, just scan it as is. You can see the cost savings. This appears to be the case also with some full screen DVDs but to a lesser degree. I believe “It! The Terror from Outer of Space” and “The Monster that Challenged the world” are these full prints. Just set your DVD player to full and TV to Zoom. Your player and TV may us different terminology. I watched It! and Monster this way (Wide 16:9) and it works! No heads cut off. No missing action. You’ll notice the title and credits fit perfectly. (If they don’t you don’t have the set up right.) It actually played better because the close up added tension. No extraneous views of sets or background. Just as I'm sure the director and cinematographer wanted. Ladies and Gentleman I do believe you own the 1:85 wide screen, Just crop it and watch. If you have other full screens that fall in this category, watch it in wide screen and if no heads or credits are cut off, it could be another one. Check with IMDb for aspect ratio.

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