MovieChat Forums > Fat City (1972) Discussion > Note to DVD viewers

Note to DVD viewers

posted 16 years ago by JavierBoredom
2 replies | jump to latest

Fantastic film, and I just wanted to add for those interested that veteran director John Huston shot FAT CITY in classic full-screen -- later cropped for theatrical widescreen presentation. Because of this, the original "Full-Screen" version is actually superior in both framing and image quality. (Usually it's the other way around, with much of a widescreen image being lost when cropped into full-screen.) Happily, the DVD allows you the choice of watching the film in its original format, or in the widescreen crop. Either way - enjoy!

[–] neil57 16 years ago

I once read that Kurbrick did the same thing for "The Shining" and "Full Metal Jacket". He shot the films so they could be show on TV in the 3:4 ratio without losing any part of the wide screen frame. I remember when those films first came out on DVD (probably at least two DVD versions ago) hearing the clerks in J&R Music World in lower Manhattan arguing with customers in the store about this. They eventually posted signs in the DVD section about the sets.

[–] JavierBoredom 14 years ago

Yes, Kubrick also continued to film in full-screen, and yes, DVD consumers complained when the full-screen format was kept on some DVD releases (per Kubrick's request). They assumed they were losing part of the widescreen image (which is usually the case), but, in fact, the widescreen crops are missing much of the original full-screen image. Cheers!