[ASOT]

I was watching Wizard of Oz on TNTHD last night. Great picture, but not full screen?

This is the first time I've seen a HD program that was not 16x9. Maybe it wasn't HD?... sure looked like HD.

Can somebody explain? Is it just because of the way the film was originaly shot?

Ron

 

[Chris Blount]

The Wizard of Oz was recently restored and mastered in HD. It should have been full screen (not widescreen).

 

[Stewart Vernon]

As Chris said... Wizard of Oz is one of the movies that was originally shot in a non-widescreen aspect ratio. If they had made it widescreen, then they would have been tampering with it.

 

[SNAP]

What was the audio???

 

[Chris Blount]

The audio on the DVD is 5.1 surround and it sounds excellent. See this older thread for more:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=47499

 

[Richard King]

What was the audio???

Dark Side of the Moon. By the way, for those who don't know, it has been theorized that this album was written with Wizard of Oz in mind and in fact syncs up quite well to the themes of WOO.

http://www.everwonder.com/david/wizardofoz/

 

[ASOT]

The Wizard of Oz was recently restored and mastered in HD. It should have been full screen (not widescreen).

Thanks guys,

You are correct, it was not Widescreen. It did seem larger than SD... that is, the side bars seemed to be smaller? Maybe this is Full Screen?

Anyway, it looked great. This is one of those classics, that I couldnt wait to see every year as a kid. Watching it now in HD is quite the treat... you can really appreciate the costumes and scenery.

RH

 

[Ira Lacher]

Interestingly enough, widescreen in cinema was uncommon until the early 1950s. (I believe Panavision was the company that manufactured and sold the first widescreen cameras.) The studios wanted a look and feel to their films to make them different from TV. In fact, television's screen aspect ratio was copied from the movies'. That's why if you ever see Marx Bros., "Casablanca," and other 1930s-1940s films in theaters they are likely to be the squarish aspect ratio you're used to seeing on your TV.

 

[SNAP]

And back then many theaters equipped themselves with 6 channel analog audio....the forerunner of Dolby Digital.......

Interestingly enough, widescreen in cinema was uncommon until the early 1950s. (I believe Panavision was the company that manufactured and sold the first widescreen cameras.) The studios wanted a look and feel to their films to make them different from TV. In fact, television's screen aspect ratio was copied from the movies'. That's why if you ever see Marx Bros., "Casablanca," and other 1930s-1940s films in theaters they are likely to be the squarish aspect ratio you're used to seeing on your TV.

 

[jimbo09]

Thanks guys,

You are correct, it was not Widescreen. It did seem larger than SD... that is, the side bars seemed to be smaller? Maybe this is Full Screen?

Anyway, it looked great. This is one of those classics, that I couldnt wait to see every year as a kid. Watching it now in HD is quite the treat... you can really appreciate the costumes and scenery.

RH

It may have ben shot in 1:1.37 vice 1:1.33, just a guess as to why it's bigger. Also, It's a Wondeful Life will also not be widescreen on NBC this weekend.