Wednesday, July 28, 2010

This is not a frame from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. It is a 16 x 9 rectangle chopped out of a frame from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.

Hey, The Movie Network: if I'm paying over $20 a month for you, I probably have a widescreen TV. It probably really, really bugs me to watch movies in another format than the one they were shot in. If I wanted to watch LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in 1.85 pan-and-scan, as opposed to the glorious 2.35 'scope David Lean framed it for ... I could just put my VHS tape into my VCR, couldn't I?

Next time, can we please have the whole frame? Thank you.

Labels: watching movies

7:41 PM

4 Comments:

Shameful. Lean is rolling in his grave.

By  WP, at 8:30 PM  

Saw the restored version in a California theater back whenever it came out. Absolutely glorious. You hardly even notice what shameless hams the actors are.

By  Greylocks, at 10:17 PM  

Lean didn't like the cuts to the TV version (I recall him asking if the restored version would include the iconic "goggles in the branches" shot).
When I bought one of the last widescreen tube TVs, I used Lawrence to gauge how much each aspect ratio setting chopped out.
I was lucky to see it at the York cinema here in Toronto on its final weekend--one of my all-time favourite theatre-going events.

By  Unknown, at 9:51 AM  

There are so many "HD" channels out there that are still showing 3:4 movies, even newer movies. It makes me crazy. Such a waste of a cable subscription.

By  David, at 11:13 PM  

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