Here's a bit of worthless trivia--the movie was shot to be displayed at 1:85, a little wider than the inexplicable decision to create a widescreen TV image of 1:77.
But the first laserdiscs early 1980's, those 33 1/3 sized 12 inch platinum platters? released the movie in 1:33 ratio.
You'd say so what, that is what pan and scan were able to sidestep, movement of the camera to cover the truncated side areas to fit into a 1:33 frame.
NOT pan and scan. Not. This is one time the studio could ADD visual material top and bottom, and create a pan and scan sized image but where there is actually MORE visual information than in the widescreen versions.
Actually, the safe areas where on top and bottom of the frame, you're supposed to place equipment,mikes and lights and such, and never fear them showing up in the movie,were missing sufficiently so that in order to produce 1:33, they merely ADDED material bottom and top, rather than have to truncate material on the sides. Yup, this is one of those movies (Black Rain 1989) wherewhat looks to be pan and scan is actually full frame in the truest sense.
Some may remember movies in the 1950's were shot to be shown on widescreen 1:85 as well as academy 1:33 ratio, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956 on purpose, because not many screens has converted to widescreen yet. Both My Favorite Year and Black Rain seem to be throwbacks to that earlier practice, only this time the target audience may have been folks with normal TV sets of the times, at 1:33. For by the 1980's, 1:33 aspect ratio movie screens had all been replaced.
Like mint marks on a coin, the two versions of one film make for startlingly different viewing experiences.
How different? That, as they say, is another story.
But the first laserdiscs early 1980's, those 33 1/3 sized 12 inch platinum platters? released the movie in 1:33 ratio.
You'd say so what, that is what pan and scan were able to sidestep, movement of the camera to cover the truncated side areas to fit into a 1:33 frame.
NOT pan and scan. Not. This is one time the studio could ADD visual material top and bottom, and create a pan and scan sized image but where there is actually MORE visual information than in the widescreen versions.
Actually, the safe areas where on top and bottom of the frame, you're supposed to place equipment,mikes and lights and such, and never fear them showing up in the movie,were missing sufficiently so that in order to produce 1:33, they merely ADDED material bottom and top, rather than have to truncate material on the sides. Yup, this is one of those movies (Black Rain 1989) wherewhat looks to be pan and scan is actually full frame in the truest sense.
Some may remember movies in the 1950's were shot to be shown on widescreen 1:85 as well as academy 1:33 ratio, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956 on purpose, because not many screens has converted to widescreen yet. Both My Favorite Year and Black Rain seem to be throwbacks to that earlier practice, only this time the target audience may have been folks with normal TV sets of the times, at 1:33. For by the 1980's, 1:33 aspect ratio movie screens had all been replaced.
Like mint marks on a coin, the two versions of one film make for startlingly different viewing experiences.
How different? That, as they say, is another story.