So, I really loved the first half of season one of "Route 66," couldn't wait for more eps... and now the second set is out. Hurray! Except... And it's a huge except that has me absolutely FUMING. The company putting out the DVDs has made the eps "widescreen." These eps weren't filmed widescreen of course, so to bring us this lovely supposed enhancement, they've cropped off the top and bottom of the image. Yes, you heard me right. They #$@&*%# trimmed the natural image into widescreen aspect ratio. What the--?? Get me a firing squad, because whoever decided to do this needs to be shot. It's bloody awful. I haven't been able to get past the first ep. People's heads get chopped off, and the proportions are all bloody wrong on the shots. No director would frame things this way and it's just... words for this travesty fail me. It looks completely unnatural and it's driving me insane. I really don't want to sit through this. Not now, not ever.
And what's really stupid about it? Your television can format any show to widescreen if you so desire -- not just by stretching it, but zooming to do the equivalent of what these @#&*#$* did to it. At least my television has all those picture options. And just exactly what do they hope to gain by ruining the original picture? Who's watching this show anyway? Do they really think this fake widescreen is going to attract more people to it? It's the SHOW and actors that attracts an audience, not some DVD company's manipulation of it. All it's doing is driving away people like me who would have spent good money to purchase the season, and it might just look weird enough to new people to turn them off too. Who wants to see a cropped image? Bloody hell.
Gee, I'm a bit angry, can you tell? And I so wanted to see more of this show too. Damn them. The reviews on Amazon and Netflix are laying into them for doing this to the show too, so it's not just me they've pissed off.
4 comments:
I HATE widescreen! The idiot that invented it should be horse-whipped by all the movie-goers and tv watchers who want to see everything on the screen, not just a strip through the middle of it! GRRRRRR!
No, now see, I'm the exact opposite. I do madly deeply love widescreen DVD releases. I won't buy any movie that's in full pan-and-scan format unless it was made prior to widescreen because it chops off the sides of the film and that's equally horrific to me. I'd never watch another movie if they weren't releasing the widescreen versions. All movie lovers should embrace widescreen because they're finally able to see the entire movie as they would have seen it in the theatre. I don't mind the black strips at the top and bottom on those, any more than I mind the strips on the left and right of my widescreen tv when I watch Combat! Those stripes are far preferable to getting a cropped movie.
I basically want to see movies and tv exactly as they were shot, in whatever form/aspect ratio that was. Most movies, particularly modern ones are filmed widescreen. I don't want to see those chopped to fit a square tv screen any more than I want to see a "square" tv show cropped to fit a widescreen tv. I want them released exactly as the director intended. I'll deal with how to watch them on my television from there. But no DVD company should force me to watch their film in an unnatural format.
Maybe it's because I don't have a widescreen tv. That would probably make a difference. Those black strips just bug me. :-)
What in blazes is wrong with those people? I have never heard of such a thing -- cutting a regular-format tv show to be widescreen? Unbelievable! These weirdos better not get their hands on any good old movies and screw with them!
Oh, and ladygarand -- my dad used to hate widescreen for the same reason, "I hate the black strips!" And then I pointed out to him that he doesn't hate the other four black strips around the screen, ie the frame of his tv. And he said, "Hey, you're right!" and has liked widescreen ever since.
Personally, if there's widescreen and full screen available, I get widescreen every time, because I get to see the whole movie, not just what someone else decided I should see. I happen to like seeing details in the background that someone else might not deem as important as an actor's face.
Post a Comment