Aspect Ratio
I posted this last year in two parts on a different blog, I'm shutting that one down, but as I really like this post I decided to share it here.
Let's start off with the definition of what Aspect Ratio is. I copied this from the Columbia University Film Language Glossary:
Aspect ratio refers to how the image appears on the screen based on how it was shot–the ratio of width (horizontal or top) to height (vertical or side) of a film frame, image, or screen.
Dating back to Thomas Edison’s equipment, 1.33:1 was for a long time the typical aspect ratio for film. The ratio 1.33:1, which was dubbed “Academy aperture” in 1932 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, soon became the first standard ratio in film, and was used until the 1950s. (The ratio 1.33:1 is the same as the 4:3 ratio of a television screen.)
During the 1950s, developments in wide-screen formats and aspect ratios were introduced, including 1.65:1 and higher. Other anamorphic systems, such as CinemaScope and Panavision, have an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, while Cinerama had a ratio of 2.77:1. The aspect ratio for 70-mm. films is 2.2:1, and letterboxed videos for wide-screen televisions usually have an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 (or 16:9). Standard 35-mm. films have an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (normally 1.66:1 in Europe).
So 4:3 is the size of the television screen that myself and people my age grew up with and the standard format of a VHS tape. Even if the movie was filmed in another ratio, like 1.85:1 it was pan & scanned down to 4:3. Essentially the crop the sides off of the picture to scale it down and fit the screen.
This is why all us video store geeks would always recommend that you rent the widescreen version if it's available because that is the format the director wants you to see when they filmed it. Lately though I've been wondering if widescreen really is the best way to watch a film.
The Evil Dead, the VHS I bought that got me back into VHS tapes, was originally film in 1.33:1 or 4:3 on 16 mm film, however it has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray in in what they call anamorphic widescreen. In this instance they crop top and bottom of the image to make it widescreen and not distort the image.
We've all been conditioned to think that Blu-ray or 4K is the best version you can watch movies in. That maybe true for new movies and televisions shows that were filmed since Blu-ray players were introduced in 2006, but older films or low budget films like The Evil Dead, widescreen distorts that directors intended picture.
However, most people don't care about this, they just turn on the television and watch it how it appears on the screen. I'm not saying I'm some snob, but if it's a favorite movie of mine, I'm going to go out of my way to watch it the right way. However recently I bought a couple VHS tapes for 30 cents and I'll enjoys those films just fine. They were Hamburger Hill & The Hunt For Red October, released in 1987 & 1990 both were filmed in widescreen, and I'm sure these VHS are full screen or 4:3 aspect ratio. I have watched both movies in the past numerous times, but I haven't seen them in years.
Part II: Well I'm back today with some more information that I learned about aspect ratios in older movies.
On Christmas night the wife and I sat down to watch "It's A Wonderful Life", the timeless Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed 1946 classic. I had a digital copy on Vudu that I fired up and I was a bit surprised to see it was in 1.33:1 or 4:3 scale. I looked up the original aspect ratio of the film and found that it was filmed in 1.37:1, which is essentially 1.33:1. This lead me to the website The Digital Bits where I learned so much about the early days of Hollywood and how movies were filmed.
From the late 1890's until the early 1950's all movies were filmed in the same aspect ratio 1.33:1 or 4:3 which means for every four units width the image has 3 units of height. During this time the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the Academy standard 1.33:1. So all classic films before the 1950's were shot in this format and any anamorphic widescreen cuts of these films the print has been altered to make it look widescreen by cutting off the top and the bottom of the image.
When home televisions stared becoming mass produced the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) selected the Academy Standard as the official aspect ratio for broadcast television. This is referred to 4x3 or NTSC standard.
In the 1950's Hollywood started altering the aspect ratio of movies to lure people out of their homes and see movies on the big screen again in a format their home television couldn't duplicate. Although there are several different versions of widescreen images the most common ones used is the 1.85:1 ratio also known as Academy Flat and 2.23:1 or Anamorphic Scope.
With the home video boom of the 1980's this lead to movies being released in a full frame version via pan and scan. Essentially the image was modified by cutting of the edges of the film so it would fit the 4x3 home television screen. Yes you could rent movies in widescreen format but as a former video store employee I can tell you most casual movie fans hated the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.
It wasn't until 1996 that the first HDTV's were introduced with 16:9 aspect ratio, it wasn't until the mid 2000's that they became mass produced. I got my first one in 2007. 16:9 is now the standard format for television.
The X-Files is the first show I remember watching on television in widescreen. Starting with season five in 1997 they began filming the episodes in 1.78:1. I have the original DVD releases of the X-Files and Seasons 1 - 4 are presented in the 4:3 aspect. However, in the digital versions on Hulu and on the home video Blu-ray releases they have altered the images to make them 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. This, of course, irrorates me!
I realize that some of this information was repeated but that's okay. For me my aspect ratio preference depends on the movie or TV show. For the majority I don't care, but for a very specific list I care a whole lot.
What's your preference?