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Post #1287558

Author
captainsolo
Parent topic
Info: 'Dr. No' - Rare Uncut Version 1st Beta/VHS release 1982
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1287558/action/topic#1287558
Date created
2-Jul-2019, 5:09 PM

Williarob said:

JayArgonaut said:

captainsolo said:

Like all the non-scope Bonds for the SE DVD, GF was cropped to 1.78:1. While this is still around the safe limits for framing flat matted widescreen the SE DVDs did crop a bit too much on all five done this way and the 1.66 is the best ratio for the initial three in terms of composition.

Thankfully the 1.66:1 OAR was restored for the GF UE.

Here’s a fun fact: 1.66:1 is not the original theatrical aspect ratio for the first three Bond films, the correct AR is 1.85:1. Since the mid-fifties, the most common AR in the UK was 1.75, but Kinematograph Weekly specifically lists 1.85 as the intended ratio for the first three Bond films. This documentation is from a British trade journal at the time of principal photography so it’s as good as gospel:

Imgur

A big thank you to Bob Furmanek of the 3D film Archive (http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/) for pointing this out to me this weekend.

Now, like most of you, I like minimal cropping, so I’m glad there are 1.66:1 versions available, but it’s also nice to know how people saw it in theaters in 1962. Looking at an original IB Tech film frame from a 1962 print, we can see that there is slightly more picture information available, my math puts it at around 1.58:1 if you include all of it. I believe it was hard matted in camera to 1.66:1 so there is probably a little more picture information on the sides on the original negatives than made it onto this print.

Imgur

That’s spot on. The initial MGM widescreen LDs for DN-FRWL-GF are indeed at about a 1.58 ratio and reveal more than any other matted widescreen release.

While these work fine in 1.78 and 1.85 it requires careful framing which is not often done. Criterion did a better job on LD at 1.75 than MGM did in 1.78 for the SE DVDs for example. I prefer having 1.66 as it gives them perfect breathing room and all compositions seem improved over the tighter framings.