In any case, widescreen is not always the perferable version. It's whatever the director prefers. For example, Kubrick did not shoot many of his later films in widescreen, he shot them in full frame (TV aspect ratio). In the theaters, the tops and bottom were matted off. Widescreening began in the 1950's, so don't look for widescreen versions of Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, etc. And just because it was shot open matte (TV aspect ratio) doesn't mean the full screen version is better than widescreen. Back to the Future is one example. Another one is the famous nude scene in A Fish Called Wanda. In the widescreen version, Cleese is naked, in the fullscreen version, he has shorts on.
In any case, widescreen is not always the perferable version. It's whatever the director prefers. For example, Kubrick did not shoot many of his later films in widescreen, he shot them in full frame (TV aspect ratio). In the theaters, the tops and bottom were matted off. Widescreening began in the 1950's, so don't look for widescreen versions of Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, etc. And just because it was shot open matte (TV aspect ratio) doesn't mean the full screen version is better than widescreen. Back to the Future is one example. Another one is the famous nude scene in A Fish Called Wanda. In the widescreen version, Cleese is naked, in the fullscreen version, he has shorts on.