ChainsawAsh said:

And do you have any proof that the director approved any fullscreen release? (I haven't read through this entire thread, so I apologize if I missed something.)

You should at the very least read post #1 in any thread ;)

pupil said:

There are two versions available on DVD, the MGM version which is widely commercially available, and the IRE version, whose transfer was commissioned by Godfrey Reggio for its pressing to DVD, several years before the MGM version was announced. ...

The IRE version was released as a very limited release directly from Godfrey Reggio a few years before the MGM version finally came out on DVD, at a time when it wasn't sure if a studio was ever going to release it on DVD. This release via Godfrey Reggio's website was very very limited though ... Consider this a preservation commissioned by Reggio when it didn't look like any other DVD release of the film was due to happen.