Andcon2217 said:
To my knowledge (particularly after buying the incorrectly labelled box set) the only version of the SLV that got a release in Australia was a pan n scan 4:3 version. I know that I sold the vhs tape eventually for that very reason…which was pretty dumb in hindsight! Isn’t the only “real” SLV version a 4:3 version anyway, because it would have been put together for tv back then…and there were no widescreen beauties around back then! All confusing, isn’t it?
Yeah, ST: TMP (SLV) has never been commercially released on home video in widescreen. I also had the widescreen PAL VHS box set and it contained the the theatrical version of ST: TMP - which was the first time I’d ever seen that cut and I wasn’t impressed at all. I understood why it received a critical thumbs down back in '79. The SLV is so much better, although it’s worth noting that Robert Wise had stated that if he’d wielded artistic control, ala Lucas, both the SLV and the theatrical release wouldn’t exist.
On a side note, films did make it onto TV and early home video occasionally in widescreen during the 80s. The BBC aired 2001 in its original aspect ratio and Woody Allen insisted that Manhattan be shown on TV and home video in 16:9. Amarcord and Monty Python’s …Holy Grail received widescreen releases on CED.