TServo2049 said:
There's a reason the widescreen version of Jurassic Park feels too tight: It IS too tight. Every widescreen transfer of JP since DVD (or possibly even the Japanese MUSE Hi-Vision LD) has been zoomed in, for no apparent reason. Even the 3D theatrical DCP was overcropped. (And I saw an IMAX 2D 15/70 print of the 3D re-release version at a science museum screening - it was also overcropped.)
The original letterbox LD had much more open framing, even though it was the same 1.85:1 AR as the later releases. The 35mm preservation also has more open framing.
I can't figure out why the overcropping has persisted for so long. (I am even starting to doubt whether the 3D version came from a new scan...)
I know that. But the 3D version is from a new 4K scan. If you look closely, despite the DNR, there are fine details on the skin, clothes, that you've never seen on any home video version before. But like you, I've no idea why Jurassic Park is getting overcropped, especially when the original widescreen framing (seen in the laserdisc, 35mm prints) is about perfect. The cropped 1.85:1 2013 dcp looks butchered in some shots. And the colour timing though now closer to the 35mm prints, is much warmer than the 35mm version. The Brachiosaur head was almost cropped when it was grabbing the leaf from the tree, the T-Rex snout was cropped when it roars in the VC lobby. And overall, it feels too tight to qualify as a good framing. In fact I'd argue that the open-matte 4:3 version feels very comfortable to look at and neither feels cropped or too loose.
