The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring HDTV vs Blu-ray Comparison - Page 30

Theese films were shot on 35mm film, so no.He did not shoot in in 1.78.

I agree. That was the first thing I noticed, too.

surely that's not the only frame in the movie where he's wearing that costume...

sometimes less distracting visual elements in a shot means a better shot.

Good point. I guess I was just focused on that since this was the one frame I was evaluating, not the entire film or even that scene in general.

Tonite on DirecTV HD FOTR was shown at 1.78.
I compared it to the 2.35 BD....

The BD has better resolution and color (no surprise there).
The framing is somewhat more problematic.
I am of 2 minds here....

Perhaps screen size may be a factor.
On one hand, for those with small 16x9 TVs, the 1.78 AR may be preferable.
OTOH, those with FPs would probably prefer 2.35.

Ultimately, whatever AR PJ prefers is what should be on the EE BDs.
LOTR is too much of a classic not to be so.

Even if a movie is shot in Super 35, the effects shots are not necessarily composed/rendered/whathaveyou at anything "taller" than 2.35:1. So while you would see more of the Super 35 stuff, you would be seeing less of the effects stuff.

Anyway, someone want to take a crack at updating the screenshots for the extended blu-ray???!!!

It busies up the frame and draws attention away from Boromir's face. And including the clasp would mean that you would either have to frame down or zoom out, which would further de-emphasize his face.

Remember, more is not always better


In what way is the framing problematic? The film was framed on-set for 2.35:1 (though Peter Jackson allegedly made sure that Lesnie made the film "broadcast-safe" when it was shot, meaning that it could be safely reframed for 1.33:1 or 1.78:1 when shown on television), it was shown in theatres at 2.35:1, and all previous home video releases have been 2.35:1. The 1.78:1 is no no way preferable, just as 1.33:1 presentations weren't preferable.

The only thing preferable is the OAR, period.

It was never a factor to me. Even my on my old 27" trinitron I would watch Ben-Hur OAR.

In the LD days, I would watch it (and everything else) in OAR on a 19"!

Oh, is this "who had the smallest CRT" bragging group? I watched Last of the Mohicans 2.35:1 on a 14" TV. Ha!

I used to stream media from my home server to my Samsung A900. OAR on 2" display! Beat that!

lol but at what viewing distance?

When I'm at my pop's farm - which is the equivalent of timbuktu remote-ness for Australia, I watch his 34cm CRT tv which only receives old analog TV signals (which are soon to be shut off here in a year or two) - I sometimes watch late-night foreign movies on SBS which are 2.35:1, at a viewing distance of about 6-7 metres as that's how far away the couch is, and with subtitles.

Now that's a challenge