This was not a widescreen movie. Did anyone notice that when TCM showed it today the top and bottom of the picture were cropped to make it look widescreen?
To appreciate this beautiful, perfect film.
shareThere's a 1.66 version available for cable broadcast. The recent blu-ray release (2003) is in the original 1.33 theatrical aspect ratio.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/immersed-in-movies-shan e-celebrates-60th-at-tcm-classic-fest
Great info here, wow: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/the-first-year-of-widescreen
SHANE was shot in 1.33 in 1951 but premiered at Radio City Music Hall in 1953 in 1.66, so it apparently was the first widescreen release beating THE ROBE by some months. When widescreen took off it really took off, replacing the conventional 1.31 filming process in months.
Does anyone know what director George Stevens thought of their cropping it since he didn't intend it to be wide screen?
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I can't imagine Stevens was initially pleased that the studio was messing with his baby he had worked on for several years (including 2 years just editing it) but he must have realized there was a big change afoot in how films were going to be shown. For what it's worth his son thinks he would have liked the recent 1.66 version which has been done for cable and film festivals etc.
Apparently the film was shown in 1.66 format at the premiere but that doesn't mean it was shown in widescreen or that exact format in most theatres when it had its general release. Most theatres probably weren't set up yet for a widescreen presentation so it probably was seen in 1.33 by most viewers.
a lot of films were shot in the academy ratio that was essentially 4:3, but projected in theaters in widescreen by cropping or "masking" them to the "intended ratio" (what the director and DP wanted) of, say, 1.85:1. during filming, the top and bottom of the screen were "protected" (no visible equipment, crew, etc.) so that they would look fine once sold to television.
TCM shows many films from the '50's and '60's in 4:3 that were intended for 1.85:1 in theaters. i watch them properly by using my widescreen monitor's "zoom wide" function. for "shane", TCM showed the proper theatrical "intended ratio" (widescreen).
later on, when shooting in actual widescreen formats, the sides of screen were often protected so the middle of the image could be projected on TV... especially in the days before "panned and scanned" (where the image was actively reframed) prints were specially prepared for television.
also -- you can usually tell the intended ratio by the opening title/credits as printed by the studio.
shareJust to clear up a few things, "academy ratio" for sound films was not really 1.33, aka 4:3, but was 1.375 and was determined by the width of 35mm film in relation to the sprocket pull distance. Shane was filmed in this aspect ratio.
Shane was the first film released as a "widescreen" format film for these reasons, beyond the fact that Hollywood was trying to compete with TV:
1. It was a Western with great panoramic views of the outdoors, and the print image quality was very high.
2. It was in color and had mostly wide and medium shots without many close-up shots, and the cinematography was superb anyway.
3. It was shown in 1.66 format, which meant cropping the top and bottom of the frame a mere 9% respectively.
Therefore, it would not be that much of a loss of film image vs the fact that it could be advertised as a widescreen view film. It was done by cropping the top and bottom in the projector aperture, and then also adding a wider lens to project the film on a larger screen.
This is how ALL films shot on 35mm for widescreen projection that were not anamorphic nor Panavision were projected. Shot on 1.37 ratio and projected at a wider ratio. Of course the difference is that, on Shane, they did not know this while filming.
Whichever way you see the movie, it's still a superb viewing, and I doubt the director made a big stink about showing it 1.66 upon the premier.
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The Eyes of the City are Mine! Mother Pressman / Anguish (1987)
Eureka's new Blu-ray release is including three versions of the film, namely:
1.37:1, as originally shot;
1.66:1 with a fixed crop throughout, as originally premiered;
1.66:1 with variable shot-by-shot adjustments, as approved by George Stevens, Jr.
[quote]
1.37:1, as originally shot;
1.66:1 with a fixed crop throughout, as originally premiered;
1.66:1 with variable shot-by-shot adjustments, as approved by George Stevens, Jr./quote]
It was composed for 1,37, no doubt about it.
1,66 with fixed crop is interesting curiosity.
1,66 with pan and scan is just vandalism, not much better than colourisation, that has no artistic or historical justification.
I have an old 1:33 DVD of Shane but Today I finally saw the TCM widescreen version and I was amazed. I guess the 2 years Mr. Stevens took to finish the picture was worth it being by time it came out in 1953 was the year widescreen films started to become widespread. Seeing the Tetons in 16x9 full screen was a thrill.
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