I just bought the DVD and I am unsure if the Movie was somehow cropped in order to provide 4:3 fullscreen format. On google search I found hints that the original format was 1,37:1 which comes pretty close to 4:3. Can someone confirm this?
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There are a number of films that were shot in full screen, then masked off at top and bottom for widescreen theatrical release. (Hitchcock did this with PSYCHO.) Often, if you compare the full screen VHS release of such a film with its letterboxed DVD counterpart, you are actually seeing more image information in the fullscreen tape. Stanley Kubrick got to the point he would shoot his features in fullscreen then mask them off for the cinema, reasoning that in the long run more people would ultimately see his films on TV than in the theatre.
shareI think the UK DVD from Optimum is cropped as the opening titles are in widescreen - with the early 80's United Artists logo - and the remainder of the film has awkward placement, suggesting it came from a reissue print.
My question is how did United Artists end up with a Warner film