MovieChat Forums > The Secret of Roan Inish (1995) Discussion > Full Frame vs. Widescreen

Full Frame vs. Widescreen

posted 17 years ago by kurtmeg-2
3 replies | jump to latest

I am almost always a fan of the Widescreen version of movies, since it is usually the director and cinematographers original vision of the frame. But, I just did a head to head comparison of the two versions of this lovely film, and the Full frame has MUCH more picture in it, even to the sides which are normally so badly cropped in the "Pan and Scan" version. Does anyone know whether Sayles shot this full frame and then cropped it down for the "widescreen" market?

[–] Balcones 17 years ago

According to Imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111112/technical) it was shot in the 1:85:1 ratio. Assuming you watched it on a Tv instead of at a theater, are you sure the Tv was/is calibrated correctly? I had a widescreen Tv and the tube wasn't properly set (or something along those lines). Widescreen movies were being slightly cropped on the sides. I had to get it fixed under warranty.

Some dvd's have a THX calibration tool. It's certainly not the best but can be a quick check tool. Hope this helps.

[–] solovoyager 13 years ago

I have both a VHS "pan and scan" version and a DVD widescreen version of this movie.

The widescreen DVD has considerably less picture on the top and bottom of every scene. I am puzzled as to why this would be. I always thought widescreen versions of films added more scene to a film, particularly at the sides of the screen. Somehow the DVD widescreen version of "The Secret of Roan Inish" has lost scenery at the top and bottom of every scene in this movie.

WHY would this be the case? Did someone screw up in bringing the film to DVD? I actually prefer my VHS "pan scan" to the DVD widescreen as I get more scenery.

[–] Stoshie 11 years ago

This is not that unusual of a phenomenon. Movies that are shot in 4:3 format and then modified to 16:9 have to lose part of the top and bottom of scenes to fit the widescreen format. This is a variation of "pan and scan", where films shot in widescreen lose parts of the left and right of the picture when modified to a 4:3 format.

Sometimes films are shot in 4:3 format, but with the intention of cropping them for widescreen release. There are a few such films that, when viewed in full-screen format, have booms or other equipment or things visible in them. That is evident in this movie, in fact. Note that the "Trivia" section mentions a hand being visible moving the cradle in the water toward the end of the movie. That is only visible in the full-screen version; it is not visible in the theatrical release or the DVD.

I have seen a number of films in both widescreen and full-screen format where the full-screen version has things visible at the top and bottom that aren't visible in the widescreen format.

There used to be a web site that explained all this in great detail, with pictures to illustrate the various ways films are cropped for widescreen or full-screen, but I can't find it any more. Here is one site that does show this, using footage from one of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Look carefully at the pictures, and you will see how both widescreen and full screen films can lose parts of the original footage:

http://scrapbook.theonering.net/scrapbook/movies/sets/rivendell/view/8465

Personally, I always prefer widescreen. You are far more likely to lose important information by cropping the sides of a pictures than the top or bottom.