Out today on DVD:
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=120364502/sear ch=the%20broken/st=product/sv=image
Pricegrabber
The Broken was my #1 Top Pick from the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
See my review:
http://www.pronetworks.org/forums/my-review-of-the-broken-at-2008-sund ance-film-festival-t101847.html#p762009
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The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
You will be disappointed to learn that the aspect ratio of The Broken has been cropped by Lionsgate from 2:35:1 to 1:78:1 for it's DVD release. I wouldn't care so much if I wasn't familiar with Sean Ellis' prior film Cashback, which was beautifully shot. And the trailers for the Broken seem to showcase the elegant cinematography as well. Unfortunately, Lionsgate has zoomed on the picture making it both grainier and more cramped. I wish there were enough people to care about this stuff to get them to release a proper version of it.
shareWhat?!? Oh my, that is disheartening. The look of this film has as much to do with its emotional impact as the story and acting.
Why would they do something like this? Is it such a cost savings?
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The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
No, I would think it would cost them more to actually alter the aspect ratio and to make sure all of the essential visual information fits into the new framing. Lionsgate got a lot of crap for doing this with the Nicolas Cage movie Lord of War. They got enough complaints that they reissued the DVD in the right apsect ratio. But they hadn't learned their lesson as later releases of Christopher Smith's Creep and The Nun have been altered. It makes no sense to me since they kept the 2:35:1 aspect ratio for The Butterfly Effect 3, released concurrently with The Broken. I'd say we can write a letter, but I don't think enough people will care about htis release.
shareI was going to say that maybe they wanted all 8 Horrorfest films to fit the same format but, as you said, some are at 2.35:1.
What about From Within? I saw that at Tribeca and it was 2.35:1. They kept it 2.35:1 for this release.
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The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.