$9 - Spec. ED. Sky Captain : World of Tomorrow

Mookyjooky

Mookyjooky

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[quote name='Mookyjooky']This was a great movie[/QUOTE]
great movie??? o man i thought this movie blew chunks. the story was so dumb.
 
[quote name='ironmouse']great movie??? o man i thought this movie blew chunks. the story was so dumb.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for your opinion. Everyone has them, and I'm glad that you took the time to educate us in your vast intellect.
 
Great great movie. One of my favorite of last year. I was glad to see that there was at least one original idea/concept still out in Hollywood, even though this movie is one of those retro style films in the image of the old serials, etc. Gave me hope at least and the acting was superb. Great price for this movie, but I think I'll wait for it to be B&M at this price to conserve some money for now.
 
[quote name='Mookyjooky']http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006IIPIK/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs/103-6948386-7931826?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

I picked up this and Appleseed w/metal case for around $30 bucks for free shipping.

Note: This is the Widescreen Version... NOT the Full screen. Full screen is Normal price.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...ref=sr_1_2/103-6948386-7931826?v=glance&s=dvd[/QUOTE]

Hey do most people prefer full screen over wide screen? It really doesnt matter much to me. Give me your opinions ... I'm just curious. Thanks.
 
[quote name='beguile']Hey do most people prefer full screen over wide screen? It really doesnt matter much to me. Give me your opinions ... I'm just curious. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Wide Screen is the definite way to go. I'll let others go more into detail on it, but I definitely prefer Wide.
 
I prefer widesreen. I usually watch movies on my laptop,which is widescreen, and it fits nicely. Not to mention that in fullscreen you're actually missing some of what was originally filmed by the camera. And thank you for appreciating my very boiled down opinion of the movie.
 
I prefer widescreen, even though my tv's aspect ratio is 4:3, because it seems as if most tv manufacturers are starting to make widescreen tv sets more.
 
I prefer whatever format the feature is MEANT to be in (rather it be Widescreen or Academy ratio). But yeah... Sky Captain is Widescreen therefore I would never dare touch a Pan And Scam edition ever. :D
 
I think *most* people that really understand the difference prefer widescreen (when that was the original format). I've seen DVDs before that had sections on them that showed you what the difference is, and I think places like Best Buy should run that demo non-stop. The sooner people understand what they're missing & quit buying fullscreen, the sooner I'll stop accidentally picking them up in stores. :p
 
I used to really care about educating people about Widescreen Vs. Fullscreen, but I've lost that industrious spark I had long ago. ;) Usually, if you're offered a choice, widescreen is the way to go, since nobody complains about movies in Academy Flat (aka 1.33:1, aka Fullscreen) not being in widescreen, heh. If you're interested in educating yourself, look no further than Widescreen-O-Rama. Also, This site is pretty good too.

On topic, Sky Captain is a great, entertaining flick. The DVD is awesome, with great AV and some very cool extras. You won't be disappointed for $9.
 
[quote name='Mookyjooky']Remember when Widescreen was called "Letterbox".... ?[/QUOTE]

Correct me if I 'm wrong, but isn't letterbox a form of widescreen? I have a widescreen TV and some movies fill up the whole screen. Others still have the black bar on top and bottom (letter box) even though the menus etc. are full widescreen. I coan't swaer to it, but I thought letterbox was just the way it was filmed.

Anyway, I agree that Sky Captain was a fun movie that was really underappreciated. The acting was intentionally hammy and the plot was similar to many old school serials (i. e. over blown melodrama and fairly non-sensical). I also agree with everyone else. Always get the widescreen even if you have a 4:3. I watch a lot of movies o a 4:3 tv and even though the picture is more "narrow" you get to see it the way it was intended.
 
[quote name='Stryffe2004']Correct me if I 'm wrong, but isn't letterbox a form of widescreen? I have a widescreen TV and some movies fill up the whole screen. Others still have the black bar on top and bottom (letter box) even though the menus etc. are full widescreen. I coan't swaer to it, but I thought letterbox was just the way it was filmed.

Anyway, I agree that Sky Captain was a fun movie that was really underappreciated. The acting was intentionally hammy and the plot was similar to many old school serials (i. e. over blown melodrama and fairly non-sensical). I also agree with everyone else. Always get the widescreen even if you have a 4:3. I watch a lot of movies o a 4:3 tv and even though the picture is more "narrow" you get to see it the way it was intended.[/QUOTE]
Eh, I think letterbox was an archaic term to begin with. It conjures up a negative image, since most people used to think the black bars were forcing you to miss most of the picture, contrary to what most of us know now. Widescreen, as a term, has a more positive feel to it, because wider means more.

As for the letterboxing on your TV, it has to do with the aspect ratio that the film was shot on. There are two main widescreen ratios, 1.85:1 (meaning the image is 1.85 times wider than it is tall) and 2.35:1 (meaning 2.35 times wider than tall). Widescreen TVs are 1.78:1, which means that 1.85:1 films almost completely fill the display (there are tiny black bars if your display is set up correctly, but most people never notice them). 2.35:1 films have to fit the 1.78:1 display, so there are still black bars to preserve the original image. A good site that covers it, visually, is right here. You can usually see what ratio a film is by looking at the back of the case.
 
[quote name='Santurio']letterbox was just the term they used for widescreen movies back in the day.[/QUOTE]

Yep, especially during the Laserdisc days. :)

(Proud owner of a Pioneer CLD-D702)
 
[quote name='buffdrew84']ive seen numerous copies preowned at blockbuster for 6.99 along witht the buy 2 get 1 free sale. Never seen it though[/QUOTE]

I think the price varies by region, or possibly even by store. I think my BB still charges $12.99 or $14.99 for it.
 
[quote name='demomanTNA']I prefer whatever format the feature is MEANT to be in (rather it be Widescreen or Academy ratio). But yeah... Sky Captain is Widescreen therefore I would never dare touch a Pan And Scam edition ever. :D[/QUOTE]

Agreed.
 
There's a distinction between letterbox and widescreen:

Letterbox = only uses the center part of the screen (black bars)
Widescreen = fills the whole screen (no bars, but image is distorted, people look 9 feet tall)



If you still have a square TV, you want the letterboxed version. If you have one of the new wide TVs, then you want the widescreen version, so you can "stretch" the image & make it look proper.

troy
 
[quote name='electrictroy']There's a distinction between letterbox and widescreen:

Letterbox = only uses the center part of the screen (black bars)
Widescreen = fills the whole screen (no bars, but image is distorted, people look 9 feet tall)



If you still have a square TV, you want the letterboxed version. If you have one of the new wide TVs, then you want the widescreen version, so you can "stretch" the image & make it look proper.

troy[/QUOTE]

Totally wrong.

The term letterbox is now generally only used for non-anamorphic widescreen sources (some older DVDs aren't anamorphic - like the current Office Space and Titanic DVDs). Video on the disc has black bars as part of the 4:3 video.

Anamorphic widescreen - signal doesn't include black bars. If the DVD player is set to 4:3 it basically basically generates them for you, reducing the resolution a bit, if you have your DVD player set to 4:3 on a 4:3 normal TV. If you have a 16:9 TV or a display with 16:9 squeeze, DVD player set to 16:9, you get a proper image.

You only get stretchy-people vision if you don't have your DVD player set to the proper ratio (4:3 or 16:9).

Here's a good page with explanation/pictures:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/anamorphic185demo.html


About pan-n-scan vs widescreen...pictures say more than words...
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama2.html

PS - Sky Captain was a fairly decent flick, saw it in the theater. No big storyline/characterization movie by any means, but the original style/environment makes it worthwhile.
 
[quote name='GreenMonkey']Totally wrong. The term letterbox is now generally only used for non-anamorphic widescreen sources. Video on the disc has black bars as part of the 4:3 video.[/quote]
Isn't that what I said? YES.


Anamorphic widescreen - signal doesn't include black bars.
Click to expand...
I said that too.



Good God. Learn to read, before you criticize other people. What I wrote was accurate.

troy
 
[quote name='electrictroy']There's a distinction between letterbox and widescreen:

Letterbox = only uses the center part of the screen (black bars)
Widescreen = fills the whole screen (no bars, but image is distorted, people look 9 feet tall)



If you still have a square TV, you want the letterboxed version. If you have one of the new wide TVs, then you want the widescreen version, so you can "stretch" the image & make it look proper.

troy[/QUOTE]
The problem is, you're making it seem like letterboxed AND widescreen DVDs exist for a given film. They don't. Movies are only released in WIDESCREEN and FULLSCREEN (obviously). Most newer DVDs use anamorphic widescreen, which means they will exhibit the correct aspect ratio on both 4:3 TVs and 16:9 TVs (provided that have correctly chosen the type of display you have in your DVD player's menu). Some DVDs claim to be widescreen, but they're non-anamorphic. This means that on a 16:9 TV, they will look stretched.

I never really understood what anamorphic widescreen meant until I went from a 4:3 TV to a 16:9 TV. On my old TV all of my DVDs (everything widescreen) looked just fine. Then when I got my new TV, most of my DVDs continued to look fine, but some of them looked stretched. I realized that this was because they were non-anamorphic. Luckily, most new DVDs ARE anamorphic, and some older ones that weren't have been re-released in the correct format. So, if you have a 4:3 TV, get the widescreen version no matter what. If you have a 16:9 TV, get the widescreen version, but make sure it's anamorphic.
 
[quote name='vatstep']The problem is, you're making it seem like letterboxed AND widescreen DVDs exist for a given film. They don't. Movies are only released in WIDESCREEN and FULLSCREEN (obviously). [/QUOTE]

Not true. Some movies have been released in all 3 formats - pan-n-scan/fullscreen, letterboxed 4:3, and anamorphic widescreen.

As you said, letterbox isn't common today, but you should still watch for it, so you can avoid it.




BTW, for older dvds that are letterboxed, can you adjust your widescreen TV so the video is displayed as 4:3 ratio (i.e. black bars on the left/right)?? That would eliminate the distortion.

troy
 
[quote name='electrictroy']BTW, for older dvds that are letterboxed, can you adjust your widescreen TV so the video is displayed as 4:3 ratio (i.e. black bars on the left/right)?? That would eliminate the distortion.[/QUOTE]I can, I'd just rather not. To me, it's just been worth it to double dip and get a newer version (if it exists) that's anamorphic. The black bars on the sides are an annoyance I'd rather not deal with.
 
If you still have a square TV, you want the letterboxed version. If you have one of the new wide TVs, then you want the widescreen version, so you can "stretch" the image & make it look proper.
Click to expand...

??

This was a correct comment? No, it wasn't, not at all. You don't buy the "letterbox" version for 4:3 and "widescreen" version for 16:9 Tvs. And the comment about WS being fullscreen but stretch

Letterbox = only uses the center part of the screen (black bars)
Widescreen = fills the whole screen (no bars, but image is distorted, people look 9 feet tall)
Click to expand...

Again, the main part of the post - very misleading.

Not true. Some movies have been released in all 3 formats - pan-n-scan/fullscreen, letterboxed 4:3, and anamorphic widescreen.
Click to expand...

That's getting more clear.
Occasionally there are old non-anamorphic discs. They aren't called or labeled "letterbox", they just say widescreen like all the other ones.

Any WS disc without an "enhanced for 16:9 televisions" or "anamorphic widescreen" could possibly be non-anamorphic - but it might be. In those instances googling will be likely needed to find out - DVD labeling wasn't consistent for early releases.
 
[quote name='GreenMonkey']
Letterbox = only uses the center part of the screen (black bars)
Widescreen = fills the whole screen (no bars, but image is distorted, people look 9 feet tall)
Click to expand...
And the comment about WS being fullscreen but stretch..... Again, the main part of the post - very misleading.[/QUOTE]
No. It's 100% accurate. The DVD stores an NTSC frame (~525x480), which is a *square* format. With letterbox, they only use the center part of the frame (lines 100-380) and color the other lines black.

With anamorphic widescreen, they use the whole frame (lines 1-480). Therefore they squeeze the widescreen movie into a square format, and when viewed without modification, the actors appear 9 feet tall.



Also if you look up the word "anamorphic" you'll see it means squeezed/stretched/et cetera. For example, anamorphic lenses are used in the movie industry to squeeze a 16:9 image into a standard square-shaped area (making people look tall). Ditto anamorphic widescreen.



Holds up Gattaca DVD. Oh, and here's a movie that says "letterbox" on it from circa 1998. It actually has two sides - pan-n-scan on side 1, and letterbox on side 2.

troy
 
Keep telling people:

If you still have a square TV, you want the letterboxed version. If you have one of the new wide TVs, then you want the widescreen version, so you can "stretch" the image & make it look proper.
Click to expand...

See if they get confused looking for the "letterbox" version because they have a normal TV, and not getting the "widescreen version" because they will "people that look 9 ft tall"

The correct answer is: if you have a TV you want the WIDESCREEN version. Make sure your DVD player is set to 4:3 for 4:3 TVs and 16:9 for 16:9 TVs.

OMG I give up.
 
YES, that part of my post was wrong. I didn't realize you could watch anamorphic DVDs on a square TV. Ooops.



Still you said I was "completely" wrong... no. Just that one sentence. The other 90% of my post was fine.

troy
 
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