# You wanna know how to watch that DVD? Shove it up your widescreen ass. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213 "2004-04-09T19:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/101 "2004-04-19T07:46:18Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > At the risk of adding to a thread that really doesn’t deserve to be any longer (oh well, too late now), isn’t that not actually true? Couldn’t he just turn his back to the screen? And by the way, if you were looking at an infinitely large screen, wouldn’t each pixel also be infinitely large? Sorry for the interruption; now please return to your ignorance-fighting. Possibly the most inane reason for bumping a thread, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/102 "2004-04-19T13:13:14Z")
Last night, I watched **Pirates of the Caribbean**. A great movie, and one of the few that we own on DVD. We’re not rich, and what money we have we prefer to put into things like eating good food, taking trips to interesting places, and replacing the pork-colored shag carpeting downstairs with something less intestinal in appearance. That means that we have one TV: a six-year-old model, probably 19", given to me as a graduation present. It suits our purposes fine, for the most part: we watch maybe 5 hours of TV a week between us, and rent a couple of movies every month. But last night, I realized just how much widescreen can suck for folks like us. PotC is a fantastic movie full of great visuals (and I’m not talking about the CGI skeletons: I’m mostly talking about Johnny Depp’s phenomenal physical performance). But watching the movie widescreen meant that these visuals were reduced to such a small size that most of the details were completely lost. Assuredly **gobear** will come along to tell me to plunk down $1,299 to buy a bigger TV; **spectrum** will come along to tell me that I should be burned at the stake for suggesting heresy; **I Love Me, Vol. 1** will come along to tell me, in great tedious detail, how stupid I am. But beyond all that, a fullscreen version of the movie would have worked better for me. I love the movie because Captain Jack Sparrow is such a great character, and it’s his smirks and staggers and stares I want to be watching. Given our small television and lack of funds (or incentive) to purchase a larger one, it makes more sense for me to watch a movie like this fullscreen. **blowero** is right: pro-choice is the most reasonable position here. There is no morality involved, no paean to the sanctity of artwork (remember, directors: if you don’t want your movie whored out, don’t finance it through a whorish studio). Different versions of the movie will be better for different people. One more note: from a previous thread on this subject, I learned that widescreen folks aren’t seeing the full frame, either: the full frame is always edited down by the director to get the final shot. IN some cases, the fullscreen version actually shows **more** information in a better shot than the widescreen version does. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/103 "2004-04-19T20:07:23Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > As someone pointed out in the other thread about this, it’s like buying a great painting and then cutting off parts of both sides so you can fit it in your frame (buy another frame). Not really though is it? Usually with great painting there is _one_ copy. I would liken this to buying a poster of a painting and then cutting the sides off it to fit your frame. Basically, why would you give a shit what someone did with his or her postcard depicting the Mona Lisa its not affecting the original is it? On the other hand I think the spirit of the OP is people who think that widescreen means they _lose_ something which full screen keeps. Pointing out that this is bullshit is fighting ignorance, getting your knickers in a twist about what format people watch their films in is simply geeky, obsessive and pedantic. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/104 "2004-04-19T21:44:00Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > On the other hand I think the spirit of the OP is people who think that widescreen means they _lose_ something which full screen keeps. Pointing out that this is bullshit is fighting ignorance, getting your knickers in a twist about what format people watch their films in is simply geeky, obsessive and pedantic. I totally agree with you, but just a minor nitpick: The OPs point was the latter rather than the former. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/105 "2004-04-19T21:52:18Z")
Whoops! Am I going to get into trouble for censoring his ‘art’ by not paying full attention to his post therefore missing his intended point and not fully appreciating his work in its original, uncut glory? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/106 "2004-04-20T00:49:15Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Possibly the most inane reason for bumping a thread, ever. Ha! Not half as inane as bumping it to _reply_ to that post! > [@TJDude](#): > > At the risk of adding to a thread that really doesn’t deserve to be any longer (oh well, too late now), isn’t that not actually true? Couldn’t he just turn his back to the screen? And by the way, if you were looking at an infinitely large screen, wouldn’t each pixel also be infinitely large? Sorry for the interruption; now please return to your ignorance-fighting. Then it wouldn’t be infinite. If it’s infinite, it exsists in all possible points in space in the entire universe. No matter which way you turn, you would be looking at it. Also, each pixel wouldn’t have to be infinitely large, there would just have to be an infinite number of them. Which would be some _killer_ resolution. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/107 "2004-04-20T01:25:19Z")
Just remember a few years ago when people didn’t have to own movies at all? I’m starting to think of those as the good old days. You saw a movie once or twice in the theater and that was that, unless you caught it years later on TV. Now they need to own every movie they like, see all the chopped footage, have director commentaries, and get worked up about formats. I avoid the DVD extras. The ruin movies for me the way grad school ruined novels for me for about five years. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/108 "2004-04-20T02:45:06Z")
As to the OP, I have had a couple frustrating experiences trying to find out if the damned DVD in my hand was widescreen or pan & scan. In the most recent case, this information was helpfully included inside the front flap of the nifty cardboard DVD box, which was of course hermetically sealed in shrinkwrap. Regarding _Ghostbusters_, I think as others have mentioned, the comments aren’t necessarily about its artistry (though I don’t see why it couldn’t be art), but about the atrociousness of the pan & scan. We had the VHS version long before DVDs were around, and I had no clue about widescreen format, aspect ratios, shot composition, or cinematography. Still, I could tell something was wrong with the movie - it was like watching the film through the eyes of a weaving drunkard. It was almost enough to give you motion sickness. And finally, skutir, you have confirmed for me the general idiocy of any ode to “the good old days.” You are aware that no one is forcing you to watch DVDs, and that lots of people actually enjoy seeing their favorite movies often and learning about their making, yes? ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/109 "2004-04-20T03:35:23Z")
> [@AerynSun](#): > > And finally, skutir, you have confirmed for me the general idiocy of any ode to “the good old days.” You are aware that no one is forcing you to watch DVDs, and that lots of people actually enjoy seeing their favorite movies often and learning about their making, yes? I was, in the true spirit of message boards, giving my opinion. I re-read my post and see nothing that suggests a condemnation of anyone else, simply my own preference to watch a movie and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/110 "2004-04-20T04:03:10Z")
> [@Mockingbird](#): > > When my fucking video store doesn’t mark the DVDs and I get home with a copy of ‘Down With Love’ and it is Full Frame, I AM PISSED OFF. Yes, the video store obviously acted inappropriately here. The proper thing for them to do would have been to beat some sense into you before allowing you to rent ‘Down With Love’. 😛 (Sorry, but I thought it was utter crap) > [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > blowero is right: pro-choice is the most reasonable position here. There is no morality involved, no paean to the sanctity of artwork (remember, directors: if you don’t want your movie whored out, don’t finance it through a whorish studio). Different versions of the movie will be better for different people. Shame on you, **LHoD** , for having the nerve to bring _reason_ to this argument. > [@Miller](#): > > If it’s infinite, it exsists in all possible points in space in the entire universe. No matter which way you turn, you would be looking at it. Not if it’s planar, and as we all know, the better TV’s are truly flat. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/111 "2004-04-20T04:26:39Z")
> [@galt](#): > > Not if it’s planar, and as we all know, the better TV’s are truly flat. Ah, but the curvature of space-time makes an infinite flat-screen TV impossible. ---
**Author:** ![cheesepickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@cheesepickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheesepickles)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/112 "2004-04-20T04:33:36Z")
To the widescreen folks who argue that fullscreen deprives the viewer of the artist’s original intent: Could it not be argued that watching the movie in any format on any tv screen as opposed to watching the movie projected onto a large screen on a theater is also a bastardization of the product? Aren’t all movies intended to be watched in a theater with a group of people? This is just my perspective… ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/113 "2004-04-20T06:39:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Mockingbird > It is so pathetic to see people voice the same bullshit we had to deal with in high school. These are the losers who compensate for their tiny non-functional dicks with red sports cars and trophy wives 20 years younger than they are. I resent that. As someone with a red sports car and a beautiful, lithe young wife 20 years my junior, and a complete set of Fantastic Four 1-511, I assure you that my medium-sized dick’s functionality is nothing less than perfectly adequate. Hell, on occasion, it’s risen to the level of “pretty good for a guy my age”. And that’s without Viagra. People who are trying to make a distinction between the “art” of a movie and it’s entertainment value are creating a false distinction. If you laugh at _Ghostbusters_, you are aprreciating its artistic merit; in this case its humor. When your reaction to a movie is what the creators intended, be it laughter, tears, pathos, horror, awe, or any other reaction, you are responding to whether the movie achieves its artistic vision. Put another way, when you laugh at _Ace Ventura: Pet Detective_ you are enjoying it for its art. Widescreen movies aren’t just about beautiful scenery. Often, it’s about the composition of the shot. Example the first: In _The Graduate_, Mrs. Robinson is putting on her stockings in the foreground as Ben watches in the background. In the Pan n scan version, the frame cuts from putting on the stocking to Ben’s reaction, which ruins the shot entirely. Example the second: In _The Karate Kid_ (available only in the butchered version) Daniel’s girlfriend fakes her way into the karate tournement by pretending to be Mr. Miyagi’s translator. The official thanks Miyagi to which he replies, “Welcome” and walks away. In the PnS version the camera pans to follow Miyagi, cutting off the official’s reaction, ruining the visual joke. Example the third: In _Pee Wee’s Big Adventure_, Pee Wee is taking some chain out of the saddlebags of his treasured bicycle. The theatrical version was filmed at 4:3, with the upper and lower portions masked out to create the 1.85:1 theatrical version. The home video release was “open matte”, which showed the whole screen, including that extra stuff at the top and bottom that wasn’t supposed to be visible to the audience. In this case, you can clearly see a huge pile of chain on the ground under the open-bottomed saddle bag being fed through as Pee Wee takes out way too much chain to secure his bike. Tim Burton was not happy that his carefully arranged gag was given away by showing it incorrectly. Example the fourth: In _Silverado_, Kevin Costner stands at the corner of a sidewalk and draws guns with both hands, gunning down two men simultaneously, each at the opposite end of the screen. The PnS version shows only one of the men. Later, in the final showdown, Kevin Kline faces down Brian Dennehy in the street, and the PnS version cannot fit both on the screen at the same time, forcing a cut from one to the other during the gunfight. None of these movies, save perhaps _The Graduate_ is a great work of art, but they are nevertheless works of art. To fully appreciate them, they must be viewed in the version that is closest to the creator’s vision as possible. I object only when the sole version offered is the butchered one. Sure, offer people who lack the understanding or aesthetics or proper equipment a circumcised version, but let those of us who truly respect the artistic vision of the creators a version as close the original as possible. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/114 "2004-04-20T06:40:44Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Ah, but the curvature of space-time makes an infinite flat-screen TV impossible. I had actually thought about that, but I don’t know enough Einsteinian physics to figure a way around it. But this is what I love about the SDMB. Nobody has mentioned that an infinite screen would be extremely hard to see (unless you were an infinite distance from it), you’d have great trouble placing the speakers without blocking part of the picture, or that it’d take an infinite amount of plastic, metal, electron guns, electricity, time to build it, etc. Nobody has mentioned that even with the signal travelling at the speed of light, different areas of the screen would be vastly out of sync with each other, or the fact that an infinite screen would also have infinite mass (unless perhaps it were also infinitely thin), and therefore destroy the universe. Or even just the basic fact that infinite objects simply don’t exist. No such problems are even mentioned, until someone realizes that the curvature of space-time prevents such a screen from existing. Fucking curvature of space-time. Ha. Sorry. May this be the end of the infinite-screen hijack. Just kiddin’ guys, keep it goin! Hijack hijack hijack! ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/115 "2004-04-20T06:47:29Z")
Cheesepickles: You’re right that it is a compromise just watching the movie in any video format. But this doesn’t justify causing further damage to the director’s vision. Directors almost universally prefer the widescreen versions of their movies. One notable exception is Stanley Kubrick, who filmed many of his later movies with the intent of their being released on video full screen. But he made the movies with this in mind; he composed the shots to look right in both formats. Most director’s do not. To be fair, many movies are made center-heavy, with little going on on the sides of the movie, for the very reason that less will be lost when they are shown on 4:3. Less lost, however, does not mean nothing lost. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/116 "2004-04-20T12:28:09Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > I was, in the true spirit of message boards, giving my opinion. I re-read my post and see nothing that suggests a condemnation of anyone else, simply my own preference to watch a movie and be done with it. Sure, and you are welcome to do that. My point was that the current state of affairs in no way prevents you from continuing to watch a movie once in the theater, and never again. So what are you complaining about? Seemed to me it was the option _other_ people have to own movies. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/117 "2004-04-20T13:01:24Z")
> [@Number Six](#): > > I object only when the sole version offered is the butchered one. Sure, offer people who lack the understanding or aesthetics or proper equipment a circumcised version, but let those of us who truly respect the artistic vision of the creators a version as close the original as possible. Okay, okay, okay! Y’all are better than me! I’m just an ignorant ass, incapable of appreciating the true grandeur of an artiste’s vision! I bow before you! Bring me thy boots, and I will lick them! Happy now? Or do I break out the scourge? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/118 "2004-04-20T13:27:55Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Okay, okay, okay! Y’all are better than me! I’m just an ignorant ass, incapable of appreciating the true grandeur of an artiste’s vision! I bow before you! Bring me thy boots, and I will lick them! > > Happy now? Or do I break out the scourge? > > Daniel Well, shit, it sure took you long enough. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/119 "2004-04-20T15:17:52Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > Sorry-- if you prefer a version of someone’s artistic work that has parts of both sides torn off then you are a moron. > > As someone pointed out in the other thread about this, it’s like buying a great painting and then cutting off parts of both sides so you can fit it in your frame (buy another frame). > > Why _moron_? Because you are shitting all over the work that hundreds of people spent months making. I don’t care if it’s Fellini or Kevin Smith. > > It’s just wrong. Because, by God, you haven’t seen “Weekend and Bernie’s II” until you see it in wide screen! Infidels! -Joe, just joking, hates P&S ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/120 "2004-04-20T15:50:41Z")
If the boxes aren’t marked, I can forgive you if you are a movie nut and you were all jazzed up about seeing Ghostbusters in it’s full glory, while you sit there like a shmuck holding a crappo P&S version. Forgiven. You wanted the widescreen version, you didn’t get it and you didn’t know much about the product because of poor labelling. Damn the company that packaged that. Damn them to heck. But, if you get pissy and your shorts get in a bunch to the point that you feel the need to slam people who don’t care about the art (which is relative) in movies, then the point of this thread was to tell you to shove the DVD up your ass. This has nothing to do with me being a Joe Six Pack. I’m a well rounded individual who places an extraordinary low level of importance on being idle and watching movies. I’ve seen about a dozen movies I like and find to be art or worthy of remembering. The hit rate on ‘art to justa-movie’ is low. Hundreds of films, a few keepers. It’s not time well spent for \*\*me. \*\* This, however, is not a slam on film lovers. But if you get snotty and blame people with other interests for your inconvenience, don’t be surprised if they treat you with the same kindness and insult you. So, BACK THE FUCK OFF. You get a P&S version of a movie, deal the fuck with it and leave other non-fans out of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213.md?page=7)