"Be Bigger"

[b***@earthlink.net]

Ted Okuda sends this item; I've herad of some strange packaging of
familiar public-domain Laurel & Hardys, but I think this one takes the
cake:

http://www.amazon.com/Big-16x9-Version-Widescreen-Television/dp/B0017R0SCU/ref=sr_1_84?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1219383349&sr=1-84

[Steve]

Post by b***@earthlink.net
Ted Okuda sends this item; I've herad of some strange packaging of
familiar public-domain Laurel & Hardys, but I think this one takes the
http://www.amazon.com/Big-16x9-Version-Widescreen-Television/dp/B0017R0SCU/ref=sr_1_84?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1219383349&sr=1-84

You're right, it certainly does take the cake. Scroll down to the
product description under Editorial Reviews and you'll read:
"Television without starching the picture."

Steve

[unknown]

Post by Steve
You're right, it certainly does take the cake. Scroll down to the
"Television without starching the picture."

That's good. I hate it when they starch the picture. It gets all scratchy
and makes me itch.

I guess there are enough people who complain about "black bars in the
picture" to make this sort of travesty worthwhile. Didn't anyone learn
anything from the abysmal "ultimate edition" of A Christmas Carol (Alistair
Sim version) put out last year by VCI?

[MJ]

Anybody notice that James Parrott now shares director credit with
Adeeb Barsoum? 'Bout time credit was given to Adeeb!

-MJ

[Brian]

Yep, he sure is Adeeb.

Probably the most famous example of a studio 'reformatting' an old
movie to widescreen was MGM and the 70mm version of "Gone With The
Wind" in 1967. But these days don't most widescreen tvs or plasmas
have a 'zoom' function?

And I've watched some L&H shorts on a 16x9 screen, and it was fine. I
put a restored version of the 1903 "The Great Train Robbery" in 16x9
and it was quite surreal seeing something that old in that format.

I fear that practically everything with a 4x3 aspect ratio will be an
endangered species once digital broadcast television kicks off around
the world--and if you want to watch any of that old stuff, you will
have no alternative but to buy it: great news for the studios, not so
great for us.

(Also--what some companies will to to spruce up sales of old pd
movies--I bought a set of 10 Alfred Hitchcock movies made when he was
in Britain in the 30s 'remastered' in Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo: in
essence it was mono thundering out of 5 speakers and a
subwoofer....but I have to admit, something like "Juno And The
Paycock", recorded in that thin '30s Western Electric sound, didn't
sound half bad in 5.1....)

[MJ]

Post by Brian
I bought a set of 10 Alfred Hitchcock movies made when he was
in Britain in the 30s 'remastered' in Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo: in
essence it was mono thundering out of 5 speakers and a
subwoofer....but I have to admit, something like "Juno And The
Paycock", recorded in that thin '30s Western Electric sound, didn't
sound half bad in 5.1....)

If you take a look through the Amazon listings, you'll see that Adeeb
also co-directed "The 39 Steps" with Alfred Hitchcock. Who knew?

-MJ