News, Politics and Anything Else I Want to Say

I watched a video last night, Skinny Girl Owned By Desert Eagle, that got me wanting to watch a movie I haven't seen in a long time, Snatch, all because of this scene with Bullet Tooth Tony.

And, the fact that you've got "replica" written down the side of your guns. And, the fact that I've got "Desert Eagle point 5 0" written on the side of mine, should precipitate your balls into shrinking, along with your presence. Now... fuck off.

Anyway, when I started watching Snatch, I was asked, which version I wanted to watch, Wide Screen or Full Screen. It reminded me of a question I have been wondering for a long time, Why do full screen releases even still exist?

Watching a movie in full screen is an abomination. You lose much of the movie the director intended for you to see and pan and scan is noticeably annoying. Movies are an art form that should not be disrespected just because someone owns a POS television and doesn't like the letterbox, even for bad movies. Furthermore, as old TV sales have been greatly eclipsed by newer 16:9HD TVs, wide screen is full screen (aspect ratios explained) on newer screens. Shoot, some movies like Gladiator, with an aspect ration of 2.35:1, are still letterbox on a 16:9 (1.78:1) TV.

I don't have any problems if the movie is released with both versions in the same package but it is a waste of resources to even create the full screen version. Many movies support both on the same disc but I still am annoyed at having to select it instead of going right to the movie. Some movies are released on dual sided discs to accommodate both. That is a little better but it does make the disc more expensive and I don't care to pay for the crappy full screen version I never will watch.

On Black Friday, there are always lots of good movie deals. This past year I went to Target on Black Friday to find a ton of movies for $5 and $10 each. I would have stocked up but they were all full screen! Why? I wouldn't even pay $5 for a full screen version of a movie. Another visit to Target in search of the newest Harry Potter release also proved frustrating. There were plenty of full screen versions of the film to purchase but the wide screen versions were all gone (fortunately they were only gone in the actual DVD section, there were still some wide screen versions by the checkout line).

I have to wonder, with the obvious differences in demand, why even offer a full screen version? Consumers are voting with our purchases but whoever makes the decision to carry more or only the wide screen version isn't listening. I imagine there are a number of full screen purchases made out of ignorance of the version purchased and other full screen purchases because only a full screen is available and the customer really wants the movie. Once or twice I have mistakenly purchased the full screen myself, only to return or exchange it ASAP. So full screen DVD releases should die a very quick death now with the prominence of widescreen televisions and the rise of HD-DVD and Blue-Ray high definition discs. Please!

And check out the Letterbox and Widescreen Advocacy Page.