Apocalypse Now - Home Video Release Aspect Ratio Issues

Home Video Release Aspect Ratio Issues

The first home video releases of Apocalypse Now were pan-and-scan versions of the original 35 mm Technovision anamorphic 2.35:1 print, and the closing credits, white on black background, were presented in compressed 1.33:1 full-frame format to allow all credit information to be seen on standard televisions. The first letterboxed appearance (on laserdisc on December 29, 1991) cropped the film to a 2:1 aspect ratio (conforming to the Univisium spec created by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro), featuring a small degree of pan-and-scan processing — notably in the opening shots in Willard's hotel room, featuring a composite montage — at the insistence of Coppola and Storaro. The end credits, from a videotape source rather than a film print, were still crushed for 1.33:1 and zoomed to fit the anamorphic video frame. All DVD releases have maintained this aspect ratio in anamorphic widescreen, but present the film without the end credits, which were treated as a separate feature. As a DVD extra, the footage of the explosion of the Kurtz compound was featured without text credits but included a commentary by director Coppola explaining the various endings based on how the film was screened. On the cover of the Redux DVD, Willard is erroneously listed as "Lieutenant Willard". The Blu-ray releases of Apocalypse Now restore the film to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, making it the first home video release to display the film in effectively its true aspect ratio; the theatrical release had an aspect ratio of 2.39:1.

Read more about this topic:  Apocalypse Now

Famous quotes containing the words home, video, release, aspect, ratio and/or issues:

    The structure was designed by an old sea captain who believed that the world would end in a flood. He built a home in the traditional shape of the Ark, inverted, with the roof forming the hull of the proposed vessel. The builder expected that the deluge would cause the house to topple and then reverse itself, floating away on its roof until it should land on some new Ararat.
    —For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.
    Richard Louv (20th century)

    Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
    born to set thy people free;
    from our fears and sins release us,
    let us find our rest in thee.
    Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

    Cleopatra’s nose: had it been shorter, the whole aspect of the world would have been altered.
    Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)

    Personal rights, universally the same, demand a government framed on the ratio of the census: property demands a government framed on the ratio of owners and of owning.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    Cynicism formulates issues clearly, but only to dismiss them.
    Mason Cooley (b. 1927)