Typically I'd be a strict proponent of the original aspect ratio (in this case, 1.33:1), however whenever I put on The Entire Mystery the beauty of the cinematography in the menus really strikes me. Everything looks so good like that, all the shots they cherry-pick for the vignettes really translate well to 1.78:1 (the same aspect ratio that the new season was produced for).
Anyway, the scenes from the original series that appeared during the new season, these were also cropped to fit widescreen, and looked perfectly fine. Has anyone ever thought it would be cool to try a widescreen crop of a whole episode, just to see how it plays?
Lynch has seemed comfortable cropping it for the purposes of the Blu-ray menus and the flashbacks in the new season, so I don't feel this is blasphemy... well, at least not completely!
I'd prefer the original aspect ratio, 4k version.
I'd prefer the original aspect ratio, 4k version.
I'd agree. Small bits done to be used as flashbacks and to further the story are fine but doing the whole thing that way would not be interesting to me.
I saw an interview with David Simon, creator of The Wire, which this was done to.
Having done it, he felt it was kind of a nightmare. Since the original show was shot with 4:3 in mind, things are often left in frame (light stands, microphones, extras, etc.) that need to be dealt with because nobody was expecting that part of the frame to be used. Sometimes things have painstakingly painted out or shots blown up and framed strangely. It also messes with the original intent of the framing. You frame the shots by how it will be seen in its final presentation not by how it may be used 25 years later. Even for a very accomplished director like David Lynch, it would be difficult to frame for two very different aspect ratios at once...especially if there was no clear need to. He most definitely put his effort into making things look the way he wanted in 4:3. Even if he was more careful than most to keep things not wanted out of frame, he most certainly would have framed the shots based on how people were going to see them. Despite the fact that numerous reissues of the original series have been made, the 4:3 aspect ratio has remained. This illustrates that it's isn't as simple as just retransferring the film. Obviously, doing it for short sequences make sense, but the whole series would be a huge undertaking if you care about the aesthetics.
I saw an interview with David Simon, creator of The Wire, which this was done to.
Having done it, he felt it was kind of a nightmare. Since the original show was shot with 4:3 in mind, things are often left in frame (light stands, microphones, extras, etc.) that need to be dealt with because nobody was expecting that part of the frame to be used. Sometimes things have painstakingly painted out or shots blown up and framed strangely. It also messes with the original intent of the framing. You frame the shots by how it will be seen in its final presentation not by how it may be used 25 years later. Even for a very accomplished director like David Lynch, it would be difficult to frame for two very different aspect ratios at once...especially if there was no clear need to. He most definitely put his effort into making things look the way he wanted in 4:3. Even if he was more careful than most to keep things not wanted out of frame, he most certainly would have framed the shots based on how people were going to see them. Despite the fact that numerous reissues of the original series have been made, the 4:3 aspect ratio has remained. This illustrates that it's isn't as simple as just retransferring the film. Obviously, doing it for short sequences make sense, but the whole series would be a huge undertaking if you care about the aesthetics.
The Wire is probably my second-favourite series ever, and I honestly love the widescreen framing on the Blus.
While it certainly wasn't the original intention, the work done on it was marvellous.
There's no point comparing to The Wire which was filmed differently, Twin Peaks would need to be cropped. The whole idea is terrible.
I believe old scenes in The Return are from FWWM which is widescreen to begin with.
There's no point comparing to The Wire which was filmed differently, Twin Peaks would need to be cropped. The whole idea is terrible.
I believe old scenes in The Return are from FWWM which is widescreen to begin with.
Part of my point was that making a show like The Wire widescreen was a nightmare for its creator and that show was not nearly as visually stylistic as what Lynch does. I can't see David Lynch wanting to have his framing cropped and messed with to make this work for an entire series. What we see now is what he intended.
I saw an interview with David Simon, creator of The Wire, which this was done to.
Having done it, he felt it was kind of a nightmare. Since the original show was shot with 4:3 in mind, things are often left in frame (light stands, microphones, extras, etc.) that need to be dealt with because nobody was expecting that part of the frame to be used. Sometimes things have painstakingly painted out or shots blown up and framed strangely. It also messes with the original intent of the framing. You frame the shots by how it will be seen in its final presentation not by how it may be used 25 years later. Even for a very accomplished director like David Lynch, it would be difficult to frame for two very different aspect ratios at once...especially if there was no clear need to. He most definitely put his effort into making things look the way he wanted in 4:3. Even if he was more careful than most to keep things not wanted out of frame, he most certainly would have framed the shots based on how people were going to see them. Despite the fact that numerous reissues of the original series have been made, the 4:3 aspect ratio has remained. This illustrates that it's isn't as simple as just retransferring the film. Obviously, doing it for short sequences make sense, but the whole series would be a huge undertaking if you care about the aesthetics.
The Wire is probably my second-favourite series ever, and I honestly love the widescreen framing on the Blus.
While it certainly wasn't the original intention, the work done on it was marvellous.
They had to work very hard to make it look as good as it does. I'm sure David Simon would appreciate your review !
There's no point comparing to The Wire which was filmed differently, Twin Peaks would need to be cropped. The whole idea is terrible.
I believe old scenes in The Return are from FWWM which is widescreen to begin with.
Part of my point was that making a show like The Wire widescreen was a nightmare for its creator and that show was not nearly as visually stylistic as what Lynch does. I can't see David Lynch wanting to have his framing cropped and messed with to make this work for an entire series. What we see now is what he intended.
Your point was also that the negative for Twin Peaks goes wider to 16:9 although framed for 4:3, like The Wire (you said even Lynch would have unintended things out of shot so it's not as simple as rescanning). But this isn't true, the shows were filmed using different methods.
I believe old scenes in The Return are from FWWM which is widescreen to begin with.
Nah, footage from the season 2 finale appears in widescreen during the premiere.
Additionally, all the menus on the Blu-ray set feature footage from the series in widescreen.
One case for going 16:9:
For those who remember the ABC, Bravo broadcasts, then the first batch of DVDs . . . The classic accidental "Bob/Frank in the mirror" got clipped, so we only saw it in photos in issues of Wrapped In Plastic and such:
Buy, my guess is that there are few if any others that would be there in a wide screen, but. . .
maybe somthin could be added in here or there. . ?
I don't think a 16:9 reformat is necessary. I am amused that we are having this discussion. Remember in the olden times, when people used to complain that 'widescreen' tapes and DVDs were not using all their TV screens?
I believe old scenes in The Return are from FWWM which is widescreen to begin with.
Nah, footage from the season 2 finale appears in widescreen during the premiere.
Additionally, all the menus on the Blu-ray set feature footage from the series in widescreen.
The scenes in episode 17 with Josie sitting and Pete walking out to fish were from season 1 pilot as well. I was suprised how good those scenes looked cropped like that. They did a good job with what they had to work with. Dont think Id want a whole new boxset just for that though. Maybe if you could pick between the original 4:3 and the widescreen it would be interesting.
There's probably a lot of shots that would be fine cropped, even most. But there's probably also some shots where there would be some key or even just interesting information lost. . I will say that when 16:9 became standard cropping has not been as heinous as the dark days when they'd crop 2.35:1 to 4:3, but I'm always in favor of the aspect ratio the shots were originally composed in, and I've been used to black bars for 20 years.
Fire walk with