Video Asylum

Posted by xenon101 (A) on December 19, 2001 at 06:37:56

In Reply to: Why is 2.35:1 so overused on DVDs? posted by Carl Eber on December 17, 2001 at 20:07:50:

I did not see "The Phantom Menace" at a theater and can't confirm your observations as to whether the aspect ratio was 1.85 or 2.35, however, my American Cinematographer Manual lists 2.35 as being a Cinemascope AND Panavision standard format. It is possible that the movie was released diferent formats depending upon whether the theater uses anamorphic projection lenses or not. A standard "squeezed" (anamorphic) release print for Panvision is 2.35:1 while an unsqueezed 70mm release print is 2.2:1.

Lastly, the are approximately 10 film formats listed in the manual. Many, like Todd-AO and Cinerama, are no longer used, however, of the 10, three use the 2.35:1 ratio, four use 2.2:1, and two use 1.85:1, while the last (television production) is lised as 1.33:1. Of the formats listed, the most popular currently for motion picture production is the Panavision 35 system which is 2.35:1 format. Perhaps that is why the majority of DVDs are released in the 2.35:1 format. But, that's only speculation on my part.