MovieChat Forums > The Thin Man (1934) Discussion > Why did they film it in standard aspect ...

Why did they film it in standard aspect ratio?


I'm watching this movie now, thoroughly enjoying it. I'm curious to know they they filmed it in what is now called standard aspect ratio? Is it the case that is just the way they filmed things back in 1934?

Doctor Who fan

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Pretty much so. Even Gone with the Wind was filmed that way.


"I'm not reckless . . . I'm skillful!"

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Oh, interesting, I didn't know that. (I still haven't seen Gone with the Wind. Will have to see it.)

Thank you for the info!

Doctor Who fan

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Geez... What are you? 14? Soon you'll ask what those flat black disks you put a needle on an arm to are.

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Geez... What are you? 14? Soon you'll ask what those flat black disks you put a needle on an arm to are.


That is unnecessarily rude, the OP has a right to ask questions as does anyone.

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I'm with Gehenna-3.

Perhaps the OP just wants to reach out for some sense of community.

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Just to add a little more background. Wide screen was essentially developed to give movies a competitive edge over television by doing something television couldn't do. This was in the early 50's when Hollywood was panicked over the popularity of TV. I believe the first Cinemascope film was The Robe (1953). The same concerns brought the increased use of location rather than sound stage filming and stereophonic sound.

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Oh, that in very interesting, fugazzi49! Thanks for that additional info.

Doctor Who fan

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Although almost all Hollywood movies were filmed in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio until the '50s, there were a few exceptions. Notably, 20th Century Fox made a handful of widesceen movies around 1930 (they were filmed in both widesceen and 1.33:1; the widesceen versions were shown in only a small number of theaters). The only one of these films still remembered is The Big Trail, John Wayne's only major studio starring role until the end of the decade. This attempt died since theaters had little interest in retooling for widesceen given the Depression and the recent expense of converting to sound.

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Interesting, thank you for mentioning this information.

Doctor Who fan

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It's interesting how many of these things we take for granted were introduced to give them some sort of competitive edge over TV and other entertainment. Color film was another one of the big selling points of movies over TV back then (technically color TVs did exist in the 50s, but there was very little programming, and hardly anyone had them)

The more recent "3D" trend is another attempt to differentiate themselves to get people into theaters. I'm less thrilled about that trend than color and widescreen though. :p

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[deleted]

True, however the process is much older. The first film shot in 70 mm using a trademark system named "Grandeur" was a western directed by Raoul Walsh. It was an early talky starring John Wayne called "The Big Trail."

The experimental 70 mm film could not be shown at most theaters because they did not have the special projectors they needed. This was a major contribution, perhaps the reason that the movie filled at the box office. Everyone involved took a critical beating and that movie is blamed for delaying the rise of John Wayne from B-movie to A-movie status for the next ten years.

The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.

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Widescreen didn't become the standard until quite a while after The Thin Man's release.

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Thank you, tob2007.

Doctor Who fan

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back then until 1953/54 original film Format was 1,33:1 or 1,37:1 which means also 4:3 on old (pre-16:9 era) TVs. Black bars left and right side appearing now on 16:9 TV's. Thats why it's called Standard aspect Ration.

Btw, you should watching GONE WITH THE WIND, it's a fantastic movie.

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I thought this was going to be a troll post.

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It is called standard aspect ratio because it once was the standard.

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The OP’s question has been sufficiently answered, so let me ask this: Is anyone else annoyed that so many 4:3 movies and TV shows are converted to widescreen? Black bars on the side of the screen don’t bother me at all. I much prefer seeing a movie/TV show the way it was intended to be seen. Same goes for seeing a widescreen movie on a 4:3 TV. So many people believe they’re missing something because of the black bars at the top and bottom.

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