If you watch the Trailer on the DVD and compare it to the actual film you will see that Warner Brothers just slapped black bars on the top and bottom of the film. Hammer fans need to let WB know this unacceptable. They did the same with "Horror of Dracula". All studios should release films in their original format.
shareNice to see that none of you give a sh!t about having this film on DVD in it's proper aspect ratio.
shareActually, films at that time were often shot 4X3 and then "cropped" to a more "theatrical" aspect ratio 1.66 or 1.85. This is certainly true of early Hammer films. So, what's on the DVD is the "proper" projection aspect, even though, in reality, it is "cropped."
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The problem was that cinemas of the period wanted widescreen but TV stations wanted an "academy" 3:4 ratio.
Non-anamorphic films had one of two options; shoot full frame academy and crop the image in the cinema or allow a widescreen image to be panned and scanned for TV. Neither was ideal and many directors who were forced to shoot full frame were less than careful about mics or tracks creeping into the top or bottom of the frame as they would "only" be seen on TV. Even when this didn't happen full frame prints usually look like they have awkward framing, especially as there seems to be excessive headroom at the top of frame.
Having seen CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in its original release as a boy, I also saw it a number of other times in theaters. The last time was at the Museum of Modern Art in the late '80's. So, I believe the picture was usually projected on the screen at a 1.66 aspect ratio. Obviously, this could vary from one venue to another. Warner has shown considerable insensitively to mastering the Hammer Films in correct aspect ratio or optimum color balance.
shareThat's how 75% of films are shown. They're shot full frame and cropped in the theater. There is nothing incorrect about WB's presentation of the film on their DVD.
-J. Theakston
http://centraltheater.blogspot.com
It's not quite that simple, in some cases. Yes, the Hammer Films were typically photographed in Academy Ratio: 1.33 x 1 in a Spherical Format, as opposed to anamorphic formats. In most cases, the release prints were matted for presentation according to a preset ratio determined by the producer. In the 1950's, the British particularly favored a 1.66 x 1 ratio. In some cases they preferred an aspect ratio of aprox. 1.75 x 1.
Of course theater projectionists were notorious for projecting films at incorrect ratios. The producers usually took into account a margin for error in the aspect ratio. Nevertheless, it would be very nice to see the Hammer Films in their full original release aspect ratios.
Of course, seeing the full camera negative frame on an editing machine can be sobering. Sometimes you can see microphones at the top of the frame; the tops of sets; and downstage, you can sometimes see chalk marks for actors' positions.
"Ignore the man behind the curtain!"
When I saw JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS in a theatre, you could see the microphones at the top of the frame! I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I thought it was a joke. (Later, when the film turned up on TV, it was cropped.)
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