It seems to me that the region 2 version of this movie has got some kind of fake widescreen. Part of the picture seems to missing both above and below. This can be seen very clearly at the very beginning of the disk. Right after the roaring MGM-lion you get a few seconds of the "United Artists"-logo - and it's obviously chopped.
shareI assume the R4 version is the same transfer. It isn't a perfect transfer, but it is still very good. I think the problems you identify are minor cropping issues. My guess is that the transfer is pretty close to what is on the negative.
Unfortunately, it is highly doubtful MGM will revisit this title any time soon.
I have reached the same conclusions myself. And I also think that it is true that we will just have to live with this version - for now. Thank you for your comments.
shareSince the UA logo is clearly a late addition, it could just be the logo that is incorrectly framed, rather than the rest of the picture.
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