Does anyone know how one can get hold of the WS version of the DVD? It seems that recent pressings of the disc are all full screens (despite the packaging that says otherwise). I suspect only the initial pressings (around 2000-01) were WS. To watch this movie in full screen is a traversty.
shareI recently replaced my Widescreen Laserdisc with the DVD which is in Widescreen and includes the trailer of almost 5 mins long.
shareI can't find a widescreen version either on DVD. I rented it out on Netflix 2 times and got Full frame only. This is a rip off. Be very careful if you buy this on dvd!
shareThe US Version on Columbia Pictures Home Video has TWO SIDES! One is Widescreen, and one is Fullscreen! Have you not seen similar DVD's before? Hello?
shareLook genius, the vast majority of the DVD's out there on this movie are full frame only! Hello, there is no other side to them. When it was first released it was a 2 sided disc and for some stupid reason they pulled the disc and released it full frame only. It is almost impossible to find a 2 sided disc on this movie now.
shareThe solution is easy and (since it works for many films) not terribly expensive.
1) Get an "All Regions" DVD Player (mine is a Phillips 3140/37)
2) Buy the British widescreen version from Amazon.com.uk - the Brits seem to have less patience with cropping a 2.35:1 widescreen film to fit a 4:3 (1.33:1) vacuum tube TV screen.
As it involves differences in both frame rate and screen resolution, the conversion isn't perfect - there's sometimes a small bit of "shimmer" along high contrast horizontal lines - but if you sit back a bit (20 ft or so) - it's not too obtrusive.
The real problem seems to be Hollywood inertia. Why on Earth the U.S. is still producing DVDs to fit a long-obsolete screen shape is beyond me. As far as I know, all modern flat-screen TVs are 16x9 (1.78:1) ratio.
Yes, Son y pictures ruined this dvd release by altering the original wide screen format of the film. Boo.
shareHi,
You probably already know this, but you can find the widerscreen version of Mackenna's Gold in this set. Mountain Men is full screen, but the rest are Widescreen. They have it on Amazon for a reasonable price.
4 Most Wanted Westerns: The Mackenna's Gold / Man Called Sledge, a / Man from Laramie / Mountain Men
Thank you Surfs2 for providing this information. I was just going to ask that question about that four feature set.
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Use the Force.
Good luck finding the WS version for sale. Look for a showing on Turner Classic Movies as that will be WS and copy that. I bought a copy at Sears and it showed WS until just past when the old indian dies. Then it goes full screen. I figured I got it from Sears and that explains that. I looked on half.com and ebay and got a copy through them. It said it was in WS, but wound up same as Sears version. It says on the case that it is shown in WS. That could be considered false advertising and sounds like a ripe situation for a lawsuit. But then some stupid judge would rule in their favor. So what is the use.
shareWe can write a petition to Sony/Columbia Home Video on their website and ask for a proper Blu-ray!
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Trust doesn't rust.
I am Error.