MovieChat Forums > Water (1986) Discussion > Odd framing on DVD - cropped image?

Odd framing on DVD - cropped image?

posted 9 years ago by cls-6
2 replies | jump to latest

I've just watched "Water" on a DVD copy from the Daily Mail's "Michael Caine Collection" promo series. The aspect ratio seems to be 16:9, but it the framing looks awkward on many moments.

The most striking example is the scene near the end where Michael Caine addresses the rebels on the ground from the oil rig up the hill (1:27:40 approximately) – he is the only person in the frame, and his head is completely cut off, even as he speaks. On many other shots, major characters with speaking parts on the corners of the screen appear half into frame, or cut off near the eyes on wide shots.

The impression I get is that they've cropped the top and bottom of a fullscreen copy to make it look widescreen. If that is the case, do you know of any other DVD copies without this regrettable cropping?

[–] DMB_Lover 9 years ago

Apparently there is a UK DVD that appears to have been cropped from a pan and scan master.

If you go to Amazon Germany there is a newly remastered DVD that sounds much better.

Hopefully this gets the Blu-ray treatment soon, with flicks like Erik the Viking, Gregory's Girl and Yellowbeard on Blu-ray now, anything's possible.

[–] cls-6 9 years ago

Thank you, DMB, I'll check it out. I'm positive my settings are right – I double-checked it once I noticed the odd framing. Indeed, this film is highly overdue a Blu-ray release.