Aspect Ratio
IMDb indicates that A LIFE LESS ORDINARY was released theatrically in 1.85:1, but its intended aspect ratio was 2.35:1. The laserdisc is presented in 1.85:1, while the DVD is 2.35:1. What gives?
Well, 2.35:1 is Danny Boyle's intended ratio for this film. It was shot in Super 35, so the laserdisc's transfer, as well as the theatrical release, had the matte opened up a bit.
For more info on the "Super 35" process:
Super 35 - Various
This process does not involve widescreen lenses, but rather it involves framing the picture to fit the ratio of the screen. The top and bottom of the frame are "matted" out and removed from the picture completely, resulting in a rectangular picture.
Super35 movies are filmed using flat lenses. Using an optical printer, the "interpositive" image is then contact-printed to produce an "internegative" anamorphic release print. As a result, an anamorphic image from a Super35 original tends to have a "gritty but sharp" look that is "harder" in a way than an anamorphic image, which has a "smooth" look.
Many movies made in Super35 are transferred to video with the top and bottom of the frame restored, so that you actually see more of the picture on video than you did in the theater. However, scenes which include special effects in them are almost always filmed hard-matted in the appropriate widescreen ratio and therefore must be subjected to the pan-and-scan process.
Source: http://www.widescreen.org/aspect_ratios.shtml
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