criterionforum.org

You could always try looking here.

Or more specifically here. You should really do your own homework. Discovering films on your own is one of the most enjoyable parts of being a film lover.

Is it common for Netflix to stream films in the wrong AR? Just ran across Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which, after the title sequence, is definitely not showing up in 2.35. Tell me this isn't a trend.

It's not a trend. It's a well established business practice.

Yikes. Sorry, I was behind the curve apparently.

Much as I hate Netflix streaming ... are wrong aspect ratios that prevalent?

That was the most disappointing part of joining Netfix - the fact that so many good movies were blown up to 1:33/1:66 from 1:85 or 2:35.

Perkins Cobb wrote:Much as I hate Netflix streaming ... are wrong aspect ratios that prevalent?

I mean, they don't go out of their way to present things in the wrong ratio. They just seem to make available whatever is provided to them, and generally don't care if it's in the right ratio or has other issues. Wrong ratios were quite prevalent when they were getting a lot of stuff from Starz, though admittedly I haven't used streaming much since then.

Yeah, I don't think they're as vulnerable to criticism on that point as on some others. However, I did notice that Thor was cropped from Scope to 1.85, and also much darker than the Blu-ray. Which is what I get for thinking "this is bound to be so godawful it's not worth getting the Blu."

While I haven't noticed this recently, a year or two back I was discovering numerous films (WHATEVER WORKS, THE PROPOSAL - don't ask!) where the image was stretched or squashed into its own unique aspect ratio too distorted to even watch. It reminded me of trying to watch ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT on IFC-HD: a 16:9 program that was cropped to a 4:3 image that was then stretched back to 16:9 to fill the screen! I'm hoping that the new AD shows premiering on Netflix in May will fare better.

Yeah, Starz (more properly Shitz) was the biggest culprit as far as the wrong ARs. Nowadays, the majority of movies that I watch streaming on Netflix seem to be in their correct ARs, but it's always good to check what the AR should be before you start watching just so there aren't any nasty surprises.

Yeah, I did some digging and only turned up two or three movies on my instant queue that don't seem to be correct, which explains why I've had streaming for over a year and only just now noticed this happening, and I'm sure the issue arises from content providers rather than Netflix itself. But it does lead me to question -- and I realize this isn't really the thread for it -- what exactly the point is of expending the effort to crop a 2.35 film to 1.85...

It's the Procrustean logic that everything has to fill a 16:9 screen; the mystery is why it happens so randomly. I can't imagine that any of the major studios is doing it routinely to new releases or there'd be torch-wielding villagers about by now.

HBO always crops 2.35:1 films to (presumably) 1.78:1; only the credit sequences of the films are aired in their proper ratio to avoid cutting off any text. I guess they assume (rightly?) that most folk just hate those black bars. It's pathetic, but at least that thinking hasn't permeated to how widescreen films are presented on DVD or Blu-ray.

A few films survive the cropping on premium channels, but that really only seems to happen if the filmmakers can convince the channels to make it such. Which isn't easy: Steven Soderbergh has an anecdote about how bureaucratically frustrating it was to convince HBO to show the Oceans films properly, with him ultimately having to get the OK from the upper echelons of HBO management... upper enough that even Soderbergh felt they had better stuff to deal with than aspect-ratio trifles.

However, I doubt every director can get a request passed along that far the chain of command.

My father-in-law's (and therefore, I assume, America's) argument for wanting every inch of his TV to be filled: "I bought a 60" TV. If I wanted to watch something that took up less space, I would have bought a smaller TV."

AFAIK, Showtime and TMC (not to be confused with TCM) mostly play movies in OAR.

Some old Paramount titles still get shown in the OAR on HBO, Titanic I've noticed lately. Boogie Nights is shown in it, too. Speaking of Starz, I've noticed that a lot of Sony titles from 2011 on are being shown in the OAR. And I think Pixar lets their stuff shown in the original format, too. The fact that Showtime presents their movies as such is one of their few saving graces.

This just feels so miraculous that I would be remiss not to mention it: After being a "very long wait" in the #1 spot on my queue every day for like five months straight, Netflix has finally shipped me Mekas' Walden!

Your father-in-law's ex-stock halved (good call swo!) -- then, uh, quadrupled (can't win 'em all ...).

Oof, the version of Oldboy streaming on Netflix is a dreadfully pedestrian dub. Nice going, Netflix!

Two highly satisfying OAR experiences on Netflix streaming: Jackson's The Frighteners and Newbrook's The Asphyx, both 2.35:1. They look more or less pristine, too.

This may be of interest to only a few on here, but streaming's added practically every Cartoon Network show of the past 10 years including the first season of Adventure Time.

Finally, easily accessible Tim and Eric.

Does anyone know when they get things and why they don't have Red Dwarf X? I've had it saved since around a week after it was released.