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This (hopefully not forgotten... at least among noir enthusiasts its very well known for its images) film may have gone thru mutation via modern exhibition, but THE BIG COMBO was almost certainly released originally in the academy ratio. One look at the composition of the shots (pure Alton at his classic 1.33 noir finest) shows that this film came out fullscreen.

screengrabs

From the NY Times dvd review:

This Image Entertainment DVD release of The Big Combo shows that this definitive 1950s film noir still packs a wallop. The clean source print used has been released in its original full-screen aspect ratio and shows off John Alton's groundbreaking black-and-white cinematography to excellent advantage. Alton's work here is so powerful that it has tended to overshadow Joseph H. Lewis' expert direction. While Lewis only made a handful of really good movies, The Big Combo ranks up there with Gun Crazy and My Name Is Julia Ross as the best in the noir cannon. The list price on this DVD is high considering there aren't any extras to speak of.

I don't doubt that some projectionist went ahead and slapped a 1.85 projection lens on this for revival, but I have it on dvd, have a tv broadcast tape, and have seen it in the cinema and in each instance this film, projected 1.33, exhibits some of the most perfect 1.33 images in the whole history of the cinema. Alton was truly the master of fullscreen. The style is identical to that employed in his work with Mann (RAW DEAL, TMEN, THE BLACK BOOK, as well as HE WALKED BY NIGHT), as well as lesser known gems with other directors i e THE AMAZING MR X.

There's a chance I could be wrong of course but I... doubt it.

HerrSchreck wrote:I don't doubt that some projectionist went ahead and slapped a 1.85 projection lens on this for revival

This is how I saw it. I hope I wasn't tricked on Halliday and Terror, too.

I put together a list of BW-scope films earlier this year using IMDb's "My Movies" feature.

Some of my favourite BW-scope films:

The Apartment (1960)


Sons and Lovers (1960)

L'Année dernière à Marienbad (1961)

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)


The Hustler (1961)


The Innocents (1961)

Yojimbo (1961)

Billy Liar (1963)


Hud (1963)


The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)


Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)


Mademoiselle (1966)

Marketa Lazarová (1967)


In Cold Blood (1967)


Andrey Rublyov (1969)


The Elephant Man (1980)


Notable matted B&W films (including 2:00:1 SuperScope):

I never could figure out how to get IMDB to tell me what films were BOTH B&W AND 'scope format.

Michael Kerpan wrote:I never could figure out how to get IMDB to tell me what films were BOTH b&W AND 'scope format.

Yes, it is quite tricky. On the Power Search page, they offer Color: Color; Black and white; Any. The way to do it, would be to create a My Movies list (call it "Color and BW films", for example) of a selection of BW films and then search within that list (selecting "color" and, using part 3 of the Power Search, include the "Color and BW films" list) and then the results will filter out the films that are both color and BW, ie.

A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
The Days of Eclipse (1988)
Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)
La Guerre est finie (1966)
Rumble Fish (1983)
Kafka (1991)

There are keyword searches called, black-and-white-segues-into-color and black-and-white-to-color, which you could add films too. Each film has a keyword page that you can add keywords to (remember to use hypens for multiple words).

Thanks for the explanation -- but way too much for me to go through myself.

Thanks for generating the list already. ;~}

I don't remember color either.

Great call on Bunny Lake, that one really takes advantage of the 2.35

Person wrote:I put together a list of BW-scope films earlier this year using IMDb's "My Movies" feature.

You're the foot-fucking-master, my friend!! Thank you!

davidhare wrote:Gordon I can't recall any color shots from La Guerre est finie. Maybe I should dig it out and have another look??

Isn't it 1.66:1 black and white? I have it on my Matted BW list, though I have not seen it though I really ought to, as I have came to admire Resnais very much over the past year.

Thanks for the uh... compliment, exte!

Pushover (1954), a 1.85 noir, makes good use of the format.

Imamura's Kuroi Ame - 1.85:1

I saw "Bunny Lake Is Missing" in a beautiful print last night. One of the best uses of BW scope I've yet seen.

La Dolce Vita



8 1/2



Last Picture Show



Stardust Memories



Last Year at Marienbad

Bonjour Tristesse



Celebrity

davidhare wrote:Big Combo can be NOTHING but Academy!

Take a look at the Mingo and Fante scenes during the x-ex and the death scene.

Too right! Academy it is. I used to be in a band in the early 80's called the Big Combo and we used to project it behind us.

Cut three tracks and got played on John Peel twice!!!
Even used the 'wheelbarrow 'shot as our picture sleeve with minimal cropping.

Steven H wrote:Another B&W/widescreen hat thrown into the ring.

I receive a "this video can't be shown in your country" which is the UK. Which film is it?

Person wrote:

Steven H wrote:Another B&W/widescreen hat thrown into the ring.

I receive a "this video can't be shown in your country" which is the UK. Which film is it?

That would be the esteemed E-40 and the short film entitled "Tell Me When To Go." Its a couple years old. I can't imagine why this would be blocked in the UK, it's only offensive in that it propagates the myth that Hennesy is actually good.

Kon Ichikawa's "Fires on the Plain" may be the greatest of them all.

I was just thinking about this last night while watching Stranger than Paradise.