Which is not to suggest that «Tale of Tales» — sumptuously outfitted by production designer Dimitri Capuani and filmed in lustrous
widescreen images by cinematographer Peter Suschitzky — is without its visual wonders.
The Techniscope format was a cheap way to get
a widescreen image by only using half as much film as true CinemaScope (i.e., anamorphic) requires, and this presentation seems to reflect the reduced effective resolution of the material, evincing a softness around the edges that's sometimes exacerbated by missed focus.
Not exact matches
Presented in
widescreen and fullscreen on the same side of a dual - layer DVD, the film's
image lacks depth here — there's a muted, Seventies quality to Barry Stone's cinematography that no doubt looked smashing on the big screen and probably would've been marginally improved at home
by dispensing with the fullscreen version (thus lessening the compromise of compression), which lops a significant amount of visual information from the right side of the frame (while restoring a negligible amount to the bottom — in one shot literally a pinkie toe).
Though the film was projected at IMAX venues in 3 - D, it's offered in 2 - D only for the home viewing audience, and the 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen image is consistently good in the face of a mélange of source media — note that the longer version relies more heavily on video - based footage originated
by the MIR's electronic eyes.
The famously beautiful black and white
images are presented in 1.66:1
widescreen, as intended
by Laughton.
THE DVD Released
by Fox in a DVD transfer that can only be described as low - rent and murky (excuses for this are perhaps provided
by The Rats» origin as a telefilm), shadow detail within the 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen image is incredibly soft and undefined.
The Warner disc sports a gob - smacking 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer whose
image is only a little compromised
by over-sharpening and the blooming of whites, the latter problem limited to transitional shots from live - action to animation.
I've experienced only a few such spontaneous ovations here over the years, during Holy Motors (the out - of - nowhere musical number performed on multiple accordions), Goodbye To Language (when Godard «breaks» 3 - D
by diverging the left - and right - eye
images), and Mommy (a relieved reaction to the 1:1 aspect ratio going
widescreen after about 90 claustrophobic minutes).
New high - definition digital transfer, supervised
by director of photography Raoul Coutard, with restored
image and sound and enhanced for
widescreen televisions
Let me say right off the bat, I was disappointed
by the film's video quality; the 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen image appears to have been derived from a PAL source, lending the picture a BBC feel that it does not have when excerpted for the documentary segment on the companion disc.
27 DRESSES (2008)[
WIDESCREEN EDITION] ** / ****
Image N / A Sound B Extras B + starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns screenplay
by Aline Brosh McKenna directed
by Anne Fletcher
THE DVD Blue Underground reissues Zombie on DVD in an apparently definitive 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen presentation; this is one of those transfers that won't be appreciated
by newcomers to the film, but anybody who's had previous experience with Zombie on home video will marvel at the clarity of the
image.
THE DVD Fox ushers The Ringer to DVD in an unofficial «Special Edition» featuring 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen and fullscreen transfers on opposite sides of a flipper, the crisp, clear
image matched
by full DD 5.1 audio.
THE DVDs
by Bill Chambers Fox issues The Clearing on DVD in a nice but erratic 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer: Although I wouldn't have minded the shifts in definition so much if they were more aesthetically grounded, sometimes the crispness of the
image varies between consecutive shots.
Certainly, the film features some of the most breathtaking
widescreen images of the desert ever photographed (
by cinematographer Freddie Young); Maurice Jarre's famous score is appropriately grandiose; and the pushing - four - hours run time more than satisfies any notions of «epic» length.