Posted by Stephen Cooke on 10/21/05 15:46

As far as Kubrick goes, he shot in open Academy Ratio (with the exception,
as noted, of 2001 and, as not so noted, Spartacus) with the knowledge that
they would be projected at 1.66:1 matted in Europe and 1.85:1 in North
America. (I have no idea how they were projected in other parts of the
world. But he also knew that they would also be shown on TV and,
eventually home video, so he kept this in mind while shooting.

So ostensibly, there are three different aspect ratios at which you could
watch a Kubrick title, and none of them are technically incorrect. I doubt
any of his films were ever projected in a theatre at the squareish Academy
Ratio.

I don't know how it looks on DVD, but on the Criterion laserdisc, Dr.
Strangelove was shown full frame, but several of the shots (usually
process shots) had in-camera mattes in them, indicating that while the
bulk of the film was shot full frame, that wasn't necessarily how Kubrick
expected it to be shown. In fact, in one amusing instance, a shot of Slim
Pickens riding the bomb actually moves *over* the black bar at the bottom
of the screen.

swac

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