From: jonke@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Stephen Jonke)
Newsgroups: rec.video
Subject: Re: Brazil (WS) LD
Date: 28 Aug 92 19:44:44 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

In article <1992Aug27.154403.1110@uhura.neoucom.edu>, wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu (William R. Cruce) writes:
> 
> In article <BOV.92Aug27102116@essex.x.co.uk> bov@x.co.uk (Andy Bovingdon) writes:
> >
> >A recent posting asked if the Wall and Brazil were about on LD. The replies
> >were only about the Wall, does this mean that Brazil does not exist on LD.
> >This film has to be one of my all time favorites, so does a version,
> >preferably widescreen, actually exist???
> 
> 1) BRAZIL was not filmed with an extreme widescreen (anamorphic) process
> according to what I can find about it.  It was probably filmed in a
> 1.85:1 (or so) ratio and may have had the mattes opened up for 1.33
> presentation on video.  So the current versions may show all the image
> available, just not what was presented in the theater.
> 

Opening the matte always ruins the framing of scenes in the film.  For an
example of this, take a film which is not matted (that is to say it was
filmed in a wide aspect ratio both physically (wrong word, I know) and
artistically -- Blade Runner.  There are many scenes in B.R. where the
director has framed close up shots of characters in the film such that
their eyes are at the top of the screen (the tops of their heads are cut
off).  The reason this was done was to emphasize the eyes, a very important
thing in the film.  You'll note in several scenes in the film, the eyes
of the replicants glow slightly.  In another scene, Deckard's eyes glow
slightly, implying that he is a replicant too.  By framing the close ups
on the eyes instead of the entire head, the director is focusing your
attention on something important.

Now take those scenes and "open the matte" if that were possible and that
emphasis on the eyes is completely lost.  So, more visible film would
actually be LESS artistically.

In Akira Kurasawa's Dreams, there is very effective scene in which two
characters are on screen.  One is at the extreme upper left hand corner
and the other is at the extreme lower righthand corner.  This places the
characters as far apart as is possible in the scene, emphasizing the
distance, both physically and psychologically, between them.  One is a dead
soldier (risen from the dead), the other an army commander whose orders
resulted in the soldiers death.  Now, open the matte and they are simply
at the edges of the screen instead of as far from each other as possible
and the extreme distance between them is lost.

Open matte is only better then p&s in that theoretically you could make
your own matte and you are getting the full intended width, but you'd have
to guess how big it should be and chances are you won't bother anyway.
Thus, people will not be seeing the films as intended.

> 2) The real issue with Brazil is that various length versions exist.

While definitely an issue, see above.  A matted version is far more
important to me -- I fell in love with the US release and although the
European release would be interesting to see, I'd rather have a version
that I know I'll like first.  Later they should release a seperate Euro.
matted version as well, or release the extra scenes in a suplement
section on a letterboxed version of the US release.  I make this point
because I recently rented the special edition of Aliens and am now VERY
happy the the s.e. Alien (no "s") will include extra footage in the
supplement section instead of in the film itself.  I think the original
release of Aliens WITHOUT the extra footage, is a much better film, even
though the extra footage is in itself interesting.  The problem is the
scenes either add nothing to the film, or actually hurt it and at any
rate make an already long film even longer.  That leaves us with no good
letterbox version of Aliens (IMHO) -- boo!

Steve
Newsgroups: rec.video