Defend The Indefensible: Pan and Scan

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You know, when they show a widescreen film in Academy or TV ratio and two important bits of information- two actors, say- are standing at opposite ends of the screen and so in order to fit them they have to introduce an artificial pan from one end to the other.

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:01 (twenty years ago)

I guess I could have called this "Defend The Indefensible: Fullscreen Editions," or whatever they are called.

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

I always try to avoid Panned and Scanned movies, but it's not like you're forced to watch them. I guess the only time they would be dud is if the P&S version was the only widely available cut of a film.

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

There doesn't seem to be much defense for it, but there are still people out there who prefer it. They feel perhaps like they paid a lot of money for that TV set, and they deserve to be able to use the whole screen. And I still hear about people who don't understand what's wrong with the picture, thinking their TV is broken or they got a bad DVD. Yes, this still happens.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ussdefiant/rebuttal.html

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

This page aims to do several things: 1) provide objective factual information about letterboxing or so-called "widescreen" versions of films on video and television (which should more accurately be called lettershlocking or "cutscreen"

Well, you're off to a great start.

1. WHAT IS "LETTERBOXING" (LETTERSHLOCKING)?

"Letterboxing" is the vile practice of censoring movies on video and broadcast television or cable by blocking the top and bottom of the television screen with black bars so that you cannot watch or enjoy the movie.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

Well then, I think we can safely say: LOCK THREAD, PLEASE!

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:38 (twenty years ago)

I used to work in a shop selling large TVs, and on our display model we'd have a film playing (usually animationd, as if that made the picture look any better). The most common question I'd ever get about the television was, "Why doesn't the picture fill the whole screen?".

Pan and scan versions would have been quite useful as demo films then, I suppose.

― melton mowbray (adr), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

The Kino DVD of Karen Shakhnazarov's "The Rider Named Death" is full screen 4:3. Any subtitlists hereabouts know if this is OAR? IMDB says it isn't, but the framing seems OK.

― M. V. (M.V.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

I'm trying to think of old movies that are letteroxed during the credits and then pan-and-scanned for the rest of the movie. Seems like there's even one or two that go back to letterbox for a key scene before returning to P&S.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

I recall the VHS I had The Good, The Bad & Ugly on had letterbox titles and then "fullscreen" body.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

How do we feel about letterboxed TV shows? I think ER does this? West Wing? Seems kind of self-important to me. And silly.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)

"Conan O'Brien" being letterboxed is incredibly asinine to me.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

That's so they're in the right aspect ratio for the new 16:9 hdtv broadcasts & sets ("where available").

― M. V. (M.V.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)

Although, in Conan's case, it seems unlikely any auteur sensibilities would be wounded if the sides wuz chopped off. (Masturbating bear far stage left, viewable only in HD?)

― M. V. (M.V.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

...now with shaved pubes.

― M. V. (M.V.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)

Depends on if the bear has pubes that night.

XP damn it!

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)

hahahaha you never her ate the masturbating bear's shaved pubes

― M. V. (M.V.), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

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