MGM DVD's

I just went to the MGM web site anf found this - EXTERNAL LINK -
There are lots of dvd's on the list. Here's what my friend sent me


"There is a great divide in the world of DVD. As a consumer, you're either in the Widscreen camp or the Full-Screen camp. If you happen to be an MGM consumer, you may have been in both camps without realizing it.

For those of you scratching your head over the differences between the two formats, basically Widescreen refers to the original theatrical presentation of a movie (think rectangle) and Full-Screen reflects the more traditional square shape of a TV. If you have ever seen the notorious black bars at the top and bottom of your TV while watching a movie, this movie was presented in a Widescreen format.

In order to get a rectangular image to fit on a square TV, someone has to go through and chop off "presumably useless" footage from the entire movie. At MGM, someone did the reverse, they took an Full-Screen image that was already chopped up and chopped more off the top and bottom, added black bars and called it a Widescreen version. The movie purists sued MGM and they settled out of court.

In the terms of the settlement, MGM has agreed to re-purchase any of these DVDs for $7.10 each -- or to exchange them for another in their selected catalog of 325 legitimate movies. The list of 550 victimized DVDs includes some classics like Spaceballs, The Silence of the Lambs, Rocky, The Terminator, and the eternal favorite Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo."

Oh, man, now I'm really disappointed! You mean my 1940 copy of "The Thief of Bagdad" is really not in widescreen after all?

The list provided is suspect. Obviously, things like "The Thief of Bagdad," which is on the list for return, was filmed at 1.37:1 and shows up on disc at 1.33:1, just as all old movies do. Also, many of the films on the list were shot originally at 133:1 with the intention of being matted for later widescreen theatrical release.

Finally, it should be pointed out that this case has not gone to court yet for final settlement. We'll see how it all turns out.

John

From what I gather, and I admit I am not an expert on this subject, there's nothing wrong with these discs. The suit was brought by someone who simply didn't understand the concept of open matting. In open-matting, films are shot "full" but the director composes the scene knowing what it will look like "wide." In the theater, mattes are attached to hide the "excess" images (in keeping with the director's original intentions) and show it in the wider format - on a DVD, those are black bars. I believe many of the films on this list were shot open matte. In that case, there is NOTHING wrong with the DVDs.

Exactly, Chris. MGM in many cases have included both a widescreen theatrical presentation of a movie on their DVDs along with a fullscreen (which was actually the 1.33:1 negative before matting). I have pointed out numerous instances in my reviews where sometimes the fullscreen has shown much more information on the top and bottom of the screen than the widescreen. That doesn't make the fullscreen "right." The question is how many, if any, films MGM claim are in their theatrical exhibition size that aren't. I don't see any directors or filmmakers stepping forward to claim their films have been butchered. James Cameron makes no such accusation against MGM for "The Terminator," yet "The Terminator" is on the infamous list.

Now, if MGM really did take a film originally shot in a widescreen aspect ratio, say a CinemaScope production, then chopped off the sides for pan-and-scan, and THEN matted the P&S top and bottom, that would cheating. So far, MGM has not admitted to such a deed.

This may be a case of people suing who don't know what they're doing and hoping for the best.

John

Thanks guys I was freaking out I have a lot of the DVD's on the list I'm going to go back at look at some of them but so far I don't see anything wrong

John,

Exactly. In fact, the mistake was in ever releasing the full screen versions. Yes, the extra information was there on the full negative, but the director never intended it to be shown that way.

It is possible a handful of these movies might be improperly cropped, but I don't see any proof that even that is the case.

Thanks for helping . . . but I haven't been able to find MGM itself on the net thus far. Any help would be appreciated.

URL for MGM?
Telephone #?

Perhaps I should start a whole new topic for this. Caro:x

Well you can directly get in touch with MGM through their website. Call them. I had the same problem with Apocaplyse Now. I called Paramount Consumer services and they glady took my disc and shipped the new one. I was happy with the service provided. One catch though - the phone is very hard to find. Good luck!
--Ranjan.

This is bit off the subject covered thus far, but I was searching for DVD defects [specifically MGM Home Entertainment] and this message board came up.

In January purchased (NEW) The Last Waltz [UPC: 027616875754] but the booklet was missing from the case. I didn't realize it was even supposed to HAVE a booklet until I sent it on to New Jersey. The store shrugged and pointed at their "No Exchanges After 30 Days" sign.

I can't find anything online thus far for getting in touch with MGM directly to plea my case. Can anyone help with ANY of this???

Thanx, Caro

Just type in mgm.com and it will take you to their website. I just went there two days ago to complain about the recent Canadian only releases of this years MGM Midnite Movie dvds. They are Best Buy exclusives, and for some reason they have only been shipped to Canadian Best Buys. Take care.

RE: missing dvd booklets/inserts
I had the same problem with a number of MGM dvd's, including the Last Waltz. I was sent one after complaining to consumerhelp@mgm.com
Good Luck

Also my MGM DVD of 1955's "Guys and Dolls" with Brando/Sinatra is a very bad print...

MGM must have a better one....this one has lots of sratches and holes....

Incidently, May 16th is the day the settlement should be decided;
It's too late to make a claim now...