Ragz wrote:
The Ultra edition looks like it is sourced from the cinemascope print, but is heavily cropped (read previous posts mentioning Ultra's aspect ratio as 1.70, roughly.)
I don't know for sure but I believe the only copy of the cinemascope print is in the NFAI (the 2nd picture/4th paragraph):
http://www.menright.com/pages/bollywood-gurudutt.htmlIn addition, I believe the reviewer is correct in saying all home media versions are from the 4:3 version which was filmed at the same time but in different takes. Some have just been cropped above and below to make them look widescreen, which is a really silly thing to do, and then encoded for 4:3 rather than 16:9 which is even more stupid, but one can expect no more from the incompetent Indian home media companies. The placement of objects and people was different in the 4:3 version. I went and found the scene from which that guy shot the still when viewing the film at the NFAI and everything is different for the narrower width 4:3 version. It's not just a cropped version of the same scene - the furniture and people are arranged differently. The exact same still isn't even in the 4:3 version because it was from a completely different take.
Quote:
I'm sorta desperate for a DVD with fuller aspect ratio.
I think you can forget about that, at least for the time being. The 16:9 Carlotta version was never released. I don't know whether or not it was sourced from the Cinemascope reels of film. I too, several years ago, thought the 4:3 DVDs were created from the Cinemascope film version, only cropped from the sides, but decided later the 4:3 version stands on its own.
rana wrote:
Ragz,
I don't see neither of the print in cinemascope. Ch 4 print is 4:3 and has more picture all around (except it's a tiny bit less at bottom). Ultra print is cut a lot from the top.
Right, I agree - the so-called 'widescreen' version is just a butchered version of the 4:3 source. That's my Ek Do Teen on YouTube and the reason some picture is missing from the bottom is because that Channel 4 version was captured to VHS tape many years ago and I cropped away the noise that VHS tapes have at the bottom.
Ragz wrote:
BTW, I watched Pyaasa yesterday sourced from the Carlotta edition. It was a path breaking experience! Such a beautiful movie! And an amazing print, to top it. That was how I wish to watch all evergreen masterpieces :') only if my wish came true some day.
Did you watch it on YouTube? Then it was also mine and sourced from the Carlotta DVD of Pyaasa. However, while the Carlotta DVD is far and away the best version of the film available, it's still very poor and some of the beauty you saw was a result of maybe 40 hours of work on my part trying to clean it up. If you're interested, maybe have a look at this 'before and after':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSuWcoH75nsWatching in the larger 'Theater Mode' at 720p allows you to see more clearly all the dirt and specks infesting the print used for the DVD, as well as the splotches and splices and other garbage that make it far less than a good DVD. I don't vouch for the subtitles as they're from a retail version of the DVD and I don't speak the language.