QuoteNow for the not so good news. The movie is in widescreen format.
Hondo was filmed and composed for widescreen and shown that way in theaters, though it was protected for 1:37 Academy ratio for smaller theaters that hadn't yet made the changeover to wider screen. When it showed up on TV and on standard DVD, it was shown in 1:37, which is how people are used to seeing it, unless they saw it in 1:85 back in the early 50s.
There is a bit more information now ADDED to the sides of the film in its Blu-ray widescreen version. Opening the matte for a fullscreen version cuts a little off on the sides -- that little bit is now restored -- or almost all restored, as apparently this Blu-ray is 1:78 rather than 1:85. But still... there is more information on the sides than in the fullscreen version.
Although it is 1:78 rather than 1:85, the new Blu-ray is much closer to the way we're supposed to see it than the fullscreen version -- though without the 3D.
This is from an article about Hondo by Bob Furmanek, a film historian who has conducted extensive research into the changeover of 1:37 Academy ratio to the various widescreen formats in the early 1950s, and also 3D:
"On May 19, Jack Warner announced the new All-Media Camera, a camera designed to shoot in any format-- black and white or color, 3-D and/or widescreen, or flat. The rig was designed and built by the studios camera department, and would be utilized for the first time on HONDO. Cinematographers Robert Burks and Archie Stout would be shooting on location, in 3-D and widescreen. Films shot with the All-Media rig were composed for the aspect ratio of 1.85:1."
Here is a link to the entire article:
http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/hondo-3-d-release
Here are comparison shots of the DVD and the Blu-ray. Note that there is more information on the sides and see how much closer the widescreen version puts you to the actor on screen? It's a much more interesting shot this way -- there is too much sky in the fullscreen version and in the widescreen version you're closer to Page, she's positioned more correctly in the frame, and she seems much more part of the landscape. It's a far more dramatic composition in the widescreen version. And you do see more of the landscape since there is a bit more info on the sides.