Posts from Paula in thread „Shane (1953)“

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Take a good look and Alan Ladd is standing on a raised platform while everyone else has their boots on the real floor.

That's so 5'6" (according to the IMDB) Alan Ladd can look almost as tall as 6'2" Ben Johnson.

Gorch is sure right about that! The Shane Blu-ray is spectacular -- I would even say reference quality for showing off how great Technicolor can look on your TV.

Also, here's another Shane still I added to my Ben page recently.

The Shane artwork is about the most boring Blu-ray cover I've ever seen. They couldn't come up with anything better than this? (Sorry, Alan Ladd.)

That said... this upcoming Shane Blu-ray is generating a lot of controversy. Here's the story.

Shane was shot in 1951 and composed for the then-standard Academy ratio of 1:37.

By the time it was released in 1953, widescreen had come in and it was matted in theaters and projected in the 1:66 aspect ratio -- effectively cutting off the top and bottom of the frame. No idea what director George Stevens and cinematography Loyal Griggs (who won an Oscar) thought of this. However, since the premiere of the movie, Shane has been seen in 1:37, including the 2004 DVD. I saw a 35mm screening of it a few years ago, projected in 1:37.

George Stevens' son, George Stevens Jr., has told blogger Jeffrey Wells that for Shane's 60th anniversary, he and Paramount have restored Shane -- and created an an entirely new *1:66* version where they scrutinized each shot to make the best-looking 1:66 version of that shot. This new 1:66 version of course will still cut off the top of the original composed for 1:37 frame and it certainly won't be the same as the 1953 1:66 version either.

Presumably this new 1:66 version will be the one shown at the TCM film festival in April. (This is the first year I'm not going to the TCM fest so I will miss the screening... oh well.)

While a new 1:66 version may have some relationship to Shane in its premiere engagement in 1953, the fact remains that Shane was composed for 1:37.

Warner Bros., though its deal with Paramount, will be distributing the new Shane Blu-ray. Neither Paramount nor WB has stated exactly what will be on the Blu-ray, but there is a lot of fear out there among the film buffs that it will be ONLY the new 1:66 version, rather than a dual version with both the 1:37 and the new 1:66 versions.

The majority of film buffs want Shane in 1:37, the aspect ratio it was composed for. (And there are shots that use the entire height of the frame -- I can't imagine how they would work in 1:66.) A few are sticking up for 1:66 because it represents (although not exactly since it's a new 1:66 version) the historical fact that Shane did premiere in 1953 in 1:66.

I don't really have an interest in a 1:66 version of Shane, except as a one-time watch only for curiosity, to see (kind of since it's a new 1:66) how it looked to audiences in 1953. Shane should be in 1:37, the aspect ratio it was composed for. It will be a real disservice to the movie if the Blu-ray does not contain both versions. Hopefully Paramount and WB are listening to the fans and will have both on the Blu-ray.

You can read more about it at this Home Theater Forum thread:

http://www.hometheaterforum.co…187-shane-blu-ray-in-166/

(Yes, the "PaulaJ" who started the thread is me.)

P.S. Classicflix just posted some information for the Blu-ray and it says "full screen" but nowadays who knows what that means... and I suspect it's just a placeholder until they get the real information. I do know for sure that Paramount has not made an announcement about what exactly will be on the disc.

Here again is the picture of Ben Johnson and Alan Ladd at the bar -- the one I have has the publicity info. Plus two more Shane photos with Ben.