Widescreen
Claude Autant-Lara released a film Pour construire un feu (To Build a Fire, 1928) in the early Henri Chrétien widescreen process, later adapted by Twentieth Century-Fox for CinemaScope in 1952.The experimental Natural Vision widescreen process developed by George K. Spoor and P. John Berggren used 63.5 mm film and had a 2:1 aspect ratio.Other films shot in widescreen were the musical Happy Days (1929) which premiered at the Roxy Theater, New York City, on February 13, 1930, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell and a 12-year-old Betty Grable as a chorus girl; Song o' My Heart, a musical feature starring Irish tenor John McCormack and directed by Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven, A Farewell to Arms), which was shipped from the labs on March 17, 1930, but never released and may no longer survive, according to film historian Miles Kreuger (the 35 mm version, however, debuted in New York on March 11, 1930); and the western The Big Trail (1930) starring John Wayne and Tyrone Power, Sr. which premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on October 2, 1930,[3] all of which were also made in the 70 mm Fox Grandeur process.RKO Radio Pictures released Danger Lights with Jean Arthur, Louis Wolheim, and Robert Armstrong on August 21, 1930 in a 65 mm widescreen process known as NaturalVision, invented by film pioneer George K. Spoor.On November 13, 1930, United Artists released The Bat Whispers directed by Roland West in a 70 mm widescreen process known as Magnafilm.By 1932, the Great Depression had forced studios to cut back on needless expense and it was not until 1953 that wider aspect ratios were again used in an attempt to stop the fall in attendance due, partially, to the emergence of television in the U.S.Hitchcock used VistaVision, a non-anamorphic widescreen process developed by Paramount Pictures and Technicolor which could be adjusted to present various flat aspect ratios.The negative is shot exposing the Academy ratio using spherical lenses, but the top and bottom of the picture are hidden or masked off by a metal aperture plate, cut to specifications of the theater's screen, in the projector.Films are designed to be shown in cinemas in masked widescreen format but the full unmasked frame is sometimes used for television, known as an open matte.Eight-perf photography is sometimes used for shooting special effects in order to produce a finer-grained matte that can be used in optical printing without image degradation, and is notable for its use in Lucasfilm's original three Star Wars films, among others.Later Cinerama movies were shot in 70 mm anamorphic (see below), and the resultant widescreen image was divided into three by optical printers to produce the final threefold prints.The 70 mm anamorphic format was not commonly used, due to the very high production costs, although it was favored for epic films such as Ben-Hur in order to capture wide panoramic landscapes and high-budget scenes with thousands of extras and enormous sets.When preparing a film that was originally intended to be displayed in widescreen for TV broadcast the material was often edited with the sides truncated, using techniques such as center cut or pan and scan.
aspect ratioshigh definitionsThe Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fightshort filmsnewsreelsAbel GanceNapoleonPolyvisionClaude Autant-LaraHenri ChrétienTwentieth Century-FoxCinemaScopeWilliam S. AdamsGeorge K. Spooraspect ratioNiagara FallsThe AmericanJ. Stuart BlacktonBessie LoveCharles RayFox Film CorporationFox Movietone Follies of 1929New York CityFox GrandeurmusicalHappy DaysRoxy TheaterJanet GaynorCharles FarrellBetty GrableSong o' My HeartJohn McCormackFrank BorzageSeventh HeavenA Farewell to ArmsMiles KreugerwesternThe Big TrailJohn WayneTyrone Power, Sr.Grauman's Chinese TheatreHollywood70 mmRKO Radio PicturesDanger LightsJean ArthurLouis WolheimRobert ArmstrongUnited ArtistsThe Bat WhispersRoland WestWarner BrothersSong of the FlameKismetVitascopeThe Trail of '98The Great MeadowGreat DepressionAlfred HitchcockanamorphicVistaVisionParamount PicturesTechnicolorprojectoropen mattePanavisionPost Mortem16 mm filmSuper 3570 mm film35 mm filmKenneth BranaghHamletPaul Thomas AndersonThe MasterQuentin TarantinoThe Hateful EightParamount'sLucasfilmStar WarsCineramaoptical printersits own articleThe Wonderful World of the Brothers GrimmHow the West Was WonUltra-PanavisionNapoléonSovietsKinopanoramaUltra PanavisionMGM Camera 65Ben-HurGone with the Windpan and scanletterboxingStandard DefinitionPALplusClear-VisionBelgiumIrelandNetherlandsAustriaGermanyNordic countriesdigital terrestrial televisionDigitalHigh-Definition Televisionanamorphically-compressedHD DVDBlu-rayToshibaActive Format DescriptionAnamorphic widescreenAspect ratio (image)Cine 160Full frameLetterboxing (filming)List of common display resolutionsList of motion picture film formatsIndex of articles related to motion picturesUltrawide formatsHead-up displayWidescreen display modesWidescreen signalingFandorFilm Comment