HOW THE WEST WAS WON on Blu

[George Bellefontaine]

Got my copy yesterday. What a neat package. It has a booklet stitched right between the case covers that is really informative. It also has two discs. One is the Cinerama 2:89 ( holy shit ) aspect ratio transferred for flat screens and without those annoying vertical lines where the panels match. Disc two, same ratio, is what they call a smilebox version that simulates the curved screen that was used for Cinerama. I haven't watch either disc as yet but I am curious how the smilebox version will look, though I expect it would look much better for those who use curved screens in their theaters.

Goodbye old 2:35 dvd with the vertical lines and distortion.

[Ovation]

From what I've read (there is an extensive discussion over at HTF), the smilebox version does not need a curved screen (it's not really meant to be shown on one, IIRC). While some don't like it, most seem to (I look forward to the arrival of my copy) and the bigger the screen, the better the effect. Enjoy (and I await your review and stated preference).

[George Bellefontaine]

My screen is 92 " wide so the smilebox may look okay. One person said it made him nauseous until he moved his viewing position closer to the screen and then he said he felt the experience was much more involving than the normal widescreen version. It's a long movie so I may not get around to watching it until the weekend.

[H.T.C]

I had read about the studio releasing how the west was won in its curved shape awhile back or so,thats great.

I think i am going to rent this movie.

[George Bellefontaine]

I didn't have time to watch the whole movie but I wanted to see what the smilebox version looked like. The first thing I had to do was remove my 2:35 masking as the sides are higher than the middle. I found it rather strange looking and distracting at first but after a couple of minutes I got used to it. However, when I decide to watch the entire film I think I'll just stick to the normal widescreen version.

Oh, and all I can say about the transfer is WOW !

[Ovation]

My copy arrived in the mail this morning. While I don't have time today to watch the whole movie, I will check it out in each format. Looking forward to it.

[George Bellefontaine]

I've owned this in just about every format starting with vhs tape, but I don't ever recall it looking this good, even when I saw it in the theater back in the early 60s. The scenery is breathtaking.

[Ovation]

Just took a short peek at the smilebox version and it looks great. That's how I will watch it first (I've never seen it, so I look forward to it). I will, of course, look at the other version as it contains a commentary that is said to be quite insightful. But I suspect I will be watching this more in smilebox than not.

[George Bellefontaine]

I just thought the smilebox version look a little wierd and would distract me from the movie. I'll watch it sometime in its entirity, but I hope to watch the normal widescreen version tonight.