Why have been the non-Cinemascope Bonds been re-released in 1.66:1?

Doctor Who

Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, and The Man with the Golden Gun were all shot in 1.37:1, and then cut for theaters at 1.66:1 in Europe, and 1.85:1 (the mainstream aspect ratio) in the American market.

Why then are my 2015 DVDs of those films presented in 1.66:1, with black bars on the side, when the DVDs I bought were American DVDs? Every single release of the non-Cinemascope films in America was presented in 1.85:1 as far as I can remember - that's the way American audiences saw the films in theaters, and it's the mainstream widescreen format. Why the change?

IanFryer

That's an interesting question, and I imagine the answer boils down to choosing one format to save the cost of having different DVD/BluRay masters for different markets. The 1.66:1 ration would be preferable as it would have more of the image contained on the negative, avoiding cutting from the top and bottom of the frame.

A frustration of mine is the DVD presentation of early cinemascope films, which are always presented in 2.35:1 when they were often shot in a ratio closer to 2.55:1. This results in the image looking cramped on DVD, with important details from the edges of the screen cropped out.

MrGore

Yeah. I'm sure I haven't seen a complete Thunderball since I last saw it in the movies.

IanFryer

I was really referring to mid-1950s scope movies, but I'd be interested to know definitely what ratio Thunderball was screened in originally. This might have depended on where you saw it, as local 'flea pits' in 1965 had very different standards to first-run cinemas. Also back in the days when Bond movies would be reissued in double bills some very tatty prints were doing the rounds!