Night on DVD: Peter Pan

[Scrivener]

Just finished watching the new Peter Pan movie (released today on DVD). On the technical side, there were some odd color pallette choices... the director just gets a little too carried away with his colors. But as for the rest of the film: WONDERFUL! Definately not your brain-cell-killing Disney fare... this is the kind of movie I remember enjoying as a kid. There's an emotional depth, complexity, and honesty that is all but extinct in todays fantasy. I know that when the film was released theatrically, a few reviewers felt the romantic overtones were inappropriate... I think they made this one of the best movies I've seen. The current crop of family and childrens fantasy - movies like Finding Nemo and Home on the Range - are actually stifling the emotional development of todays younguns. Peter Pan isn't afraid to deal with some more real world issues - like growing up, falling in love, being responsible, doing the right thing, and having fun... while simultaneously being an absolute feast for the imagination. It might be a little scary in places for very young chil'rens, but as a parent you should keep yourself open for discussion with your kids after seeing a movie like this; which has some very good morals. One of my favorite movies as a kid was the Friendly B.I.G. - scared the bejesus out of me every time I watched it, but everything always turned out alright in the end. This is that kind of movie. Sure, there's some campiness in there... but it's ultimately a fantastic family film... the kind that will never age or go away. Even if you dont have kids - Buy it, dont rent it - now.

10/10

[Marvin]

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Originally posted by Scrivener:

Buy it, dont rent it - now.

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Okay.

Which is best: the Full Screen version or the Widescreen version?

[Scrivener]

I will refrain from poking fun at you for asking such a silly question. Widescreen is ALWAYS superior to fullscreen (One exception - Time Bandits) since Fullscreen means that the sides of the image are cut off to maintain TV's 3:4 aspect ratio. In widescreen you get the full image as it was recorded. I said Time Bandits was an exception - as it was actually filmed in 3:4 then cropped for the big screen, which is 16:9 - which is widescreen ratio. Still, widescreen offers a more interesting shape on which to paint one's images... and is still more interesting than Full screen.

In sum: Always, always, always, always, always, always, always go Widescreen. Full screen has been mutilated to fill the TV... there's action happening off the sides of the screen that you will never see in fullscreen. For a long time my friends had never seen Star Wars widescreen, and when we finally watched it at my house they thought for sure there was some new aliens. Not so, they were off-frame in the full screen version. They had always missed half the movie.

[LostInSpace]

quote:

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Originally posted by Scrivener:

3:4 aspect ratio. In widescreen you get the full image as it was recorded. I said Time Bandits was an exception - as it was actually filmed in 3:4 then cropped for the big screen,

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Not meaning to nit pick but I do believe you mean 4:3 aspect ratio.

[Marvin]

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Originally posted by Scrivener:

I will refrain from poking fun at you for asking such a silly question.

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Poke away. The reason I asked was the last couple movies I bought had both versions included on one DVD. Luckily, while examining the Peter Pan case, I noticed the words "Full Screen" printed at the top of the spine. The question was just my way of saying, "Hey, don't get suckered into buying the wrong version."

And I agree whole-heartedly with your assessment. A couple of the movie channels have done spots illustrating the visual differences between formatted movies and letterbox versions.