CHIMES on DVD?

[Jeff Wilson]

The existing TRIAL DVD from Studio Canal was in anamorphic widescreen, so I'm not sure why this one would be different. Do you have your DVD player set correctly for your TV? Oh, and the subtitles on THE TRIAL were able to be turned off, though it had to be done after starting the film, from the remote, at least on my player.

[DexyMan]

The discs in this box set all have similar menu screens and The Trial's are different than the previous S.C. release so right off the bat I know that they aren't identical releases of the film. For instance, I've read that the "montage" version of The Trial didn't even have the option for french subtitles but like all of the rest of the discs mine are burned on with no option for turning them off. I have a feeling all five discs were themed together: same menus, all fullscreen, all french as main track with an option for english with french subtitles, all have the same disc artwork...

When I try to hit the subtitle button during the film I just get the "action not available" response. Also, my same DVD player plays the Spanish Chimes in widescreen and Milestone Trial in widescreen but as soon as the french versions pop in they are in fullscreen so I would be surprised if it is a player problem but I could be wrong. I do think that the images have been squeezed into the image instead of being pan and scanned though.

[Jeff Wilson]

It seems odd they would do completely new masters in fullscreen when they already had an existing one in 16:9, but maybe they did. What does the packaging say? It should be indicated somewhere whether they're supposed to be 16:9 or 4:3. The 1984 TRIAL cut has French subs on my copy, so those should be there, although the ability to switch them off might vary by the player. I recall some people having trouble switching off the subs on the TRIAL disc when it came out.

[jaime marzol]

dexy, don't accept that, return it. there are excellent looking versions of CHIMES and TRIAL in widescreen. i have them, if you'd like to make a trade i'll burn you super looking versions of both films. that package is a rip off. i would never accept TRIAL or CHIMES in full screen. what is welles about if not radical framing?

i have the french TRIAL dvd and it's squeezed in the full frame only looks right on the wide screen tv. can't watch it in the square screens i have elsewhere in the house.

[DexyMan]

I agree that it seems ridiculous so I'm definitely hoping that I can figure it out. I do have a full-screen tv and I've never had a DVD get squeezed before. Does this mean that if I played it on a wide screen tv it would be wide screen? Also, if I normally don't have trouble turning off subtitles are there any ideas as to how to turn them off?

Thanks!
Jeffrey

[DexyMan]

I'll check the packaging for aspect ratio again tonight but at first glance I couldn't find anything on the ratios for any of the movies.

[Jeff Wilson]

Check your DVD player's settings, and see if it is set for a 4:3 TV, or a 16:9 set. You'll find this in the set-up menu of your player. You rplayer should be set to what your display is, so when you play it on that set, the player can replicate the picture to fit the screen, in your case, a full screen picture. You should have a widescreen picture with black bars if done correctly.

[jaime marzol]

i've tried every setting on 2 dvd players, and my french TRIAL dvd only looks right on the wide screen tv, and i can't get rid of the french subtitles. but the image entertainment dvd of the milestone TRIAL looks fine on any tv, and no stinking subtitles

[Roger Ryan]

I don't know if this matters any, but Milestone's "The Trial" is in non-anamorphic widescreen as opposed to Studio Canal's anamorphic widescreen version.

[jaime marzol]

roger, could you or some one else explain anamorphic and non anamorphic to me. i have the milestone trial put out by image entertainment

[jaime marzol]

in case any one is not sure about anamorphic, here is a dandy explanation

http://gregl.net/videophile/anamorphic.htm

[DexyMan]

Okay so I checked on the bottom of the box and it does say that Trial and Chimes are 16/9 compatible 4/3. So that is good at least. But I have 3 settings on my DVD player; 4:3 Pan and Scan, 4:3 letterbox, and 16:9. The first two did nothing different from each other and the third made the image even worse. Does this mean that I am screwed?

[Jeff Wilson]

You don't want to use the 16:9 setting if you have a fullscreen (4:3) set, so ignore that one. If the box says that the films are 4:3, then fullscreen is what they should be, though why they would do that is a mystery, given the previous release of THE TRIAL. Do you have a DVD-ROM capable of screen caps? No one has posted any further info on this set anywhere I've found, so I don't have any other info to go on.

[DexyMan]

According to the digital bits.com 16:9 means that it is in anamorphic widescreen, is that what you thought it was originally?

[Jeff Wilson]

My copy of THE TRIAL, as produced by Studio Canal in France, is in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. Both versions are, the original and 1984 version. It really makes no sense for this new version to be fullscreen, is the point. Because they already had a great version, and they seem to be conscious of putting their films out in the correct aspect ratios and such. The Milestone edition of the film, and the Spanish CHIMES disc are not 16:9 enhanced, meaning on a widescreen TV, they'll only fit in a 4:3 sized box in the middle of the frame unless zoomed in, which will only make the picture look worse. On a regular 4:3 TV, all three discs should look the same, given the down conversion of the 16:9 disc and the already 4:3 nature of the other two.