Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion, Roman Polanski, 1965; screen capture from 1.66:1 aspect ratio presentation on Criterion DVD, released in 2009. For more Repulsion, see here.
Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, Polanski, 1968; screen capture from 1.85:1 ratio on Paramount DVD, released in 2000.
For context, see here, if you can stomach it. For some reason the Happy Flowers song “They Cleaned My Cut Out With A Wire Brush” is running through my head right now.
UPDATE: “Is it possible to troll your own blog? Cause that’s what’s going on here.”
Or perhaps, given how frequently apoplectic Wells gets about this issue, “Charlie said the F‑word Again.”
I think it’s *almost* ceased to be funny when he goes on his rants about this subject. He’s been given documentation every.single.time to counter his arguments, but he keeps doubling down.
Bless ‘im, he’s a passionate soul (even when he’s wrong).
I don’t think these “facts” and “reality” have any effect on Mr. Wells. If Polanski himself exhibited his personal print of Rosemary’s Baby for Mr. Wells in his living room at his preferred 1.85:1 aspect ratio, he would yell at him and call him a “Nazi fascist brainwashing stool pigeon”.
I own Rosemary’s Baby as part of the “Roman Polanski Collection”: Region 2, Paramount (Great Britain), ©2008. Aspect ratio: 1:85:1. Wells and anyone else can check the Amazon.co.uk link for proof. I just now booted the disc to confirm that this description isn’t incorrect. It isn’t.
I saw Rosemary’s Baby six years ago projected at 1.85:1 at the Brattle, a theater that is certainly capable of projecting 1.66. It looked great.
What a happy coincidence! The new Blu-Ray will be coming out at the same time as my book “Masters of Cinema: Roman Polanski” (Cahiers du Cinema/Phaidon)
What’s especially funny is how Wells frequently rails against the fact-denying thugs of the right without realizing he’s become one himself when it comes to movies. As Steve Martin says in ROXANNE, “We haven’t had any irony here since 1983.”
He’s no fan of Roman Polanski today, let him tell you!! This is clearly THE VERY WORST THING ROMAN POLANSKI HAS EVER DONE.
(I would just like to note that the second half of the captcha I had to solve in order to post the above comment was “1855.” Which was close enough to give me a chuckle.)
“I’m purple-faced with rage. I’ve got stomach acid.”
He smells sulfur.
If Wells needs to vent about DVDs with incorrect AORs, he should complain about the MODs put out by MGM and Fox, especially as Warners and Sony seem to have no problem getting it right most of the time. (And yes, I do recall your post on Preminger’s “Saint Joan”.)
He’s a rageaholic jerk. Nuff said.
GK, will you please try to remember that some of your readers are elderly folk with wozzly tickers? I saw “Oh God No” and the Repulsion screen cap and thought Deneuve had died, for Christ’s sake. Not that aspect ratios aren’t important, but my deepest faith is that she’ll outlive us all.
Wells RULES, one of the funniest people EVER.
That line about ROBESPIERRE in his follow-up was total genius, though on some subliminal I have to take a modicum of credit for JW’s style taking on just a SLIGHT HINT of “LexG” hyperbole in recent years.
Wells and Lex: Made for each other, with HE poster ‘The Thing’ as Best Man.
Fascists now want to cram 1:85 down our throats, so I guess it was the commies who tried with 1:33 in the past.
I’ve got stomach salts.
And it sounds like Wells has “Bath Salts.”
Claire K., I laughed out loud. Thanks!
I don’t know if the recent comment on the original post from someone claiming to be Roman Polanski is legitimate or not, but I really want to believe that it is.
Indeed, if it’s genuine then it’s a real whopper: one of the best ever ‘coffeethroughmynose’ moments in the blog/comments section experiences!
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RRTPolanski Author Profile Page says .…
A colleague has made me aware of the discussion under way here, and while it amuses me beyond measure, I feel under the obligation to scholars and in defence of my magnificent friends at Criterion to set the matters aright. “Rosemary’s Baby” is being released by Criterion in 1.85:1 because that is the aspect ratio I directed the film to have, because that is the aspect ratio that I prefer, and because that is the aspect ratio I insisted upon. While there was protection in the filming for the possibility of inadvertent projection at 1.66:1, it was never my intention to allow such projection if I could maintain control of the circumstance of projection. This film is and will always be properly framed at 1.85:1.
And Mr. Wells, while I admire your sense of righteous fury, let me say to you that I know a little bit about fascism, and disagreeing with you is not the hallmark. However, your response to disagreement looks familiar.
Polanski
Posted by RRTPolanski Author Profile Page at July 17, 2012 11:19 PM
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Raymond Polanski from Columbus, Ohio writes: “…while it amuses me beyond measure, I feel under the obligation to scholars and in defence of my magnificent friends at Criterion to set the matters aright.”
Polanski turning up is like Woody Allen producing Marshall McLuhan from offscreen to back him up.