What do Fred Astaires feet, Kirk Douglas dimple and Willie Wonkas hat have in common?
Boneheaded studios and incompetent projectionists are cropping them out of the picture. By Roger Ebert Sep. 11, 2001 | I hold this truth to be self-evident, that all movies deserve to be seen in their original aspect ratios. Four recent events suggest that this truth is not universally evident: • In Chicago’s Grant Park, a summer film festival holds free screenings on a big screen for as many as 10,000 movie lovers. The 2001 season began with “An American in Paris.” Introducing the film, I was startled to discover that it was being shown in widescreen — in what’s called a 1.65-to-1 aspect ratio. But like almost all films made before 1954, “An American in Paris” was photographed in the 4:3 ratio, or pretty close to a square screen. By trimming the top and bottom of the original picture to artificially widen it, the projector was cutting off, among other things, Gene Kelly’s feet. I learned that the entire season was planned for 1.65:1, despite the booking of such other 4:3 classics as
