I understand what you mean. We just have to wait for a Stanley approved release of HARDWARE...whenever that will be

Only films shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio (like Hardware) or Super 35 are framed like that. Films shot anamorphically are not.

Further reading material:
http://www.widescreen.org/aspect_ratios.shtml

Also, the technical specifications for Hardware:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099740/technical

I should mention that I first saw Hardware in the theater- it was framed for 1.85:1. Those screenshots measure 2.06:1!

Yes it is pretty wide but it works oddly enough. I didn't notice anything missing as a result of the cropping.

There are a few painfully obvious ones in the US VHS of DUST DEVIL.


On HARDWARE, I've personally never noticed any such glitches with the German DVD. It might be that the film was shot/composed to work as an open matte, after which they framed/cropped it correctly, so you wouldn't lose anything essential - as Swarez said back there.

I have to admit, it DOES look pretty cool in that ratio! I wonder how they handled some of the extreme closeups, like this shot:


I guess I'll echo what Sheitan said, we'll find out whenever the director-approved DVD comes out...

Also, the film looks sharp in those screen grabs- I haven't seen Hardware look so good in ages! (The U.S. VHS obviously was crap, but so was the U.S. laserdisc, and the German DVD isn't exactly crystal clear either...)

Yea. It's pretty sharp. Like I said, I think it's a recording from a digital TV network. Maybe it's the MGM print they are unable to release.

^Now there's an interesting possibilty have I ever heard one!

Coming in December is a very expensive Predator Deluxe Head - Limited Edition Box Set, which includes:
- Predator Two-Disc Special Edition
- Predator 2 Two-Disc Special Edition
- Alien vs Predator (AVP) Three-Disc Special Edition
- limited edition collector's Predator helmet:



Now how unreal would a Hardware Two-Disc Collector's Edition with M.A.R.K. 13 head be? I'd even consider 100 quid. Dreams ...

That's pretty and all but far too expensive for three films, with two being actually good.

Oh I agree with your sentiments, but I'm not so concerned with this Collector's Edition. As I said, it made me immediately think of the M.A.R.K. 13, the American flag, its beady eyes. Obviously Hardware was never as popular as Predator, but still, I can enjoy the thought of a similar Hardware Collector's Edition

True. That would be pretty fuckin awsome.

Was all set to buy the Red Edition DVD on ebay, brand new and factory-sealed, but I decided against it. Don't know why, I just want the real thing over and done with already, Must struggle on .......

I've just got an old ex-rental video, even though it's not of great quality

I found this over on www.imdb.com

http://1000futuristicfilms.net/hardware_info.htm

Apparently you can download the "uncut" version of the film- I have yet to try this, so I can't vouch for reliability. It costs $2.99, American.

Glurrk, that's Troy O'Hara's website. He used to spam the internet message boards by promoting DVD's of hard-to-find titles, such as EL TOPO and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. What ol' Troy forgot to mention back then, was that he had not ordered them from anybody, but in fact mastered the DVD's himself from his laserdisc collection. So now he's moved to streaming / pay-per-view. Nice. He should learn to create half-way decent websites along the road.

One positive thing about Troy, though. He did host the first HARDWARE fansite in the history of the internet. This was the sort of competition I had to put up to.

A for effort, Troy, but I wouldn't be first in line.

I'm just wondering how the quality of the stream is. But judging by the quality of the site I doubt it's great.