Martin Scorsese Teams With Philips To Launch Consumer Education Campaign On Widescreen Television Viewing

Acclaimed Director Provides A Lesson For Viewing Movies In Their Original Format

6-Jun-01

Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and Philips Consumer Electronics launched an education campaign designed to provide consumers with a clear understanding of widescreen-formatted television (16:9), and to promote the viewing of movies on widescreen versus the standard television sets. The ìSee What Youíve Been Missingî campaign demonstrates how widescreen televisions provide the best movie viewing experience, without compromising the original content of the film as with the more traditional, square (4:3) television format. The ìSee What Youíve Been Missingî widescreen education campaign will focus on utilizing the media as a vehicle by which to get the message out to consumers about the benefits of widescreen, and to help them grasp a laymanís understanding of the viewing format in order to make the comparison for themselves. In addition to participating in a global media campaign, and in support of the educational efforts, Mr. Scorsese issued a top ten list of the best movies to watch in widescreen, including such films as ìLawrence Of Arabiaî (1962, directed by David Lean), ì2001: A Space Odysseyî (1968, directed by Stanley Kubrick), ìEast Of Edenî (1955, directed by Elia Kazan), and ìBladerunnerî (1982, directed by Ridley Scott). A copy of the full list can be obtained on the Philips Web site at www.news.philips.com.Scorsese is teaming with Philips as part of his career-long crusade to promote the preservation of film and the viewing of movies in their original format - as the director intended them to be seen. As founder and President of The Film Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Americaís film heritage, Scorsese is a major proponent of widescreen viewing, as it provides consumers with a home cinema viewing experience that comes as close as possible to actually being in a theatre.ìThe goal of this educational campaign is to illustrate to viewers the benefit of seeing widescreen films the way they were intended to be seen - in their original aspect ratio - either in the theatre, or at home on a widescreen-formatted television set,î said Scorsese.ìWidescreen films - particularly anamorphic or scope films - really suffer a great deal when theyíre altered for broadcast on standard television. A director works painstakingly to set up a shot or scene - the whole meaning of which is lost when a film is cropped or panned and scanned to fit a standard television screen. When a film is viewed on a widescreen-formatted set, the audience is able to experience the original film intact, the way the director intended,î added Scorsese.Philips has been the leading manufacturer of widescreen televisions in Europe for more than 11 years. Its first offering of widescreen television in the U.S. came in 1998, with the launch of the popular FlatTVô. Shortly following that launch, Philips introduced several other digital widescreen television models. While these award-winning widescreen televisions were highly regarded in the consumer electronics industry, the company realized that the message on the benefits of the new widescreen innovation had not been heard by many U.S. consumers. In fact, Philips found that a large majority of consumers are not aware that movies had been cropped to fit their standard television screen. Consumers had a limited scope of knowledge about the benefits of digital widescreen television over the average television. This information prompted Philips to seek the support of Mr. Scorsese and his participation in a mass-market educational initiative.ìWe could think of no greater voice to expound the benefits of digital widescreen television than Martin Scorsese,î said Des Power, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Television, Philips Consumer Electronics, North America. ìMr. Scorseseís track record speaks for itself. He is one of the greatest directors of our time, and a shining example of someone who is constantly giving back to the film industry, leading the charge in ensuring the future of our favorite movies and how they are viewed.îìDigital widescreen is the future of television and it is available to everyone right now. You donít need to be a famous director in order to benefit from this innovational and exciting viewing experience,î continued Power.4:3 And 16:9 Formats: Understanding Aspect RatiosConsumers are more familiar with the square-like 4:3 format of their traditional television sets. On a 4:3 set, widescreen films are reduced in size in order to fit the filmís full width onto the narrow TV screen without cropping the film and appear in letterbox form (the black bars that appear above and below the picture). Widescreen television, however, displays a more rectangular image in a 16:9 aspect ratio, with most widescreen movies filling the entire screen without distortion and without losing any of the film footage, providing the consumer with the opportunity to see the movie as the director intended.Pan And Scan Versus LetterboxingTo accommodate the 4:3 aspect ratio, many programs and movies utilize a ìpan and scanî technique that diminishes the integrity of the film and fails to preserve the original widescreen composition of the picture. ìLetterboxingî returns the full picture to the screen and preserves the aspect ratio of the original production, preventing parts of the image from being cropped. Television programs and movies filmed in widescreen will utilize letterboxing in order to keep the full integrity of the image when appearing in a 4:3 aspect ratio. There are a significant amount of widescreen movies available on DVD that display in letterbox only, especially earlier movies filmed in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Viewing letterboxed movies on a widescreen set may not eliminate the black bars entirely, but does reduce them while providing a larger, clearer picture in its entirety. About Martin Scorsese And The Film FoundationMartin Scorsese is one of the most acclaimed film directors in motion picture history. Director of such films as ìTaxi Driver,î ìRaging Bull,î ìGoodfellas,î and ìThe Age Of Innocence,î Scorsese has won numerous awards for his work and continues to make brilliant and innovative films. He is currently editing his latest film, ìGangs Of New York,î due in theatres this winter. In addition to his film making accomplishments, Scorsese has been an outspoken advocate for artists rights and film preservation. He is the founder and President of The Film Foundation, a not-for-profit organization created in 1990 by a group of prominent filmmakers, dedicated to raising awareness and funds for film preservation projects at the nations leading U.S. film archives. The Film Foundationís work over the past decade has helped to encourage the major studios to establish in-house preservation programs as well as cooperative preservation projects with the major archives. Through events such as the American Movie Classics (AMC) annual on-air film preservation festival, the foundation raises public awareness and concern about the fragility of film and the need to preserve it for future generations. The Film Foundationís prestigious board members include Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick (in memoriam), Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.For more information about Royal Philips Electronics, visit www.philips.com.

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