Widescreen Vs. "Fullscreen"-Here we go again

Last night at work, I got a phone call from a customer who ended up complaining about the widescreen movie he had obtained at my store. (You see, we carry movies at the retail store I work at.) A brief explanation of the widescreen format did not satisfy him, because he wanted to see the "whole picture." He didn't want to see "the chairs on the side" of the picture, he wanted to see "the people talking." Oh, and we were watching this movie on a 25" TV/DVD player.

I really tire of having this conversation in 2007. We have had widescreen movies since the 1950s. Television has always been until recently, a rather square image. Even the most casual viewer of a film at a movie theater must realize that the image they see at the theater is wider than the traditional TV image they have been watching. And yet I have had customers actually say "no they're not!" Actually mention a term like "aspect ratio" and peoples eyes start to glaze over. People, wake up! In many films half the image is lost if you watch a "fullscreen" version. In reality, many studios do not even produce "fullscreen" versions on DVD anymore. Widescreen has become the default format for DVD. A few studios produce two versions, making you choose at the store which one you will buy. You know what? Widescreen always outsells "fullscreen." Don't believe me? Look at some sales data on videoscan or imdb. Many stores no longer even bother carrying "fullscreen" versions, if they are produced.
Ever look at the new digital TVs for sale? Yep. Most of them are widescreen sets. Sony no longer makes non-widescreen sets.
Here are some examples of differences in the Original Aspect Ratio of some films and the butchered, Modified Aspect Ratio versions.




There are other great examples at widescreen.org, please check them out. Some make you realize how unwatchable "fullscreen" really is.