Editing Pan and scan (section)

==Criticism ==

Some film directors object to the use of pan and scan, arguing that it compromises their vision. [[Sydney Pollack]] decided to shoot his 1985 film ''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'' in a matted 1.85:1 aspect ratio out of frustration with having his films shot in [[anamorphic format|anamorphic]] 2.39:1 "butchered" for television and home video.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxdWKIfxLNA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/kxdWKIfxLNA| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Sydney Pollack defends Widescreen format over Pan and Scan versions of movies (2005) - HD720p|website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=May 20, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
In 1991, Pollack sued a Danish public television channel for airing a pan and scan version of his 1975 film ''[[Three Days of the Condor]]''.<ref>{{cite newspaper| date=January 23–24, 1997 | volume= 22 |number= 6436 | title= Pollack sues Danish television | newspaper=[[Jordan Times]] | location= Amman | publisher= Jordan Press Foundation| at= p. 12 col. 8}}</ref><ref name="BKSTS"></ref> The court ruled that the pan and scan version was a "mutilation" of the film and a violation of Pollack's ''[[droit moral]]'', but ruled in favour of the defendant.<ref name="BKSTS">{{Cite magazine| last= Jacobsen| first= M. | year= 1997 | title= Copyright on trial in Denmark | journal= Image Technology | volume= 79 | issue= 6 | pages= 22–24}}</ref>

[[Woody Allen]] refused to release a pan and scan version of ''[[Manhattan (1979 film)|Manhattan]]'' (1979),{{cn|date=May 2025}} and although [[Steven Spielberg]] eventually conceded to a pan and scan home video release of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' (1981), he successfully avoided them for ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]'' (1985) and ''[[Always (1989 film)|Always]]'' (1989).{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Similarly, [[Phil Lord and Christopher Miller]] made two versions of ''[[The Lego Movie]]'' (2014), one in anamorphic 2.39:1 and another in 1.37:1 [[open matte]] [[Academy ratio|spherical format]] for cinemas not using anamorphic lenses, and to avoid a panned and scanned version of the 2.39:1 version being used for TV broadcasts.<ref group="notes">''[[Extreme Movie]]'' (2008) was only released in 1.85:1, and ''[[Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (film)|Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs]]'' (2009) was released on DVD in the original 2.39:1 and a cropped 16:9 version.</ref>{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Several prominent [[Film criticism|film critic]]s, most notably [[Gene Siskel]] and [[Roger Ebert]], have also criticized pan and scan and agreed with directors that movies should be presented as intended.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXqrL8AEVw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/YQXqrL8AEVw| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel talk about letterboxing (1990)|website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=May 20, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>