History Main / WideScreenShot

* 1956's ''AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'' begins with a small, square introduction, matching the old footage of ''Film/ATripToTheMoon'' used therein, and then the screen widens out dramatically to show off the 70mm format.

* {{Lampshaded}} in the ClassicDisneyShort "Grand Canyonscope", where Ranger Woodlore encourages a crowd of visitors to the Grand Canyon to spread out because they're in Cinemascope.

* {{Lampshaded}} in the ClassicDisneyShort "Grand Canyonscope", where Ranger Woodlore encourages a crowd of visitors to the Grand Canyon to spread out because they're in Cinemascope.
* ''WillSuccessSpoilRockHunter'' has a brief intermission where the Cinemascope screen shrinks down to a tiny square, for those in the audience who are accustomed to watching television. The screen can scarcely show Tony Randall in full view, and he has to crouch down to get his head in the shot.

* ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'' did a sketch where a widescreen film was being shown on TV with the PanAndScan being done as it was being broadcast, resulting in missing just about every action of note.
* Creator/JossWhedon deliberately put several of these in the ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' pilot, to force the studio to broadcast the show in widescreen format. The network's response was that they would broadcast the pilot [[ScrewedByTheNetwork (at the end of the series)]] in widescreen, so long as he never pulled this stunt again so they could air the rest of the series in 4:3. (A good example of how short-sighted the executives who cancelled the show were: less than a decade later, the series thrives exclusively on widescreen DVD, and all broadcasting is done in widescreen.)
* The 1973 [[UsefulNotes/HorseRacing Belmont Stakes]] managed to pull one of these off by pulling the camera as far back as humanly possible when Secretariat -- who would go on to demolish the competition with a ''31-length'' win -- rounded the far turn and began roaring down the backstretch. In fact, race caller Chic Anderson originally called the race as a 25-length victory, and it took careful analysis of that very widescreen shot to confirm the actual numbers.

** The same thing is done in ''Film/TheHorseWhisperer'', with the widescreen not being used until the film gets to Montana to make the landscapes even more impressive.
** Also, ''WebAnimation/OctocatAdventure'', which shifts from an aspect ratio of 5:4 to 16:9 once the StylisticSuck is abandoned.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short "Tom's Photo Finish", Tom is resting on the left side on the screen and does a WildTake where his head pops off his body and goes to the right side.
* On occasion, Disney movies will start in one aspect ratio, then switch to a wider one once the story takes off. ''Disney/BrotherBear'' and ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' begin in a 1.78:1 ratio, while ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' begins in the 1.33:1 Academy Ratio (as a homage to the classic MGM Film). The intended effect is lost somewhat on home video as these opening ratios are windowboxed into the 2.35:1 frames the movies eventually expand to.

* The 2013 MickeyMouse short ''WesternAnimation/GetAHorse'' begins with a small 1.33:1 screen showing a black-and-white cartoon. Once Mickey bursts through the screen into color, the lights turn on to reveal that the theater's stage in 2.35:1 ratio. In addition, Mickey pulls back the stage curtains, turning the 1.33:1 theater screen (with rounded corners) into a 16:9 screen (with sharp edges).
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': For the 100th Strong Bad Email, Strong Bad extends the ends of the screen for a widescreen presentation, inadvertently revealing that Homestar Runner was standing BehindTheBlack.
* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Not What He Seems" has several, from the whole newspaper headtitle to Stan's zero-gravity fight, but the best should be the scene in front of the portal with Stan in one side of the room and the kids and Soos on the other. If you have a 4:3 TV you would only see an empty rocky wall.

* Harold Ramis joked that when ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' is shown in a cropped version he's cut out of every group shot since the film can only fit all the actors standing in a row in widescreen.

Compare {{Letterbox}}, VisualCompression (both are ways to try to fit widescreen into normal ratio), ThreeDMovie, ShootTheMoney.

* ''Not what he seems'' episode from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has several, from the whole newspaper headtitle to Stan's 0 gravity fight but the best should be the scene in front of the portal with Stan in one side of the room and the kids and Soos on the other. If you have a 4:3 TV you would only see an empty rocky wall.

* Harold Ramis jokes that when ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' is shown in a cropped version he's cut out of every group shot since the film can only fit all the actors standing in a row in widescreen.

* The 1973 [[HorseRacing Belmont Stakes]] managed to pull one of these off by pulling the camera as far back as humanly possible when Secretariat -- who would go on to demolish the competition with a ''31-length'' win -- rounded the far turn and began roaring down the backstretch. In fact, race caller Chic Anderson originally called the race as a 25-length victory, and it took careful analysis of that very widescreen shot to confirm the actual numbers.

[[caption-width-right:350:People Sit On Chairs... in Cinemascope!]]

* The desert shots in ''LawrenceOfArabia''

* The Star Destroyer shot in ''ANewHope''.

* 1956's ''AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'' begins with a small, square introduction, matching the old footage of ''ATripToTheMoon'' used therein, and then the screen widens out dramatically to show off the 70mm format.

** The same thing is done in ''TheHorseWhisperer'', with the widescreen not being used until the film gets to Montana to make the landscapes even more impressive.

* On occasion, Disney movies will start in one aspect ratio, then switch to a wider one once the story takes off. ''Disney/BrotherBear'' and ''{{Enchanted}}'' begin in a 1.78:1 ratio, while ''OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' begins in the 1.33:1 Academy Ratio (as a homage to the classic MGM Film). The intended effect is lost somewhat on home video as these opening ratios are windowboxed into the 2.35:1 frames the movies eventually expand to.

* ''WillSuccessSpoilRockHunter'' has a brief intermision where the Cinemascope screen shrinks down to a tiny square, for those in the audience who are accustomed to watching television. The screen can scarcely show Tony Randall in full view, and he has to crouch down to get his head in the shot.

* Several tournament shots in ''AKnightsTale''.

* JossWhedon deliberately put several of these in the ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' pilot, to force the studio to broadcast the show in widescreen format. The network's response was that they would broadcast the pilot [[ScrewedByTheNetwork (at the end of the series)]] in widescreen, so long as he never pulled this stunt again so they could air the rest of the series in 4:3. (A good example of how short-sighted the executives who cancelled the show were: less than a decade later, the series thrives exclusively on widescreen DVD, and all broadcasting is done in widescreen.)

* JossWhedon deliberately put several of these in the ''{{Firefly}}'' pilot, to force the studio to broadcast the show in widescreen format. The network's response was that they would broadcast the pilot [[ScrewedByTheNetwork (at the end of the series)]] in widescreen, so long as he never pulled this stunt again so they could air the rest of the series in 4:3. (A good example of how short-sighted the executives who cancelled the show were: less than a decade later, the series thrives exclusively on widescreen DVD, and all broadcasting is done in widescreen.)

* On occasion, Disney movies will start in one aspect ratio, then switch to a wider one once the story takes off. ''Disney/BrotherBear'' and ''{{Enchanted}}'' begin in a 1.78:1 ratio, while ''OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' begins in the 1.33:1 Academy Ratio (As a homage to the classic MGM Film). The intended effect is lost somewhat on home video as these opening ratios are windowboxed into the 2.35:1 frames the movies eventually expand to.

* On occasion, Disney movies will start in one aspect ratio, then switch to a wider one once the story takes off. ''BrotherBear'' and ''{{Enchanted}}'' begin in a 1.78:1 ratio, while ''OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' begins in the 1.33:1 Academy Ratio (As a homage to the classic MGM Film). The intended effect is lost somewhat on home video as these opening ratios are windowboxed into the 2.35:1 frames the movies eventually expand to.

[[quoteright:330:[[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hmc_chair_shot_03_8225.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:330:People Sit On Chairs... in Cinemascope!]]

* The 1973 [[HorseRacing Belmont Stakes]] managed to pull one of these off by pulling the camera as far back as humanly possible when Secretariat - who would go on to demolish the competition with a 31-length win - rounded the far turn and began roaring down the backstretch. In fact, race caller Chic Anderson originally called the race as a 25-length victory, and it took careful analysis of that very widescreen shot to confirm the actual numbers.

[[caption-width-right:330:PeopleSitOnChairs... in Cinemascope!]]

[[caption-width-right:330:People Sit On Chairs... in Cinemascope!]]

* Kurosawa was fond of shots of Samurai standing far apart from each other, and was referenced at the end of ''KillBill part 1''.

* In the ''TomAndJerry'' short "Tom's Photo Finish", Tom is resting on the left side on the screen and does a WildTake where his head pops off his body and goes to the right side.

* Two Oscar-winning movie musicals that RobertWise directed, ''Film/WestSideStory'' and ''TheSoundOfMusic'', begin with aerial pans across the landscape of the respective movie's setting (either Manhattan or Austria).

Later on directors such as DavidLean and Creator/AkiraKurosawa used the format for more artistic shots, to the point where their widescreen films actually lose a lot in being cropped to 4:3 ratio.

* On occasion, Disney movies will start in one aspect ratio, then switch to a wider one once the story takes off. ''BrotherBear'' and ''{{Enchanted}}'' begin in a 1.78:1 ratio, while ''OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' begins in the 1.33:1 Academy Ratio (As a homage to the classic MGM Film). The intended effect is lost somewhat on home video as these opening ratios are windowboxed into the 2.35:1 frames the movies eventually expand to.

* In the ''TomAndJerry'' short "Tom's Photo Finish", Tom is resting on the left side on the screen and does a WildTake where his head pops off his body and goes to the right side.

Widescreen films relying on wide AspectRatio shots to show themselves off. At first, these were largely landscape shots, but as they didn't give people headaches, they were a lot more successful, and an integral part of SceneryPorn in films.