Retro and snydercut references. Why directors shoot movies in an almost square 4: 3 format

The 4:3 aspect ratio has been a staple since the dawn of cinema. Movies at that time were shot on 35mm film, which provided the narrow frame ratio. So it became a popular norm for several decades.

But in the early 1950s, everything changed. TVs, which were created with a boxed 4:3 aspect ratio, have come to almost every home. In order to bring audiences back to theaters, the studios had to offer the audience something radically new.

This is how advanced wide formats such as CinemaScope appeared, and with them the first blockbusters - westerns and peplums. Format 4: 3 from the cinema became television. But the development of technology did not stand still, and by the 1990s, the diagonal of home TVs had grown significantly. As a result, this aspect ratio is finally a thing of the past.

But these days, the classic format is sometimes deliberately chosen. At first glance, such a simple proportion only takes away part of the visual experience from the viewer. However, it also happens that the ratio of 4: 3 is ideal for an artistic task.

There are at least five reasons why the "ancient" format finds its place in modern cinema.

1. To pay homage to a classic

The 4:3 aspect ratio is so strongly associated with the early era of filmmaking that it is often used for retro styling. So, in the directorial debut of Rebecca Hall "Identity" imitation of Hollywood classics is felt in everything - starting from the slow camera rolls and black and white gamma and ending with a narrow aspect ratio.

The "artist" of the French director Michel Hazanavicius is also tailored according to the patterns of classic Hollywood. In addition, the film is almost entirely silent. But this did not prevent the authors from making the project interesting for modern viewers.

A similar retro stylization was used by Sam Raimi in his film "Oz the Great and Powerful». The beginning of the film was shot in black and white and with an academic aspect ratio. Later, when the hero enters a magical land, the borders of the frame miraculously expand, and the picture takes on color.

2. To evoke feelings of nostalgia

Some modern directors deliberately stylize their films like VHS tapes, and here the 4: 3 format also comes in handy. After all, this is exactly what the pictures that came out on cassettes looked like at that time.

For example, Jonah Hill in her directorial debut "Mid 90s” as if recalling his own childhood. And in this he was helped not only by lovingly recreated everyday details like a T-shirt with Beavis and Butt-head, but also by a cozy, native 4: 3 format.

"Crystal" by the Belarusian director Darya Zhuk also talks about the 90s, combining comic and tragic intonations. According to the plot, a young girl Velya is trying to emigrate to the United States. For this, she has to temporarily leave Minsk for a remote province. There, the heroine intends to wait a week for the coveted call from the embassy in someone else's apartment, where she is not very welcome.

The costume designers specifically looked for clothes for the heroes in second-hand stores, and some of the scenes were filmed on the territory of a real crystal factory in Borisov. In a word, the film perfectly conveys the charm of the era, and the good old 4: 3 only helps it in this.

3. To shade emotion and individuality

Wide format has its advantages, especially if you want to show breathtaking action or beautiful scenery. However, it is quite difficult to fit a person into this elongated horizontal space. Close-ups immediately lose all expressiveness: everything below the shoulders is mercilessly cut off, and there is too much empty space on the sides.

You can compare both approaches on the example of the Justice League. Initially, Zack Snyder was supposed to shoot it, but for a number of reasons, the director left the project before he could complete the work. His place was taken by the creator of the Avengers cinematic universe, Joss Whedon. But the resulting Frankenstein monster didn't sit well with fans or even Warner Bros.

A few years later, Snyder's fans ensured that the director released an alternative version of The League on HBO Max streaming, as close as possible to his creative method.

The picture not only turned out to be darker and longer in time, but also came out in an unconventional aspect ratio for film comics. The tape even begins with the caption "This film is presented in 4:3 to preserve the integrity of Zack Snyder's creative vision."

The decision took many viewers by surprise. Some fans felt that Zach cropped the edges of the frame just to make his "League" as different from Whedon's as possible. But in reality, Snyder intended the film to be in this format from the very beginning, and for that matter, the frame is cropped just in the theatrical version.

As the author of the Noise and Draft YouTube channel correctly noted in one of his videos, the narrow frame allowed the director to focus more on the emotions of the characters.

British director Andrea ArnoldWuthering Heights”, “American Cutie”) generally made the 4: 3 aspect ratio part of her creative style. By compressing the frame, she achieves a feeling of maximum closeness to the characters. In addition, it is this aspect ratio that frames the character most organically and perfectly creates an intimate, emotional portrait on the screen.

4. To add to the fairy tale atmosphere

The narrow framework is not in vain loved by the recognized storyteller Wes Anderson. For example, in the Grand Budapest Hotel, he uses three different formats at once. The film begins at 1.85:1 (the standard used in most motion pictures), then the director briefly switches to ultra-wide 2.35:1.

But as the main director, he takes exactly the 4: 3 ratio - all the scenes of the 1930s were filmed in it. This was done not only to match the aesthetics of that time, but also to emphasize the fabulousness and even some puppetry of everything that happens.

Will Sharp, biopic directorCat Worlds by Louis Wain”, also chose a 4: 3 aspect ratio for his film for a reason. The movie begins as a charming tape about a mad genius.

After the death of his father, the young aristocrat Louis Wayne is left with his mother and five younger sisters. But much more than caring for relatives, he is fascinated by portraits of animals and theories about electricity. At this stage, the viewer, according to the idea, should feel like looking at a book with fairy tales.

But then the clouds begin to gradually thicken over the heroes. Louis, against the will of his family, marries the governess Emily. They move out of town and get a cat named Peter. However, with tragic news, everything changes. Starting from this moment, the fairy tale imperceptibly turns into a heavy and largely depressing movie.

The 4:3 format is also beginning to be perceived a little differently. Now he personifies the narrow thinking of the people of the Victorian era and the framework in which the amazing and vast world of Louis Wayne, an artist who was ahead of his time, could not fit.

5. To create a feeling of discomfort

Slowburner of the outstanding screenwriter and director Charlie Kaufman "Thinking how to end it allIt's hard to recommend to everyone. This film frightens with an atmosphere of existential horror, it is brilliant and at the same time terribly uncomfortable.

According to the plot, a young girl, along with her boyfriend, goes to meet his parents. At the same time, she reflects that she would like to end this relationship. But when the couple arrives, something strange begins.

Characters suddenly appear and disappear, get younger and older, the heroine changes names and professions. In the course of the development of the action, it seems as if you were locked up alone with the madmen and there is no way out of this suffocating state at all. In addition, the director further enhances the feeling claustrophobia using an almost square frame format.

Kantemir Balagov uses a similar technique in his debut "Tightness". The director tried to convey a sense of constraint in everything. To do this, he limits the frame to narrow frames and also fills it to capacity with characters. As a result, the film came out extremely difficult to perceive, but absolutely everyone noted the talent of the director.

In the second feature film by Robert Eggers, a young guy Ephraim arrives on a lonely Lighthouseto work there as an assistant caretaker. But his boss, Thomas Wake, keeps the rookie away from the lantern and gives him crazy assignments. Gradually, Ephraim begins to go crazy with paranoia, insomnia and strange visions.

And again, the aspect ratio of the frame, paired with black and white, works great for the atmosphere of the picture. The characters seem to be locked inside the narrow frames of the screen and doomed to a conflict that will certainly end tragically.