What different film aspect rations are around?

    Generally there are five aspect rations that are commonly used in theatres today.

    1.37:1 (often given as 1.33:1) – used for all films made before 1953 (when CinemaScope was introduced) and occasionally still used in Europe, also for some documentaries, 16mm and non-widescreen TV.

    1.66:1 – used widely in Europe

    1.75:1 – used in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, sometimes in Europe. Close to the digital TV ratio of 16:9 (1.77:1)

    1.85:1 – used in America/Canada and other places (particularly if a film is aimed at the US market)

    2.35:1 – CinemaScope (also known as Panavision)

    Occasionally you might also find…

    SuperScope (used on the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and occasional other films like Days of Heaven

    2:1 – used for some obsolete CinemaScope processes

    2.2:1 – the ratio of 70mm (which you’ll often hear referred to as 65mm, which is the size of the negative – the extra 5mm is the soundtrack)

    2.66:1 – used for some obsolete “ultra-wide” processes using 65mm negatives, e.g. “Ben Hur”.

    Yanman Home Theatre provides an interesting explanation of aspect ratios and “letterboxing” with examples.