Customer Reviews

The Complete Gidget Collection (Gidget / Gidget Goes Hawaiian / Gidget Goes to Rome)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

GIDGET was shot and released in CinemaScope, and yet the DVD is an unwatchable panned and scanned copy, which crops out 50% of the frame. Unacceptable, especially since TCM airs the widescreen version on cable! The film is ruined; don't bother.

The sequels were not Scope; they do not suffer as much.

Avoid and boycott this DVD until they go back and do it right.

I was ready to snatch these up....until I saw those dreaded words on the back of the case: "Full Frame"!

These movies were made in the late 50's, early 60's....so there is NO EXCUSE for issuing them in this format. They were shot in 2.35:1 ratio....so almost HALF THE PICTURE IS MISSING!!!

This is the second time Columbia Tristar has deeply disappointed me on films I wanted in DVD. The first was their butchering of "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows" and "The Trouble With Angels".

Alas, they will remain missing from my film library until they are released in their proper ratio!!

I agree with the other reviews. This definately should have been released in it's original aspect ratio. 2.35 and the other two 1.85. If they all were only 1.66 it would not have been so bad. I am certainly waiting till it comes out in wide screen, and hope it does, but will hang on to my video's in the meantime.
It would have been a wonderful set to have, VERY DISAPPOINTING.

I was all set to pre-order this DVD set of the first three Gidget films when I learned that they are pan & scan, not widescreen. All three films were made in widescreen, and the original "Gidget" was filmed in Panavision--meaning that the pan & scan version will cut off 1/2 of the picture. (I'm not sure if the other two Gidget films were Panavision (2.35) or 1.85 widescreen.)

If you're thinking about buying this as a permanent part of your DVD library, you may want to wait until Columbia does a proper job on the DVD. Even if you don't have a widescreen televison now, you will before too much longer...

Gidget, a wonderful film for film buffs(it kicked off the beach movie genre), and 40 yrs later still a fine film in it's own right thanks to some sensitive writing a performances from Dee, Darren and Robertson, is unfortunately yet another victim of a bottom-of-the-barrel dvd issue by its studio Columbia/Tri-Star.

For some reason, the execs there believe that this 45 yr old film will have more sales cachet to the fickle, superficial Wal-Mart crowd if it 2.35 scope ratio is hacked up to fill the screen of their $45 Symphonic tv's .
this leaves people who actually saw the film in the theaters way back when and would like to see it again, intact, for the first time in 45 years , as well as serious film fans who already understand and appreciate what letterboxing is- totally in the cold.

Columbia, early on one of the finest of all the studios producing dvds, continues its slide into the gutter as the format finally starts to reach some maturity.

my pre-order has been cancelled.
if only more people who loved movies, and appreciated the art that went into them, did the same, maybe the clowns in charge would eventually get the message.

"Gidget" (the original, the one I ordered the set for) should be in WideScreen, not FullScreen. It's a sad, sad day in a movie lover's world when my AMC taped copy is better than the DVD I shelled out $25+ for.

I was so excited when it came in, only to be disappointed after the opening credits rolled. Thanks God my Sandra Dee/Bobby Darin collection came in the mail the same time as "Gidget".

What a disappointment! Execs at Universal should be forced to write letters of apology (personal, not form letters) to us who rushed out and bought the collection. And then replace our DVDs with the WideScreen. Made an already bad Saturday that much worse...

jenn m.
Oxford, Mississippi, USA

How dare they, in this day and age forsake widescreen TV owners and others that wish to have movies in thier original aspect ratio.

I wanted the first Gidget movie, I have it taped on VHS in Pan and Scan and wanted a modern 16:9 trasnfer of this Cinemascope film.

Shame on Columbia/Tristar for not doing this the right way. Shame on them!

This will never be bought by me unless they release a widesceen version like they should've in the first place.

You would think that the studios would learn thier lesson from the fullscreen only Willy Wonka fiasco.

If you must put Pan and Scan on DVD, make sure the widescreen version is also available (preferably on a seperate release).

This potential sale has been cancelled.

This could have been the perfect mid-summer diversion. However, someone at Columbia/Tri-Star decided this collection should be
released in full screen. (The first Gidget feature is in CinemaScope). Such a let-down. I guess I shall just have to keep the Cinemascope tape copy I made off Turner Classic Movies Channel. I hope I can get my money back. Note to those in charge of such things. Full-frame is for VHS. Wide-screen is for DVD. Pass it on.

These were 3 great movies that got horrible DVD release. I mean I bought the DVD set because it was better than nothing. But still Columbia House should have given these 3 glorious films the respect they rightfully deserved, I mean why couldn't they release it in Widescreen format. The first movie in the set gets a 1 disc release that isn't double sided. It is the best Gidget movie of them all. The 1959 Film Gidget which Sandra Dee, James Darren, and Arthur O'Connell. Which was the best ever. Than comes Gidget Goes Hawaiian. With Deborah Walley, Michael Callan, James Darren, and Carl Reiner. Then the last Gidget Film, Gidget Goes To Rome, which starred Cindy Carroll as Gidget, James Darren in his last role as Moondoggie, and Don Porter as Gidgets father, who played Gidgets father in the 60's TV Series Gidget which starred Sally Fields as Gidget. Which Gidget Goes To Rome, also stars the beautiful Jessie Royce Landis, as the funny guardian. The movies are great, but the set was ick.

Hey, what's going on Columbia? The age of pan and scan VHS is over! The first "Gidget" movie cries out for the original CinemaScope aspect ratio, and the two follow-ups should be in standard "widescreen" format. Releases like this one are a giant step in the wrong direction for the DVD industry. 99% of potential consumers for movies like these want to see them in correct versions on DVD. I doubt that teenagers today would find Gidget & Co. amusing or even worth ten seconds of their time. But for us who were teens around 1960, films like these are great time travels loaded with nostalgia. (And by the way - who says that today's kids are allergic to widescreen? I don't think they're as stupid as some video companies seem to think.) So why bother to pan & scan? I'm sure Columbia will lose many, many more customers this way than by doing a decent and correct job aimed at film buffs and smart people. I will certainly not spend a cent on this release untill Columbia has the decency to remaster it!