Movie buff claims widescreen movies fall short of promise

Friday December 13, 2002

LOS ANGELES (AP) A movie buff is suing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and several retailers, saying many so-called ``widescreen'' DVDs, advertised as showing the movie as seen in theaters actually show even less than already cropped ``standard'' versions.

Studios increasingly offer two versions of films on DVDs a standard format cropped to fit a typical television screen, and a widescreen, or ``letterbox'' version showing the full image as seen on a large movie screen.

The letterbox version is wider left to right and has black bars above and below the image.

But Los Angeles resident Warren Eallonardo, 28, claims that several MGM movies he recently bought, including ``Rain Man'' and ``Hoosiers,'' falsely advertise widescreen versions of the films.

``In actuality, the DVDs provide a standard format with the top and bottom of the picture cut off,'' said Clifford Pearson, an attorney representing Eallonardo. ``He felt like he is being ripped off.''

A representative of MGM did not immediately return a call for comment.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, was filed late Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)