Blu-ray Stats Forum

Does anyone know what the oldest movie to be released in HD is? Blu-ray or HD-DVD if you know. Aside from the absolute oldest, are there any pre-widescreen era films or silent films even released? This page only lists the year the disc was released. I don't have anything older than 1956's Forbidden Planet which got an awesome transfer to HD-DVD.

I had strayed away from such films as I have a slightly older 4x3 HD set that goes into widescreen mode for 1080i. Add the side black bars to the widescreen pic and I'm watching a small TV in the center of my medium size one. I just discovered a zoom function that makes the center 4x3 area fill the full area, chopping off the side bars. Basically would cut the sides off true widescreen material. But now that I see a way to watch 4x3 material in HD, I'd like to. Amazing I missed the function, I've spent too much time tweaking settings with maintenance codes to know about the options on the regular user menu haha (and to my defense that option is greyed out when watching standard def 4x3 which my Directv is in).

The oldest one I know of without looking it up is Casablanca (1942).

Yeah I tracked down Casablanca (HD-DVD only as far as I could see) and 1938's Robin Hood with Errol Flynn (also HD-DVD). Has Blu-Ray seen any pillarboxed 4x3 releases not counting any TV shows? Basically any movie made before the mid 50's.

I don't think I have seen any.

Actually I think the only 4:3 stuff I have seen was an ep of Star Trek on HD DVD.

Yeah I knew about the Star Trek special editions, I'm netflixing season 1 now on HD-DVD. I have been buying up a lot of HD-DVD exclusives since who knows when or if they will see Blu-ray releases, but I figure Star Trek will make it to Blu-ray fairly quickly, especially since afaik they only released the first season in high def with added effects etc. Surely they are planning on doing the whole series. Not like Star Trek is a big financial risk, and high-end electronics owners and Trekkies are often the same so it would sell. I'm not a total Trekkie, haven't seen every ep, but maybe I will if Netflix keeps the HD-DVDs around or it comes out on Blu-ray for me to rent, too much to buy for someone that just likes Star Trek (at least before I see what I think about the new improvements, heard they were more subtle and appropriate than Star Wars).

the only 4x3 stuff on high-def disc was star trek tv show on hd-dvd.
no blu-ray that i know of has 4x3 stuff.

I have Robin Hood hd-dvd (1938) which is teh oldest title out there afaik.
It is a really excellent transfer also

Pinnochio (Disney) has to be up there. It's 70 years old I believe.

Pinocchio was released in cinemas 1940 so yeah it is now one of the oldest movies on BD.

The oldest movies on Blu-Ray are:

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Gullivers Travels (1939)
Pinocchio (1940)
Casablanca (1942)

By end of year, you can add:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Gone With the Wind (1939)