231 - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
 

The Criterion collection 231

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.19:1, a European process that is much narrower than the 4:3 monitor. The black bars along the side of the screen, called “pillarboxing,” are normal for this format, and will be even more pronounced on widescreen televisions. The narrowness of this format is due to the variable density soundtrack, which was positioned to the left of the picture area. Various prints made in later years were zoomed in to fill out the frame. This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from the restored 35mm duplicate negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from the new digital restoration master, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.