It was shot in black-and-white, with a nearly-square 1.19:1 aspect ratio. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States by A24 on October 18, 2019.
4:3 represents the past, whereas the widescreen ratio is representative of the present. Similarly, the fact that The Lighthouse uses the 4:3 ratio helps amplify the connotation that the film is based in a historic time period, and also acts as an ode to the cinematic influences that go into the film.
What is the aspect ratio of The Lighthouse square?
"The Lighthouse" is shot in 1.19:1, an aspect ratio that is nearly a perfect square. Because the frame is so unusually narrow for our modern eyes, we perceive it to be a much taller frame than it actually is.
Shot in rich black and white by cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, who also worked on The Witch, and filmed in an old-television friendly 4x3 aspect ratio, The Lighthouse feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone.
As for The Lighthouse, the 1.19:1 aspect ratio was reportedly chosen to best capture the time period the film was set in (the 1890s). And to create the most powerful framing opportunities for faces, as well as the actual Lighthouse itself.
“The Lighthouse” was unique as soon as it started — switching from widescreen trailers to old-fashioned fullscreen, the entire film was in black and white.
Presumably, 1.19 was also chosen to build a sense of claustrophobia and perhaps to mirror the narrow, tall feeling of, well, a lighthouse. Without stating the obvious, filming in a box-like aspect ratio gives the feeling of being boxed in.
It was square in shape, which was 33% wider than its height, and was generally known as a square monitor. However, they were not ideal for high-definition video displays. Finally, in 1917, the 16:9 aspect ratio was made the standard format for movies with the television industry following in its footsteps in 1930.
The common film aspect ratios used in cinemas are 1.85:1 and 2.40:1. Two common videographic aspect ratios are 4:3 (1.3:1), the universal video format of the 20th century, and 16:9 (1.7:1), universal for high-definition television and European digital television.
The two most common aspect ratios are 4:3, also known as 1.33:1 or fullscreen, and 16:9, also known as 1.78:1 or widescreen. (Larger aspect ratio formats are used in the motion picture industry.)
The 3:2 aspect ratio creates a photo with a width 1.5 larger than the height, and the 4:3 aspect ratio creates a photo with a width 1.33 larger than the height.
For TV, the original screen ratio for broadcasts was in 4:3 (1.33:1). Largely between the 1990s and early 2000s A.D., at varying paces in different countries, 16:9 (e.g. 1920x1080p 60p) widescreen displays came into increasingly common use by High Definitions.
The 4:3 format dates back to celluloid film and early cinema screens and television sets. Far from being a relic of the past, the 4:3 aspect ratio is still a default format even though cinematography and filmmaking ratios have mostly changed to widescreen.
The 4:3 aspect ratio is used in film and TV to denote the width and height of images that are 4 units wide by 3 units tall. This term is usually pronounced Four-Three, Four-to-Three, or Four-by-Three, and also known as 1.33:1.
Filmmakers are expected to shoot a film in at least 16:9 if you want theaters to show it. Prior to widescreen TV, filmmakers shot on widescreen for theaters, but tried to keep as much action as possible in the 4:3 ratio, for when its shown on television.
On a small screen it's easier to see a face in 4:3. Plus I agree there is a retro effect. I grew up with CRTs and I was so happy when TVs became 16:9. The movies from the cinema would get their edges cut off or have to suffer pan and scan.
16:9 and 4:3 are aspect ratios. 16:9 is the aspect ratio of most "wide screen" tv's, so it's rectangular in shape. This allows you to capture a wider fov. 4:3 is more of a square shape and it would best be described as the image shape of older square TV's and it the aspect ratio of most non widescreen tv broadcasts.
It equals (approximately) 1.618, and it's considered the most pleasing proportion to the eye. On a face, the eyes are located in a golden ratio between the hairline and the chin and that's why, Murch concludes, it's the most natural framing cinematographers use over and over again.
The Golden Ratio helps fit the principal object at the centre of attention while apportioning the other objects in the foreground and background leading in succession to the centre of the spiral. This helps the audience absorb the entirety of the plot laying out in the scene, maximising the impact.
Things changed in the 1990s with the introduction of a wider television and video aspect ratio. Generally referred to as 16:9, this translates to 1.78:1, which is a convenient halfway house between the 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 flat widescreen aspect ratios.
