There was no alternate version of the film presented in cinemas and the version that was released theatrically is the same as the version that were released on VHS. DVD and BD with one exemption. 

The aspect ratio

The film was presented in 1.33:1 over all formats but only the region 1 DVD from the USA contains how it originally looked in cinemas. When screened, the entire film was presented as a window boxed presentation that made it look like the audience was viewing the film through a viewfinder. Other DVD's and the Blu-ray cropped the image on all four sides to fill the screen

Some comparison grabs here -   http://sd.caps-a-holic.com/vergleich.php...eichID=605

Keeping an eye out for a 35mm print for it or any other HDTV version

Frankly, given the cheap aesthetic of the entire movie, I'd say it'd be more of a worthwhile pursuit to upscale the DVD to HD rather than pouring funds into scanning a print since I can't imagine there being any detail to be found on a print (let alone the source elements, though theoretically, you could auto-overlay the Blu-Ray master over the upscaled DVD master).

Of course, this is just me though. By all means, if someone does find a print, knock yourselves out.

Yeah considering the source material, overlaying the blu onto the DVD would probably work, failing that just scale down the blu and add the rounded corners for the aesthetic

I feel like the whole "this was shot on a crappy handheld DV camcorder" vibe is actually helped by not even attempting to watch it in HD at all, even though it obviously would have looked better than that in the cinema. I think in this specific case I'd be more than happy to just watch the old DVD as is, realtime upscaling issues and all, since it probably helps rather than hinders the central conceit. This is exactly why I still own RING on VHS (PAL too... the horror!) and am more than happy to watch it on an ancient, uncalibrated CRT TV even though it clearly looks like absolute arse: the entire film is centred around mythologising VHS and CRT analogue technology, so it adds something very specific to the experience that you just can't get from watching a pristine 1080p/4K transfer on a projector or whatever.

I think a print of this would be absolutely fantastic. No DVD compression nonsense despite the way it was shot. I'd put money toward a print scan immediately if one were ever possible.

BTW the LD and VHS both have the original "open viewfinder" presentation without any cropping. I've wanted to grab the LD but it frequently gets a lil too pricey for me.

(2021-01-15, 07:46 PM)SpookyDollhouse Wrote: BTW the LD and VHS both have the original "open viewfinder" presentation without any cropping. I've wanted to grab the LD but it frequently gets a lil too pricey for me.

What do you mean? There's a brand new and sealed one on eBay right now with a massive crease in the sleeve for £130!