The Aspect Ratios of The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel, the new Wes Anderson movie, is presented in not one but three aspect ratios. That term, aspect ratio, refers to the proportion of a movie’s width to its height—so, e.g., one of the most common formats for major theatrical releases in the U.S. is 1.85:1, with the projected image almost twice as wide as it is tall. (The best-selling HD TVs have a similar ratio, 1.78:1.) Anderson uses that familiar format only briefly in Grand Budapest, though, for scenes at the beginning and end of the movie.