Pan-and-scanning widescreen images—still?!?—in the era of hi-def, widescreen television? You betcha. Check out what director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11-13, Out of Sight) has to say about this absurdity (especially as it relates to Jaws) in an interview appearing in the DGA Quarterly (this is a link to the Google cache as the DGA servers were down, scroll towards the bottom!).
Too esoteric a complaint? Not for “real” film lovers, and not for those who appreciate that the director and DP mean what they mean when they compose their frames.
Hat tip: Ray Pride of Movie City Indie.