[azgolfer]

I've always thought wide screen was strange. Didn't it originally come from projecting from two movie cameras side by side ? It's terrible for closeups in movies. It seems to me the human eye 'viewport' is somewhere around 4:3

[bartl]

I've always assumed that widescreen was adopted because it's a convenient format for theaters: theater rooms are easily far wider than they are high. So it's a convenient way to get a larger image, in a room that is not too excessively high.

[lurkinggrue]

It was adopted due to compitition with television. Like that are doing now with 3D movies.

TV was going to put movie theatres out of business. (At least how exec's thought)