EXCLUSIVE: Anderson Entertainment is excited to announce that our friends at BritBox are making Thunderbirds available on streaming for the first time in the UK in its original, unedited form!
Thunderbirds was filmed in 1964-65 on 35mm film stock in a 4:3 aspect ratio – then standard for television. Previous Blu-ray releases in the UK have contained a cropped version of the series in order to better fit the modern-day 16:9 television screen. BritBox’s effort to secure high quality 4:3 transfers ensures that viewers will get to see the series the way the filmmakers originally intended, with nothing cropped out.
“They look… well, FAB!” said Craig Morris of BritBox regarding the HD versions premiering today. BritBox is the streaming home of many classic Gerry Anderson titles, including Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, The Secret Service, UFO, and Space: 1999.
Watch Thunderbirds now in HD and 4:3 on Britbox UK!
“The Gerry Anderson shows generally make our most-watched shows each week,” Morris continued, “Not bad as our catalogue is currently over 1,000 titles and spans the latest ITV dramas through to Love Island! Within the Sci-Fi, fantasy & classic kids genres though, the Anderson continue to be strong drivers of viewing for fans of the genre.”
Although released on Blu-Ray in 4:3 in Japan and the US, Thunderbirds is only available in 16:9 on UK region Blu-Ray at the time of this writing.
The updated version also features a vastly improved colour grade and crystal clear picture quality.”I really hope the fans enjoy these new versions,” said Morris, “I know I will!”
It is hoped that this may open the door to a long-overdue 4:3 Blu-ray release in the UK.
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