 Director Martin Scorsese (qv) originally wanted to shoot the film  in Academy ratio, 1.33:1, the same ratio as films of the period and  indeed all films up until about 1954. Unfortunately, he found that  modern theaters are generally not properly equipped to show anything  but Flat 1.85:1 or Scope 2.35:1 films. He therefore focused instead  on making each portion of the film look like it was made using the  color film stock available at the time.