While attempting to reconstruct a wide-screen version of Metamorphoses/Winds of Change is challenging enough, it’s complicated further by having multiple versions to work with. The Japanese version is the highest quality over all, but the American VHS is framed differently, allowing for some parts of the extended frame to be clearer than the French version would otherwise allow. An added bonus is that the trailer on the Japanese DVD contains several wide-screen shots that were squeezed horizontally to a 4:3 ratio.
For much of the film, the wide format seems largely wasted, which makes the 4:3 home video framing less jarring. There are some shots, though, that must have been a challenge. One such shot is when Pegasus appears, at the end of the Perseus segment. In the American and Japanese versions, the gorgon on the right side of the screen is completely cropped out. This gorgon is technically visible in the French version, but is outside the “safe” area of the frame, meaning it may have been cropped out by TVs at the time. An issue with the American version is that it’s framed so that Perseus is in the center of the screen, which results in the viewer not being able to see Medusa’s severed head transforming into Pegasus.
Overall, the framing of the different versions is a mixed bag. Sometimes, the American version will clear up an extra 10% of the picture. In few rare cases, it may add 25% or more. But for much of the film, it either only clears up the backgrounds, or aligns so closely to the Japanese version that it’s hardly worth the effort.
