In the shadowy corners of film restoration forums and private torrent trackers, a peculiar string of text has achieved near-legendary status among fans of Mary Harron’s 2000 satirical thriller, American Psycho. That string is: americanpsycho2000openmatte1080pblurayhe exclusive.
To the uninitiated, it looks like a random jumble of codecs, resolutions, and typos. But to the dedicated cinephile—specifically one obsessed with aspect ratios, lost vertical information, and the gleaming, blood-splattered aesthetic of Patrick Bateman’s Manhattan—this string represents a perfect storm of technical rarity and fan-driven preservation.
This article will dissect every component of that keyword, explore why the "open matte" format matters, compare this exclusive release to standard Blu-ray editions, and explain why you should care about a decade-old digital oddity. americanpsycho2000openmatte1080pblurayhe exclusive
To understand the hype, you first have to understand aspect ratios.
When American Psycho was released in theaters, it was projected in a widescreen aspect ratio (typically 1.85:1). This is how the director intended the film to be seen, framing the action tightly to focus on Patrick Bateman’s world. However, when films were prepared for home video releases in the 4:3 era (standard definition TVs), distributors often used a technique called Open Matte. In the shadowy corners of film restoration forums
Instead of chopping off the sides of the image to make it fit a square TV (pan and scan), the filmmakers would simply remove the matte bars from the top and bottom of the frame. This reveals more image at the top and bottom than was seen in theaters.
For American Psycho, this is fascinating. The "Open Matte" version reveals more of the set design, the architecture, and the framing of Bateman’s apartment. It offers a "full frame" look at the meticulous production design without cropping the sides. While purists often argue for the theatrical ratio, the Open Matte version provides a raw, unmasked look at the film that many collectors covet. When American Psycho was released in theaters, it
Standard Blu-rays of American Psycho are presented in a widescreen aspect ratio (usually 2.35:1). However, the film was shot on 35mm film using spherical lenses, protecting a taller “open matte” frame (approximately 1.33:1 or 1.78:1).
In an open matte version, the black bars are removed from top and bottom, revealing extra visual information that was originally hidden in the theatrical crop. For American Psycho, this means you see more of the apartment ceilings, office furniture, and even actors’ headroom — sometimes breaking the intended composition, but often offering a raw, uncropped view of the cinematography.