This was the first film Martin Scorsese shot in the wider 2.39:1 aspect ratio, as opposed to the taller 1.85:1 ratio in which he had filmed all his previous works (excluding New York, New York (1977), which was shot in 1.66:1). For years, he held off shooting his movies in 2.39:1 in fear of pan-and-scan destroying his image. However, by 1991 he knew that widescreen home media was becoming more and more available, so he decided to finally shoot a movie in 2.39:1 since he knew that the movie would get a widescreen release for home media. Despite this, there was still a pan-and-scan VHS, but alongside it a widescreen VHS and laserdisc were released. Because this film received a pan and scan VHS release, Scorsese shot his later films The Age of Innocence (1993) and Casino (1995) in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio, using the Super 35 format.