... go down to look at the same scene with 16:9 cropping, the two characters in the scene are not in the view. I'm not advocating 16:9 ratio but variable zoom. The two characters on the scene could have preserved to some extent with 10-20% zoom.
Would you repeatedly zoom in and out of a movie while you watch it? How could you possibly anticipate what zoom you need as camera shots are rapidly changing? Or would you pre-watch the movie, analyze what zoom is best and go watch it again? Crazy!
The movie "Puss in Boots" is 2.35:1 and uses several sequences of split screen effects ala spaghetti westerns. Zooming in any would ruin this. I believe "Sliding Doors" does split screens as well. Many movies utilize the entire width and offset action in creative ways that zooming would ruin. Not to mention the use of subtitles. How many horror movies have the monster come at you from unexpected directions, or simply lurking in the corner (Like in "The Descent")? If you've only seen "Close Encounters.." in 16:9 you're really missing out. Just watch the damn movie, as it is. After a while, you won't notice the bars anymore. You are holding yourself back unnecessarily.