A Few Words About A few words about...™ Mary Poppins -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[ThadK]

Having watched it myself, though there did appear to be some tinkering, it wasn't near as bad as Sword in the Stone or others. The fox hunting sequence in particular didn't have any noticeable errors while in motion and looked fantastic.

Thanks, Joe. Since you're aware of the damage done to SWORD, you'd know what to look for, and I'll take your word for it.

 

[Eastmancolor]

I was at the Disney studio theatre the day the restoration team first viewed the 35mm IB Technicolor 4-track mag original release print of Mary Poppins. The print belongs to a friend of mine who loaned it to the studio so that it could be used as a color reference. The print was a domestic US release print from 1964.

I'm pretty sure they didn't project the film using carbon arcs, I would guess it was Xenon.

Being a film collector and film buff, I have viewed many IB prints (both 35mm and 16mm) over the years. The British IB print screenshots that have been posted in this thread definitely have a warmer hue than the domestic one. The skin tones on the Blu-ray are pretty much identical to the domestic IB. The Disney team has replicated that print very well, though of course the new restoration has a lot more detail than the print does.

I love the look of the British print and the domestic one was very nice too. There's always going to be some differences as no matter how good digital technology is, it's impossible to completely replicate the Technicolor dye transfer look, mainly in the contrast department.

Which isn't to say that digital can't be better overall. It often is.

And unless you're one of the two, or three (or maybe half dozen) people on the planet who have a mint original Technicolor release print, the new Blu-ray is a welcome substitute.

I'm certainly very picky when it comes to the quality of prints and Blu-rays and I found little (if anything) to complain about this new disc. I'm also no animation expert, so I can't attest to whether or not the drawings have been altered, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Blu-ray projected onto my 10' home theatre screen.

 

[haineshisway]

I was at the Disney studio theatre they day the restoration team first viewed the 35mm IB Technicolor 4-track mag original release print of Mary Poppins. The print belongs to a friend of mine who loaned it to the studio so that it could be used as a color reference. The print was a domestic US release print from 1964.

I'm pretty sure they didn't project the film using carbon arcs, I would guess it was Xenon.

Being a film collector and film buff, I have viewed many IB prints (both 35mm and 16mm) over the years. The British IB print screenshots that have been posted in this thread definitely have a warmer hue than the domestic one. The skin tones on the Blu-ray are pretty much identical to the domestic IB. The Disney team has replicated that print very well, though of course the new restoration has a lot more detail than the print does.

I love the look of the British print and the domestic one was very nice too. There's always going to be some differences as no matter how good digital technology is, it's impossible to completely replicate the Technicolor dye transfer look, mainly in the contrast department.

Which isn't to say that digital can't be better overall. It often is.

And unless you're one of the two, or three (or maybe half dozen) people on the planet who have a mint original Technicolor release print, the new Blu-ray is a welcome substitute.

I'm certainly very picky when it comes to the quality of prints and Blu-rays and I found little (if anything) to complain about this new disc. I'm also no animation expert, so I can't attest to whether or not the drawings have been altered, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Blu-ray projected onto my 10' home theatre screen.

Good to have this post.

 

[Doug Bull]

I was at the Disney studio theatre they day the restoration team first viewed the 35mm IB Technicolor 4-track mag original release print of Mary Poppins. The print belongs to a friend of mine who loaned it to the studio so that it could be used as a color reference. The print was a domestic US release print from 1964.

I'm pretty sure they didn't project the film using carbon arcs, I would guess it was Xenon.
The British IB print screenshots that have been posted in this thread definitely have a warmer hue than the domestic one. The skin tones on the Blu-ray are pretty much identical to the domestic IB. The Disney team has replicated that print very well.

If it was Projected using a Xenon how did they reference the supposed carbon arc look?

I will be posting some new scans from an actual 35mm US domestic print very shortly.

The scans I've featured already may not be from a British source after-all,( ) but from yet another completely unexpected origin.
More to come..as I gather facts...

Doug.

 

[haineshisway]

If it was Projected using a Xenon how did they reference the supposed carbon arc look?

I will be posting some new scans from an actual 35mm US domestic print very shortly.

The scans I've featured already may not be from a British source after-all,( ) but from yet another completely unexpected origin.
More to come..as I gather facts...

Doug.

There is no supposed carbon arc look - carbon arc has a very specific light balance to which all dye transfer prints of that era were timed. I'm pretty certain they didn't PROJECT the print while using it for reference, just as you aren't projecting yours when providing scans.

 

[bryan4999]

There is nothing like hearing these glorious soundtracks in a cavernous theater. Some my most vivid memories of seeing these classic films was the sound.

My grandmother would take me to see films like Mary Poppins at this enormous old Fox theater that had two balconies. We would often go to matinees when the theater was less full and the sound would echo slightly, maybe reverb is the right word, in the cavernous space.

My guilty secret is that sometimes I set my receiver to "stadium" to recreate the effect and take me back to those days. Not pure I know but nostalgic.

 

[Mark Booth]

Slight off-topic: Cathy and I went to see 'Saving Mr. Banks' today. It was quite excellent! Highly recommended, even if you aren't a fan of 'Mary Poppins'. But, if you are, I recommend watching 'Mary Poppins' again before going to see 'Saving Mr. Banks'. It's not absolutely necessary but having just watched 'Mary Poppins' a few days ago enhanced my enjoyment of 'Saving Mr. Banks'!

Mark

 

[Doug Bull]

There is no supposed carbon arc look

A somewhat pedantic comment on my otherwise generalised posting, which was intended as a reference to previous discussions about a certain adjusted clip and it's importance to the new blu-ray.
But in the end is it worth getting ulcers over?


I love that Cagney film "Run for Cover" which reminds me....

 

[ThadK]

It's pretty insane to hold a Blu-Ray of anything in contempt for not matching a 35mm print projected exactly color-wise... because it's just not going to happen. We've had more than our fair share of doctored Disney releases, but that's when it's brutally obvious. Given Disney's extensive criminal history, this doesn't look like much of a case - at all. (Other than being the wrong aspect ratio.)

 

[McCrutchy]

It's funny. This wasn't an immediate purchase for me, but after reading through 95% of this thread tonight for the first time. I may have to get this tomorrow. I haven't seen the film in many years, and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Steen DK]

I will be posting some new scans from an actual 35mm US domestic print very shortly.

Please don't take this as criticism, but it'd be really cool if you could provide some hi-res scans (1080-ish).

 

[Doug Bull]

Please don't take this as criticism, but it'd be really cool if you could provide some hi-res scans (1080-ish).

That's quite OK.
Unfortunately, I've now finished my scanning of Mary Poppins.
I scanned a few more frames yesterday at an average resolution of around 1150 x 700
Normally I upload them to HTF as medium size.

Certainly, I will take your request on board for any future scans.

At this time I'm waiting final confirmation in regards to the "country-of-origin" source of the previous scans.
Hopefully the full info (which I now have) will be posted along with a couple of the latest scans very shortly.

Doug.

 

[Mark Booth]

That's quite OK.
Unfortunately, I've now finished my scanning of Mary Poppins.
I scanned a few more frames yesterday at an average resolution of around 1150 x 700
Normally I upload them to HTF as medium size.

Certainly, I will take your request on board for any future scans.

At this time I'm waiting final confirmation in regards to the "country-of-origin" source of the previous scans.
Hopefully the full info (which I now have) will be posted along with a couple of the latest scans very shortly.

Doug.

Doug,

If you'd like, I'll be happy to host the images on the same photo page I linked earlier. That would allow linking the largest image size available, rather than whatever size the forum upload limits you to.

Just shoot me a message if you're interested.

Mark

 

[TonyD]

We just finished the movie.I'm 49 now and I enjoyed it just like when I was a youngin'.It was great.Although I never really put it together that she was probably a witch even though the boy does say it the first time he sees her flying in after she quickly dispatched the competition by literally blowing them away.One other thing I never noticed was that Julie was wearing a wig.At the very end when she is talking to her umbrella as she turns her head you can clearly see were it is glued to her face. Oh we'll pish posh no matter.Five stars for the movie and disc.

 

[moviebuff75]

Watched this masterpiece and the blu-ray is perfect. Love the job done here! Bravo!

 

[Doug Bull]

Because of the extra late stage in this thread I did have second thoughts about posting the identity of the 35mm scans and the print from whence they came.
I guess even after all the ballyhoo regarding scans and their worth, I thought that there might still be a couple of interested parties out there.
So for them here goes.

The 35mm print discussed is missing the last 15 or so minutes. (It ends with Mr.Banks arriving at the Bank)

I had to hand wind and examine nearly 14,000 ft of film, which at my age and condition was not all that easy.
The purpose was to find any lettering, identification numbers, asterisks and symbols.

Our own highly regarded 35mm expert Robert Harris set me in the right direction and was of great help and guidance throughout this project.
I learnt many things that I was totally unaware of even after more than 50 years of 35mm film projection and handling.
Thank you so much for that Robert. (It proves that you are never too old to learn new things)

After much speculation and comments comparing my scans and the adjusted carbon arc image to a British Technicolor print, I can now reveal that the print is most likely a US print struck in 1965.

I say most likely because Reels 5, 6 and 7 are most definitely of US origin.
The codes, asterisks and symbols for = Eastman Kodak - Rochester USA - 1965 were found on these 3 reels.

The delay in my identification was that reels 1, 2, 3 and 4 have no visible edge (black print) markings anywhere. (only original white neg markings which doesn't help to identify the print origin - Robert will correct me if I'm wrong)
While these 4 reels still have their original heads and tails in place, they have been cut down a bit over the years thereby possibly losing the ID markings.

It's only a presumption on my part, but one would imagine that if three of the reels are of US origin, surely the rest of the print would be part of the same.
But then again you never know

Here are the last of my scans, taken from the 35mm print of US origin.

"Goodbye Mary Poppins, don't stay away too long"

Doug.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Those are great, Doug. Thanks for posting them..

 

[Charles Smith]

Thank you!

 

[bryan4999]

Amazing scans throughout the thread; thank you so much, Doug, for taking the time and trouble to do that for us. It is gratefully appreciated.

 

[Charles Smith]

Yes, they seriously make me want to watch the damned movie again.

And come to think of it, why shouldn't I ?

I ask you.