DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Sound of Music - 40th Anniversary Edition (1 Viewer)

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Scott, Ditto that. Never picked up the 5-star edition due to complaints. I'm getting this one, but wish they'd gone all out on the film transfer.

Don't forget, you can get this through DDD now. With the 20% off, it's $14.70, free shipping. I was placing an order anyway and this will be a Christmas gift so I don't need it day and date.

JKS

 

[Rob_Ray]

I'm pleased with the sound. It's mixed a bit brighter (or louder anyway) and the soundfield seems even wider this time around. The dialogue panning seems even more pronounced on this DVD.

 

[RobertSiegel]

Rob, thanks for the post on my question about the sound. I just picked up the 3 R&H movies this morning. Unfortunately, I have moved in with my parents for a few months and do not have my VPL-11HT Sony Projector hooked up as there is no screen or wall, and of course who can use klipschorns in the same house as the parents, so I am stuck with a 25" Sanyo tv, and my sound system is in storage. Kind of sucks when my favorite movie comes out not to have my theater set up.

As for the DVD compared to the old one, at least on the 25" tv, it looks much better than the last disc, though I just got home and briefly scanned it. It's not perfected yet, and it does seem to be the same print but the transfer is much better, less much of that awful noise. Definately worth 14.99!!!!!

 

[Yumbo]

switching between the opening scene 12 times, at reference level did not seem to show much difference.

ps. the Anniversary edition opens up the top frame a bit as well.

 

[RobertSiegel]

I expected many posts here today, but I guess when 3 Rogers and Hammerstein special editions come out, everyone is pretty busy. I loved the Todd-AO and Cinemascope extras on Oklahoma. Sound of Music is a big improvement in my opinion, and State Fair is an excellent transfer, especially the Cinemascope version. It's A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING!(hehe).

 

[TonyDale]

I just finished up the Special Features disc of THE SOUND OF MUSIC's 40th anniversary dvd; I was fine until the great-grandchildren of the real Maria & Georg stood up on the Hollywood Bowl's stage and sang "Edelweiss."
A thought occurred to me with the mention of it being Oscar Hammerstein's final lyrics, as everyone mentions how appropriate these lyrics were for a dying man, I thought - - well, the verse to "The Sound of Music" (which was not used for the film) was even more a propos: My day in the hills has come to an end, I know. A star has come out to tell me it's time to go. But deep in the dark green shadows are voices that urge me to stay; so I pause and I wait and I listen for one more sound, for one more lovely thing that the hills might say. . ."

 

[Mark Oates]

I think what might be causing some confusion is the restoration featurette (mostly textual) included on disc two. It states that the version on the disc (which it identifies as the 2005 restoration) was made from the 65mm negatives by Fox and the Academy Archive. It states that most of the restoration work was done in the film domain and only a comparatively small amount of work (mainly grading) carried out in the digital. All comparisons are made with the "1993 Film Transfer", which shows a distinct blue bias, but is not specifically identified as the source for the previous DVD master.

 

[Darrell S.]

The new SOUND OF MUSIC probably looks as good as is possible on DVD. It will never look like the sharp and detailed film we are used to seeing on the big screen in 70mm. High-def Blue Ray will be the only thing that will come close to that. The 40th Anniversary disc holds up well when blown up big. They have corrected the horrible artificial edge enhancement from the previous disc. This new remaster has a very smooth and sharp look to it. Also, the saturation is not so extreme and the color is at the right level. The scene in the fruit market where Maria throws a tomato at Gretel is breathtaking! Also, the shot of the Baroness in Maria's bedroom in the gold ball gown is gorgeous. The extras on this new version are really good, however, the extras from the 5-star are not carried over, so I would suggest you keep your copies of that for the documentaries and the vintage radio interviews and interviews with Ernest Lehman. I like the new commentary with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charmian Carr and Dee Dee Wood. It has some very bawdy humor on it. The only downside is that there is A LOT of space between comments. If only all commentaries were just like the one on THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. That should be the standard. That woman never stopped talking for one second and she tells you everything about every frame of film!

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Hey guys,

I made JPEGs with screen captures comparing the new SOM to the old as well as the old OKLAHOMA with both new versions - some interesting differences to note. I don't have a server to host the pics, so e-mail me if you are interested.

[email protected]

Personally, I don't think the new OKLAHOMA is as bad as everyone thinks. I think the old Laserdisc and DVD transfers were abhorrently oversaturated and looked anything but natural. I don't think either film looks as good as they can on these new releases, but .... Any improvement I guess is okay.

-Chuck

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Anyone willing to host Chuck's pics so we can link'em in the thread???

 

[TedD]

No it doesn't. There are many DVD transfers available today that look far better than SOM does.

In fact, you don't have to go any further than the 1962 "State Fair" DVD to show you what can be done in terms of capturing fine detail with no EE or ringing on DVD today.

Of course, you will need an upscaling DVD player or an HTPC, along with a 1080 HDTV to really see the differences.

Ted

 

[TonyDale]

from DaVid Boulet:


More than welcome to upload them to my photobucket account!

 

[TonyDale]

Here are the comparisons:

 

[TonyDale]

I'll post the OKLAHOMA! comparisons as well, should the mods want to move them to another thread, that's fine, too.

 

[TonyDale]

Hey! For my first photo postings, I didn't do to badly!
Thanks, Chuck!

 

[Ryan Wong]

What is comparing to what?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Yeah. Please go back to the two posts and add a legend detailing which picture is from which version of each movie.

Thanks! Nice grabs.

 

[TonyDale]

Chuck, do you want to respond since they're your caps?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but. . .
TOP - non-anamorphic OKLAHOMA!
MIDDLE - TODD-AO anamorphic, Disc Two of new release.
BOTTOM - CinemaScope anamorphic, Disc One of new release.

TOP - Five Star Collection SOUND OF MUSIC
BOTTOM - 40th Anniversary Edidion.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Tony,

You guessed correctly.

Just look at how much more film-like the new SOM discs looks compared to the "sharper", but more artificial/electronic look of the old. The "bloom" in the Baroness' dress at the ball looks like this movie ought to look when projected (in the new version).

The LD of Oklahoma is pretty, but also looks a little blown-out. Then again, the two DVD shots look a little dark. Wonder what that's supposed to look like (clearly not the muddy mess of the TODD-AO new DVD).

BTW, the SOM will be projected (I think 70mm) at the Silver Screen in Bethesda sometime soon...I'm gonna go check it out to see what this movie is *supposed* to look like!

dave

 

[Mark-P]

Well, based on those comparason shots of "Oklahoma!", I would say other than the Todd-AO version being a little soft-looking it doesn't look too bad. Certainly not the abomination people are making it out to be. But then again, these are itty-bitty screen caps. My DVD should arrive in the mail next week, and then I'll be able to see for myself how "bad" this transfer is.