Blu-ray Review Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[warnerbro]

I do prefer how they restore the Looney Tunes shorts where we see dirt and debris moving around the cells. But these look beautiful and clean. I would prefer the Looney Tunes look, but for some reason they chose this. I would like to know more about that decision from Warner Bros.

 

[John Sparks]

I compared just the first short

to what was on the DVD (yellow) case and it was nice not having the opening window boxed. Krypton was less green on the BD…another color planet fiasco.

I’ll have to watch the others to see how they are. All in all, it’s a keeper.

 

[Robert Saccone]

Fwiw I am pleased with how the videos from iTunes look on my setup.

 

[Nelson Au]

I posted these screen caps in the other thread.

I think the new blu ray looks great, if this is what they did look like in 1941, these look great.

DVD and Blu ray:

 

[Tino]

I’m perfectly satisfied with the digital version on iTunes that I paid $9.99 for.

I’ve watched half of the shorts and they look fine to my eyes. Definitely an improvement on the SD version on dvd.

The shorts themselves are interesting. Beautifully animated but woefully dated and all very similar in story and structure with some head scratching scenes involving Superman and his powers (or lack thereof).

 

[John Sparks]

The BD did tack on that BS about beware of content, I’m so sick of that crap! Anyway, I did notice the audio was louder on the DVD.

Other than that, it’s nice to watch them without the speckles and slight scratches!

 

[Indy Guy]

The line in the disclaimer that bothers me is; "It is wrong now and IT WAS WRONG THEN". How can anyone pass judgement on a people 80 years ago reeling from an unprovoked attack resulting in 1000's of lives lost and a continuing death count mounting throughout these productions? That being said, the Jungle themed episode slips back into unnecessary stereotypes that were typical of the period but sadly also not yet recognized as wrong 80 years ago.

 

[compson]

The line in the disclaimer that bothers me is; "It is wrong now and IT WAS WRONG THEN". How can anyone pass judgement on a people 80 years ago reeling from an unprovoked attack resulting in 1000's of lives lost and a continuing death count mounting throughout these productions? That being said, the Jungle themed episode slips back into unnecessary stereotypes that were typical of the period but sadly also not yet recognized as wrong 80 years ago.

Racist stereotypes were wrong in the 1940s, and some people did recognize that they were wrong. Birth of a Nation was highly controversial in 1915, after all, and some people picketed outside theaters that showed Song of the South in 1946. I’m confident that Asian Americans in the 1940s (including, of course, parents of children who might be drawn to Superman) were well aware that asian stereotypes were wrong.

 

[Wayne Klein]

Received mine today and definitely disappointed at the extreme amount of DNR. It looks too clean and digital. The organic, textured feel just isn't there compared to the best of other classic animated releases from WB. Some shorts look softer than others. Watching on a 77" LG OLED I actually cranked sharpness up to max which helps a bit on some of them. While certainly not a disaster, it's a disappointment after waiting so long for these to be properly mastered.

I keep hoping Warner will announce a recall/replacement but I doubt they will. There are some positives-colors look quite nice but yeah the DNR turned to 11 not such a good thing.

 

[Indy Guy]

Racist stereotypes were wrong in the 1940s, and some people did recognize that they were wrong. Birth of a Nation was highly controversial in 1915, after all, and some people picketed outside theaters that showed Song of the South in 1946. I’m confident that Asian Americans in the 1940s (including, of course, parents of children who might be drawn to Superman) were well aware that asian stereotypes were wrong.

Would the families destroyed by the murders and atrocities inflicted by Hitler and the Japanese in 1942 feel the same? You can't generalize about a time we didnt live through....unless you are older than 95 and have personal recollections. I knew old timers in Disney animation who were proud about the Disney efforts they worked on to build support for the war effort at the time.
The same kind of spirit is evident today in the exaggeration anger seen in team mascots displayed at sporting events. That doesn't excuse hurtful stereotypes created to demean innocent people who's only crime was trying to live peacefully in a time of turmoil.

 

[Robert Harris]

Would the families destroyed by the murders and atrocities inflicted by Hitler and the Japanese in 1942 feel the same? You can't generalize about a time we didnt live through....unless you are older than 95 and have personal recollections. I knew old timers in Disney animation who were proud about the Disney efforts they worked on to build support for the war effort at the time.
The same kind of spirit is evident today in the exaggeration anger seen in team mascots displayed at sporting events. That doesn't excuse hurtful stereotypes created to demean innocent people who's only crime was trying to live peacefully in a time of turmoil.

We live, try to survive and get along in an interesting time. The Johnstown Flood, a 1926 silent that my company will soon be releasing, has elements that could cause problems with / for some who may neither understand nor acknowledge certain sentiments are attributes c. 1889, as depicted in a 100 year-old film as not our positions.

No one needs to explain that a huge entity with tendrils around the world must make a statement that should go as understood to protect itself.

Honing the correct verbiage, and then having it vetted by legal, HR, and other departments, isn‘t going to create something artful. But we need to get some words out there, regardless.

I’m personally against pitchforks and torches.

No matter how the situation is handled, it seems that there no correct way to make a statement. I probably tried 50 drafts over days, and found that regardless of intent, which was towards peace and tranquility, the words were never perfect,

Just sayin’…

 

[ScottRE]

Getting back to Superman...

If WB simply went back to the prints they used as the basis for the Superman Anthology blu rays for this set, all but three shorts will have spliced in "outros." The first short ("Superman" aka "The Mad Scientist") should be the original music and Paramount Logo (and the source of all the others which were spliced in). "The Arctic Giant" and "Electric Earthquake" should also have the exit music as originally used.

All of the other shorts on the Anthology set had the first short's outro sliced in and often jarringly. Here's what bugs me: this wasn't necessary. The Image/Bosko Diamond Anniversary DVD set released them all with the original outros intact except one: "The Mummy Strikes" and in that one, they took time to make the transition much smoother and used a different clip than the WB prints did. I would be 100% satisfied to just stick with the Bosko release but for whatever reason, they decided to put a subtitle with the short's original release dates on the screen right after the intro bit. That annoyed me for years.

Without buying the blu rays or getting them off iTunes, I can't check to see if all of the same outros as used in the Anthology are in the new release. However, since it's been said there are some outros awkwardly spliced in, I have to assume they're the same all around until someone reports otherwise.

Between the over-scrubbing and the lack of care in restoring the complete prints, this is a no-buy for me. I would understand if the clips were destroyed, but the complete prints exist. Bosko got 'em, WB should be able to as well (I imagine). It's a damned shame, I love these shorts and having them completely restored to pristine condition would have been the culmination of a wish I had ever since I bought my first $1.99 VHS tape at a department store of 3 shorts transferred from battered 16mm prints in SLP speed.

Ah well.

 

[Peter Neski]

Getting back to Superman...

If WB simply went back to the prints they used as the basis for the Superman Anthology blu rays for this set, all but three shorts will have spliced in "outros." The first short ("Superman" aka "The Mad Scientist") should be the original music and Paramount Logo (and the source of all the others which were spliced in). "The Arctic Giant" and "Electric Earthquake" should also have the exit music as originally used.

All of the other shorts on the Anthology set had the first short's outro sliced in and often jarringly. Here's what bugs me: this wasn't necessary. The Image/Bosko Diamond Anniversary DVD set released them all with the original outros intact except one: "The Mummy Strikes" and in that one, they took time to make the transition much smoother and used a different clip than the WB prints did. I would be 100% satisfied to just stick with the Bosko release but for whatever reason, they decided to put a subtitle with the short's original release dates on the screen right after the intro bit. That annoyed me for years.

Without buying the blu rays or getting them off iTunes, I can't check to see if all of the same outros as used in the Anthology are in the new release. However, since it's been said there are some outros awkwardly spliced in, I have to assume they're the same all around until someone reports otherwise.

Between the over-scrubbing and the lack of care in restoring the complete prints, this is a no-buy for me. I would understand if the clips were destroyed, but the complete prints exist. Bosko got 'em, WB should be able to as well (I imagine). It's a damned shame, I love these shorts and having them completely restored to pristine condition would have been the culmination of a wish I had ever since I bought my first $1.99 VHS tape at a department store of 3 shorts transferred from battered 16mm prints in SLP speed.

Ah well.

They are much better Than all previous versions like Laser discs ect,while everyone knows they could be better ,that's no reason to waste time watching those old versions (they stink!)

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

We live, try to survive and get along in an interesting time. The Johnstown Flood, a 1926 silent that my company will soon be releasing, has elements that could cause problems with / for some who may neither understand nor acknowledge certain sentiments are attributes c. 1889, as depicted in a 100 year-old film as not our positions.

No one needs to explain that a huge entity with tendrils around the world must make a statement that should go as understood to protect itself.

Honing the correct verbiage, and then having it vetted by legal, HR, and other departments, isn‘t going to create something artful. But we need to get some words out there, regardless.

I’m personally against pitchforks and torches.

No matter how the situation is handled, it seems that there no correct way to make a statement. I probably tried 50 drafts over days, and found that regardless of intent, which was towards peace and tranquility, the words were never perfect,

Just sayin’…

I personally prefer subtlety, like this--

As for the Fleischer Superman Blu-ray, I was really looking forward to it, but I despise DNR abuse.

Besides the lack of grain, I wonder if the inked outlines of the cels get partially scrubbed/eliminated, especially with elements in motion, with the DNR process sometimes mistaking the ink lines for dirt or damage. I know this happened sometimes to classic animation on DVD (WB's Complete Droopy release, the couple of Beany & Cecil discs) and even Laserdisc (Republic Pictures' Complete Betty Boop box sets).

 

[John Sparks]

I keep hoping Warner will announce a recall/replacement but I doubt they will. There are some positives-colors look quite nice but yeah the DNR turned to 11 not such a good thing.

This is my 3rd rendition of this title and I'm not about to beg/ask for another copy (corrected) If WB gives us another copy with no hassle, I'm all for it, but I'm quite happy with the BD.

 

[ScottRE]

Getting back to Superman...

If WB simply went back to the prints they used as the basis for the Superman Anthology blu rays for this set, all but three shorts will have spliced in "outros." The first short ("Superman" aka "The Mad Scientist") should be the original music and Paramount Logo (and the source of all the others which were spliced in). "The Arctic Giant" and "Electric Earthquake" should also have the exit music as originally used.

All of the other shorts on the Anthology set had the first short's outro sliced in and often jarringly. Here's what bugs me: this wasn't necessary. The Image/Bosko Diamond Anniversary DVD set released them all with the original outros intact except one: "The Mummy Strikes" and in that one, they took time to make the transition much smoother and used a different clip than the WB prints did. I would be 100% satisfied to just stick with the Bosko release but for whatever reason, they decided to put a subtitle with the short's original release dates on the screen right after the intro bit. That annoyed me for years.

Without buying the blu rays or getting them off iTunes, I can't check to see if all of the same outros as used in the Anthology are in the new release. However, since it's been said there are some outros awkwardly spliced in, I have to assume they're the same all around until someone reports otherwise.

Between the over-scrubbing and the lack of care in restoring the complete prints, this is a no-buy for me. I would understand if the clips were destroyed, but the complete prints exist. Bosko got 'em, WB should be able to as well (I imagine). It's a damned shame, I love these shorts and having them completely restored to pristine condition would have been the culmination of a wish I had ever since I bought my first $1.99 VHS tape at a department store of 3 shorts transferred from battered 16mm prints in SLP speed.

Ah well.

And in the space of a few hours on a weekend, I restored the ending music, fixed the intro music on the Famous studios shorts (which were edited) and un-pillarboxed the credits. Just by using the Bosko audio and changing the scale of the intros...in Nero of all programs. Just a hobbyist with no real professional or even expensive resources.

Maybe WB had legit reasons why they couldn't do it, fans do tend to go to places legit entities can't go, but the end product I have now will suit me fine until the day (may it soon come) when we see a truly definitive release of these classic shorts.

 

[Wayne Klein]

I do prefer how they restore the Looney Tunes shorts where we see dirt and debris moving around the cells. But these look beautiful and clean. I would prefer the Looney Tunes look, but for some reason they chose this. I would like to know more about that decision from Warner Bros.

I have mixed feelings about seeing the dirt and debris. While it may be true to the film nature of the shorts, we also have a level of clarity and resolution that wasn't readily available back then and the ability to fix them. I don't want to view them as they might have appeared in the 1940's or 1950's but want them to look as good as possible AND still have grain but eliminate the dirt and debris as much as possible. I'm fine with some clean up on these shorts but there is a line they can cross where resolution is lost and that's where I have an issue.

 

[Robert Harris]

I have mixed feelings about seeing the dirt and debris. While it may be true to the film nature of the shorts, we also have a level of clarity and resolution that wasn't readily available back then and the ability to fix them. I don't want to view them as they might have appeared in the 1940's or 1950's but want them to look as good as possible AND still have grain but eliminate the dirt and debris as much as possible. I'm fine with some clean up on these shorts but there is a line they can cross where resolution is lost and that's where I have an issue.

Simple.

4k scan, De-grain the image, clean and add back noise.

 

[willyTass]

haha

 

[Robert Harris]

haha

Seriously.