Merged Thread: Darby O'Gill & The Little People OAR? (1 Viewer)

[george kaplan]

Although I believe Disney's press release, I still hope that it's in error (press releases have been known to be wrong - sometimes communication between marketing and development is less than perfect).

 

[Joshua Clinard]

At least there's hope. Press releases are wrong quite often in my experience.

 

[Brian Fineberg]

Thanks for the backup...yeah I heard iot on dvdfile too. I hope it is correct...need this in widescreen!!

 

[Ernest Rister]

"Press releases are wrong quite often in my experience."

Disney's press release for Sleeping Beauty said the film was the first Disney animated feature shot in a wide-screen process.

*cough*

Lady and the Tramp

*cough*

But anyhoo, I wouldn't get your hopes up regarding Darby in wide-screen. And has anyone determined if Darby was shot open-matte?

Someone needs to write Robert Harris or better yet, Scott MacQueen.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I hope they fix this and release the film in all its proper glory. It's one of my favorite Disney flicks.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Forget "favorite" - it is one of the *best* Disney films, live-action or otherwise.

 

[Joe_Pinney]

It's been remastered in anamorphic open matte 1.33:1 for 16x9 TVs, is all I can make of it. Which means that somebody at Disney's been quaffing back a few too many shots of LSD-laced Irish whisky.

 

[Sean Campbell]

Well, I just checked my copy and he says "1,2,3,4"
So, it seems that Disney have released the redubbed version IN IRELAND. Phew... lucky they did that or I'd never be able to understand those Irish accents eh?

 

[DaveB]

LOL!!

That is hilarious and twisted at the same time, Sean.

I just wish we knew the aspect ratio of this release for sure. This really is one of my all-time favorite films. If anyone's listening out there, OAR means a sell; MAR a no-sell. Please Disney, do the right thing!

David

 

[Brian Kidd]

Has Disney ever done the right thing on titles that it considers to be second-tier?

 

[LukeB]

By giving it special features and its own press release, I wouldn't say that Disney considers Darby O'Gill to be second-tier.

That said, as the disc is probably already pressed, if the press release said fullscreen, that's what I'm guessing it will be.

 

[Kajs]

Ok, so about a month till this comes out and still most sites don't have definitive specs for this...should I count on it getting delayed like all other Disney releases I wait for?

Oh, and this cover really sucks...

 

[Ernest Rister]

James Bond and the Little People! My favorite!

 

[Brian Kidd]

Apparently, Darby O'Gill was a little person himself! Look how much smaller he is than Connery and Munro!

 

[Ernest Rister]

Katie and Michael have been turned into giants! They're emerging from the sea! Someone has cut off Michael's arm! Run, Darby, Run! Quick King Brian! Make a boat and get away with your magical Lucky Charms!

 

[MatthewA]

My, but someone's an especially tough critic...

I am sick of the floating head covers from Disney's DVDs. If Warners can go back to the original poster art, why can't Disney?

 

[Kajs]

To quote myself from July 1st:

I've been checking DVD Empire for the past few days to see the back cover that they usually uploaded before it's released, but now i see they updated their listing to TBA instead of Aug. 3rd. Argh!

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I picked up the DVD. There is a lot of explanation about the aspect ratio saying that it was shot in 4:3 in 1959 and then cropped to 1.75:1 because of the popularity of widescreen films in the 50s. The DVD is uncropped 4:3.

The back of the DVD case says it is in the aspect ratio in which it was originally shot, and a version of the explanation above appears on a whole page of one of the inserts.

Watching the film, I think that 4:3 is probably the way to go as well. Much of the film looks OK zoomed to 16:9, but certain sequences (the big dance sequence where Darby fiddles for the leprachauns, for instance) seem to be pretty clearly composed for 4:3. There are also some shots where cropping the top or bottom obscures the majority of a matte painting, which would probably not have been the filmmakers' intention.

The transfer is a step-up from the previous laserdisc and tape releases. It looks like they transferred the best available element with minimal digital futzing subsequent to transfer. You will see occasional print wear and hear a bit of hiss, but the fidelity is quite good, although the dialog in this mix has always been very up front and somewhat strident. Color reproduction is excellent with deeply saturated reds and solid whites.

I expected noticeable increased contrast given all of the film's special effects, but I was surprised how little there was. The featurette on the special effects actually explains why. I had no idea how many of the optical effects were achieved in camera via matte painting and forced perspective. This saved them a generation or two of film vs. using an optical printer to composite images. The title sequence with the opening credits shows more generational loss than a lot of the most elaborate effects shots.

The two featurettes, one focusing on Sean Connery's early career and the film's cast, and another focusing on Peter Ellenshaw and the impressive visual effects work on the film, are both very good, if a bit brief at under 10 minutes. There is also an entire episode of the Disneyland TV series from the 50s focusing on Walt's attempt to get the King of the Leprachauns to agree to appear in his movie.

If you like this sublime piece of pure paddywhackery, I say go buy the disc.


Regards,

 

[george kaplan]

I'm very surprised that they'd go into all that detail about OAR, but it's a very pleasant surprise.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Is it rated PG on the back?