Blu-ray Review The Jungle Book (1967): Diamond Edition Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

[*]“I Wanna Be Like You” Music Video (2:51): the Jonas Brothers deliver a raucous version of the catchy tune
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I love that Disney ported this over from the DVD but left off the 7 deleted songs and the lengthy art gallery. Nothing against the Jonas Brothers (it could be The Beatles or the Ramones doing the song and I'd feel the same way) but it's pretty ridiculous to leave off content actually associated with the making of the movie while still bringing over a cover of a song recorded 40 years after the fact.

 

[Mark-W]

I did buy this Blu-ray.

I am keeping both previous DVD iterations to keep both the first DVD with the 1.33:1 AR and the second 1.75: 1 AR DVD version that had the picture enhanced but not overly scrubbed (at least to my eyes).

My visual acumen is not up Matt's or most of yours. Having said that, the scenes I am spot checking look scrubbed to the level of Disney's Robin Hood more than The Sword in the Stone, (which I found completely unwatchable). The Xerox lines are there in The Jungle Book, even though they do, as Matt stated, go MIA, much the way spears and other fast moving objects in Ridley Scott's first BD of Gladiator would vanish if they moved fast.

I cannot say I am pleased, but I am glad I bought this BD. I am, still, however, going to complain to Disney about this release and ask that they consider re-releasing this with less scrubbing.

I would also add, like Matthew A, I have the UK region/zone free 101 Dalmatians, and (to me) it looks great and has none of these issues.

Thanks again, to Matthew Hough, for the great (if depressing) review.

 

[MatthewA]

Whose idea was it that the 1960s/1970s films needed to have the pencil lines scrubbed away? I'd like to think the restoration department is doing this under orders from someone over their heads, and that they're being told to make it look this way against their will.

If they want to be such revisionists with these films, there are plenty of films with whole scenes cut out by decree, bad optical work (they were cutting corners here even before Walt died; have you seen Those Calloways lately?) and continuity errors (Duchess' collar changing color in one shot of The Aristocats), and other stuff they either didn't catch or refused to pay money to fix back in the day (I don't have time to list them all), even though it could be done. Those are mistakes that should be fixed. This is not. Pencil lines are good. Pencil lines distinguish 2D from 3D.

 

[stevenHa]

Can someone post screencaps comparing a blurred image from the blu ray to the same scene on the previous dvd ? Thanks.

 

[Jason_V]

Just watched...and, as has always been the case, I'm not impressed by The Jungle Book. Sure, some really good songs, some frantic/kinetic scenes, but Matt said it in his first line: there really isn't much of a plot to speak of. I know that may have been the intent during production-focus on character and personality, per the old DVD extras-but that just kills the movie for me. I don't need some elaborate plot; just something other than what is here.

Oh well...I don't have to like them all, right?