Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › DVD › Korda's THE JUNGLE BOOK (1942) - let's have a restoration!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Korda's THE JUNGLE BOOK (1942) - let's have a restoration!

post #1 of 11
7/28/09 at 7:19pm
Thread Starter 
I'm still waiting....

There was one laser disc release (from Image/Hallmark) that actually looked great - the colors were rich and saturated, a lot of detail, good contrast. Since the film is in the P.D., there have been lots of atrocious transfers out there with washed-out color, etc.
That's how the DVD versions I've seen so far look, too.

Who owns the film now? It was a London Production released originally through United Artists. Maybe Hallmark has it still? I qwish we could get a restoration of this quite beautiful movie similar to that given THIEF OF BAGDAD.
Reply
post #2 of 11
7/28/09 at 9:16pm
Janus/Criterion owns the rights.  Last I heard, it wasn't on their current production schedule.
Reply
post #3 of 11
7/30/09 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, Jeff. Just curious: how do you have access to this information?
Reply
post #4 of 11
7/30/09 at 11:58am
I loved this movie as a kid -- it seems to me it would be bought more eagerly by a lot more people than "Thief of Baghdad".
Reply
post #5 of 11
7/30/09 at 3:11pm
Amen, Dick...

I've been waiting seemingly forever for even a decent release of this fine film on DVD. I bought one of the PD releases several years ago and was horrified at the condition of the print used for it. I had owned a PD VHS back in the 1980's that looked ten times better than the DVD release, so I was a bit perplexed at how the DVD could look that much worse.

I can't believe a good remastered version of this (sadly somewhat forgotten) family semi-classic wouldn't sell well-enough to justify a release. Since Criterion has been releasing some of Korda's work recently, I would hope it is somewhere on their future radar. Although, I guess it may need extensive re-work if the PD releases are any indication of the condition of the current master.
Reply
post #6 of 11
7/30/09 at 6:44pm
Thread Starter 
The PD releases would be no indication of the shape of the materials that can be accessed by those who hold the legitimate rights. Paramount, for example, could give us a transfer of ONE EYED JACKS (if they wanted to, which apparently they don't) that would blow the socks off any of the PD copies. JANUS/CRITERION, if indeed they hold the rights to JUNGLE BOOK, could, using their usual restoration magic, produce a stunning transfer using source material that is probably twenty generations younger than all the tripe on the market today.
Reply
post #7 of 11
7/30/09 at 7:28pm
 A legit version shows up on TCM every now and then. Although not restored to perfection, it is a more than decent transfer from close to original materials. Because of its PD status, we may never see the money spent to go back to the three strip elements (if they survive) and do a new remaster, but we can hope. 
Reply
post #8 of 11
7/30/09 at 10:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick View Post

Thanks, Jeff. Just curious: how do you have access to this information?

There was some info on the TCM message boards about them acquiring the London Films library a few years ago, and they've released a few of those properties (Thief of Bagdad, That Hamilton Woman, Korda Eclipse set) since then.  They've confirmed via email that at least The Jungle Book and Things to Come are in the pipeline, but I don't think that's anytime soon.  You will note that the aforementioned decent transfer of The Jungle Book that occasionally plays on TCM is preceded by the Janus logo.
Reply
post #9 of 11
7/31/09 at 12:40am
There is an excellent DVD of JUNGLE BOOK in the UK released on the Network label under licence from Granada Ventures who hold the worldwide rights to the London Films/Korda library. The DVD is from a print restored by the British Film Institute. It's obviously not a new restoration - it has quite a few speckles but the colour is very good. Janus/Criterion appear to have the North American rights to a number of films from the London/Korda library under licence from Granada Ventures.  
Reply
post #10 of 11
7/31/09 at 10:48am
Let me add my voice to that of Douglas' in support of the Network release. This edition has the same vibrant colors as the old Pioneer laserdisc and is substantially sharper. I wasn't aware that Criterion had something in the works for this title, tho. For those who can't wait, I highly recommend the network release. 
Reply
post #11 of 11
8/2/09 at 5:42am
Lovely. Thanks for that DVD info guys. I can now get rid of my old C4 recording of Korda's Jungle Book and buy the Network edition.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: DVD
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › DVD › Korda's THE JUNGLE BOOK (1942) - let's have a restoration!