HTF REVIEW: "Beauty and the Beast" (Highly Recommended) (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[JosephMoore]

I finally got the opportunity to watch this the whole way through, "theater style" (lighting and sound volume set for dedicated movie viewing, no distractions.)

- As I have previously posted, the MPEG compression is pretty high, and visible quite often, though not too the point of ruining the picture.

- The gamma seems higher than standard, definitely a lighter transfer than the LD. Probably looks better on a standard consumer TV than an accurate transfer would, but if you have a calibrated system, well then it looks a bit washed out if you ask me.

- The soundtrack is pretty wimpy, as well. The dynamic range seemed compressed. My sub didn't seem to get the chance to exercise much.

 

[Rod Martin]

Joseph Moore,

I agree with you, the DVD appears MUCH lighter than the VHS WIP I have. I seem to recall the beast being mostly hidden and in shadows until Belle has him "step into the light." Now, there's really no mystery to his apppearance from the beginning.

 

[Joel C]

Anyone know why the DVD spine has a Roman numeral "I" on it? I can't figure out why it would be there.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Rod,
I talked about the color timing a few pages back. Although some scenes are indeed a bit brighter than previous video editions, and there are some pretty dramatic differences in the palette beyond that, The Beast in the shadows was not as different as I thought when A/B'd with the laserdisc. The increased detail of the anamorphic transfer actually made him appear less obscured as much or more than any change in the image density. A lot of other details in the castle seem to have been brightened up in various early scenes, though.

I assume that the new version is the result of the direct digital transfer allowing them more flexibility to digitally time without going through a film to tape transfer as well as a certain amount of the filmmakers changing their minds. Check out the sky during the opening "Belle" number for some really dramatic changes in color compared to previous video editions.

Brian,
The breaking sounds when Belle is riding away from the castle are well into the second layer of the disc and do not appear in the theatrical or WIP versions (is that what you meant by "the breaking dishes"?). Also, I could have sworn that the Beast stammering was in the IMAX SE presentation when I saw it, which would make it an alteration to both versions. I have only my memory to go on for that one.

Regards,

 

[James Reader]

The breaking sounds when Belle is riding away from the castle are well into the second layer of the disc and do not appear in the theatrical or WIP versions

Yes they do!

 

[RaulR]

Yes they do!

They do indeed. That was the first thing I looked for when I viewed the set.

 

[Bill Moore]

Finally had a chance to see this on Saturday, and agree with others here that the presentation seemed much lighter than I remember. It has been quite awhile since I saw this in the theater, and on VHS. But it did seem to me that the "beast in the shadows" affect was lessened by the fact we could easily and plainly see him long before he "stepped into the light".

I also thought that several scenes seemed washed out, and others seemed too heavy on the red side of the spectrum.

Now granted, my display is way low-end - 31" Sanyo. But I have tried to get it as good as possible with the Avia config tools, and it generally looks good for animation.

I'd be interested in hearing more on this from folks with better equipment...

B

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Yes they do!

Okay, maybe I have the laserdisc A/B comparison melding with the DVD multiple versions comparison in my head. I'll take another look/listen.

Regards,

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Okay, maybe I have the laserdisc A/B comparison melding with the DVD multiple versions comparison in my head. I'll take another look/listen.

Yep. That's exactly what happened you were right about the crashing sound effect being added to the theatrical and WIP versions.
I also double checked against the laserdisc again. While the shadows around the Beast are pretty similar during the scene where he steps into the light, the earlier scenes where he removes Maurice from his chair do seem to give you a noticeably brighter view of the Beast. I guess since he's on the cover of the video they figured it was OK, now.
Regards,

 

[James Reader]

I got my R2 PAL Beauty and the Beast 2 disc set this morning and found something interesting:

The 'in association with Silver Screen Partners IV' credit is intact at the opening of the movie.

Sadly, the incorrect soundtrack and bleeding Beast animation are still present in the 'theatrical cut'.

I must also say that this version does look a lot better on my lowly set-up. Not just down the increased PAL resolution, but certainly clearer around the lines at the edge of an object.

I would be interested to hear what other people think of their R2 set.

 

[ErikN]

So there is no Theatrical version on the DVD, then? That's the impression I got when reading the reviews of the R1 DVD. According to Michaeldvd.com.au in Australia the R4 DVD uses seamless branching to make better use of space. But didn't people here say that the R1 did as well?

What is the real truth about versions here? Was the IMAX version only enchanced in some places? Is there a difference between the Original and new version?

Thanks

 

[James Reader]

ErikN: The changes to the original Theatrical version are minor and, indeed there is debate as to exactly how many of changes that there are. On the whole don't let this put you off purchasing the disc, as the Special Edition is (obviously) 100% intact and the Theatrical version must be 99.5+ intact. It still is a fantastic disc.

The small animation changes don't really bother me, it's just that I have a thing about remixed soundtracks which feature new effects etc on old movies. Sometimes I wish more people did, but it seem I am in the minority. I feel every film with a remixed soundtrack *should* also include the original soundtrack.

As for the authoring of the disc, I cannot see any difference on the R2 version - angles are again used for the 'Work in Progress' version and the same branch at layer change method seems to have been employed between the 'Original' and 'Special Edition' films.

I do think that the R2 version has a better picture - and my set up is normally not good enough to spot massive PAL / NTSC changes. I would be interested in hearing what other PAL owners of this disc think.

 

[ErikN]

Thanks. I will probably get the r2 UK version. Only one version in my country and it's not the collector's version.
ErikN

 

[TonyD]

ok popping this thread back up.
if you are hd capable turn on abc sunday night for this movie in hd and probably to see what this dvd could have looked like.

by the way it looks great. makes the dvd look like vhs from the way i see it.

i just wish i saw the very beginning so i could compare the stained glass window scene.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

The Sunday night Disney HD movies virtually always look notably better than the DVDs.

However, after watching a few minutes of tonights HD broadcast of 'Beauty', I am literally sick to my stomach. To see this movie without the excessive compression artifacts of the DVD makes you realize what could have been.

A shame I don't have an HD recorder. A shame the broadcast has commercials and a bug in the lower left-hand corner. Because for once, the DVD of the movie in question is truly sub-standard (for those of us with a critical eye and/or proper equipment)...not just lower resolution than HD, but poorly mastered (from a great transfer!). And the HD version makes it all the more apparent...even when converted from 720p to 1080i by a settop box!

Shame on Disney.

 

[GregoryM]

Because for once, the DVD of the movie in question is truly sub-standard (for those of us with a critical eye and/or proper equipment)

As posted many times in this thread, some of us have decent equipment and are willing to scrutinize the movie closely, and are nonetheless happy with it. We must not be true Scotsmen.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

As posted many times in this thread, some of us have decent equipment and are willing to scrutinize the movie closely, and are nonetheless happy with it. We must not be true Scotsmen.

There's nothing wrong with that at all! Sometimes I can't hear the difference between differing audio master recordings (of the same performance) that some of my friends can...even on the same opinion.
Yet I never am offended that they hear something that I do not; neither do I deny that they do.

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Yep, abc's HD broadcast of 'Beauty' was first-rate!

 

[JasonKZ]

Wow. I got mine last week (that outer box packaging was very interesting - although mine looked like it got a little sliced by a box cutter - did all copies come with the cardboard box?).

I thoroughly enjoyed the picture, but was wierded out by how low the sound was encoded. I am not a techie at all, but I had to turn my system up about 12 levels ABOVE the level I had just finished watching LOTR on - I guess this is normal?

Anyone figure out the "I" on the box?