DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Lady and the Tramp--Highly Recommended if you please or don't please!!! (1 Viewer)

[DaViD Boulet]

Mark,

Outstanding observation. I had noticed the less-focused sound of the DEHT mix but failed to figure out the issue of the vocals being duplicated in all 3 channels. *almost* as stupid as the DEHT mix on Aladding which has the lead vocals coming out of the rear speakers during the songs.

:rolleyes

I'm incorporating your comments into my main review...hope you don't mind!

dave

 

[Mark-P]

No I'm talking about in the DEHT mix of Aladdin all the songs were mixed so that the singer's voice was coming out of all 5 channels. This was very distracting because even thought the character's lips were moving on screen, the voice was coming from everywhere (the voice of God effect).

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Mark,

couldn't agree with you more about the Aladdin DEHT mix. Not to toot my own horn...but out of *all* the reviews I read about that DVD...mine was the only one that criticized the new mix for this rediculous practice and preferred the tasteful and balanced sound of the original (at least out of all the reviews that I read).

I actually contacted the guy responsible for the first and very fine DEHT mix which was on the Lion King. He told me that he had not personally done the new mix for Aladdin...but that the studio had chosen someone else with less experience to prepare that particular new mix. He agreed with me about the poor decision to replicate the lead vocal in all 5 channels.

Of course...even *that* new 5.1 mix wasn't as bad as the one for Mary Poppins...don't get me started!!!

dave

p.s. your comments are now in the review on page 1.

 

[george kaplan]

Well that would have certainly improved on some of those blind dates back in college.

 

[Mark-P]

Thanks for giving me the mention in your review.

As for why Disney is doing such unusual things with their soundtracks? My guess is after the amazing difference in the Lion King DEHT, I think they want the new mixes to really stand out as something special and have a "wow" factor. And since the old recordings are limited in what they have to work with, I think they are doing these things just so it will sound vastly different and impress people (not because it's an improvement, but rather a difference people can actually hear)

The most egregious is Mary Poppins, where they had the audacity to add new sound effects that were never even part of the original movie. That's akin to colorization in my book. The only saving grace was that the original mix was included, although it was a Dolby surround mix-down rather that the discrete 4 channel mix.

 

[TedD]

Well, the fact that there is NO film grain visible at all on this new release tells me that Lowrey is at it again. Film grain removal can only be done by filtering fine detail, and it looks very much like thats what Lowrey did, to excess, as in "Citizen Kane".

All 35mm film stock has grain, what the heck happened to it on the "Lady and the Tramp" DVD?

Don't get me wrong, the DVD looks like good video, even on a 5'x13' screen, but it certainly doesn't look like film any more!

Ted

 

[ScottR]

Why does the P&S version contain more vertical picture info than the Scope version?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Ted,

agreed that LATT doesn't look like "film" due to Lowry's work. However, they are one of the few places that works hard on algorithms that can remove noise and grain *without* removing real detail...at least they're getting better and better at it. If there is softness to this image, I doubt that it's an artifact of Lowry's processing...much more likely a result of DVD mastering by Buena Vista.




Does it? I A/B'd a bunch of scenes WS to P/S and it seemed identical to me. Definitely the new DVD WS image has the same vertical info as the older 2.35:1 DVD. What scene did you notice that the P/S has more top/bottom picture?

 

[ScottR]

Like 5% more?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

5% is less than you'd normally lose in projection matting. I wouldn't worry if that's all you notice.

 

[ScottR]

Ok, so the 5% visible in the P&S version is probably what was above the Scope frame line.

 

[Casey C.]

Anyone else experience anomalies with the subtitles on this disc? When I played the movie it defaulted to English subtitles. I turned them off via the DVD's main menu, but then whenever printed material appeared on the screen (like Lady's owner's newspaper), I got French (!) subtitles.

I was finally able to turn them off entirely using my DVD player's subtitle options -- it was set to "off" and after I cycled through the options and back to "off" they finally disappeared.

I suspect it's an issue with my DVD player (a four-year-old JVC) reading the disc incorrectly. But it's very annoying, and the only other disc I've had similar problems with was Disc 2 of "The Incredibles," also a Disney disc. I'd hate to have to go out and buy a new DVD player already because of this.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Casey!

I had the same issue but wasn't sure if it was a fluke (seems not). I'm using the Oppo player. If I remember...there was some sort of strange occasional french subtitle thing happening and when I checked the subtitles it said "off" but wouldn't *really* turn them off until I cycled through and back to "off" again.

Hmmm...

 

[Jeff Swearingen]

Just popped this in and it went straight to the FS version with the DEHT mix without going to menu. Anyone else experience this?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Jeff: I, too, just put the disc in the player and had the same thing happen...after checking out some of the previews.

As soon as the opening title card came up I said, "Whoa! THAT'S not right"! I hit the menu button and there were the choices for WS or FS. Even the BV logo came up 2.55:1 and I knew everything was going to be okay.

I only had time to watch about half the film (I jumped around)...but I am stunned with how good it looks. As I believe David and Robert Harris both said...it looks like the Lowry people are really getting a handle on how to restore and transfer these animated films. This seems to be the best so far.

I also listened only to the DEHT mix and found it pleasing enough. In fact, I thought the audio quality during some of the musical sequences was terrific!

But WHY would you default to a particul AR when you've gone to the trouble to include two on the same disc. Make sure people have their choice up front!

 

[Tarkin The Ewok]

Just like Cinderella, I thought that the bonus features added up to a nice Special Edition, but they lacked the certain something that would make them "Platinum." Part of it has to do with the lack of commentary, but it's also in the little things. The virtual galleries on the first two Platinums actually felt like touring a castle with an informed guide. Also, the spectacular intros and menus of the past Platinums are nowhere to be found here.

Regarding the documentary, I enjoyed the perspectives here, but it felt like a strange sandwich. Walt's childhood and connection to his old town were the pieces of bread, and the making of Lady and the Tramp was the good stuff in the middle. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about Walt's life, but those segments felt like they belonged more on a doc devoted to Walt than the Lady and the Tramp DVD.

One last complaint: Fastplay. Even in the days of VHS, most people fast-forwarded through the promo material, and the Skip feature makes this even easier, rendering the whole concept pointless. It also negates the chance of a beautiful menu reveal. Furthermore, defaulting to an undesirable aspect ratio and including a spoken intro to Fastplay really takes a person out of the good movie-watching mindset.

All that being said, I was pretty happy with the actual content of the bonus features. Even the G&A section was better than usual (says this bulldog). This is a true classic and worth the purchase for just about anybody.

I have high hopes for The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition since the previous Musker/Clements DVDs have been top-notch (and they do commentaries).

 

[Casey C.]

David: Hmmm indeed ... I'm not sure if I should be more annoyed or less annoyed if the problem is with Disney's improper flagging of the subtitles. At least I know i don't have to worry about buying a new player. Thanks!

 

[Casey C.]

"It's not a bug, it's a feature..." It's called "Disney's FastPlay" (Patent Pending)* and it takes you right to the movie without ever having to deal with that bothersome menu screen! (Of course for those few viewers who actually want to decide how they view the film, well, they can just go ahead and hit the menu button.) Thank God we have Disney to lead the way with these cutting-edge technological advances.

*No joke. It says "Disney's FastPlay: Patent Pending" on the back of the box.

 

[MatthewA]

Hopefully Steve Jobs will come up with Disney technical advances that are, well, actually useful.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Casey,

Patent Pending...

Well, it wouldn't be so bad if the fast-play presented you with the 1. OAR version of the film 2. without French subtitle overlays with the 3. original soundtrack mix...

Strike Three!!!