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

[Ernest Rister]

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

No kidding. Almost worthy of an HTF headline. DISNEY INSERT EXPLAINS OPEN-MATTE ASPECT RATIO.

 

[Kajs]

Sounds awesome. I've been waiting for this movie on DVD forever. And since the beginning I was always bringing up that Disneyland episode, I'm so glad they included it in its entirety.

 

[Joe Caps]

there were quations as to which soundtrack Disney would use - the last lasers used the 1959 track. Earlier vids used a reissue track. the first issue was thought to have too heavy Irish accnts so a more Americanized English was used later.
; Easiest way to tell - when darby is in the mountain of the leprechauns, he is going to play them a dance - the fox chase. In the redone track, he counts down one, two three four. In the original track, the count down is in gaelic.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I'll check the soundtrack this evening and report back on whether or not there's a "aon, dà, tri, ceithir" count-in.

Regards,

 

[Paul Hillenbrand]

IMO, Disney still needs to get educated as far as the term "Fullscreen" vs. "Fullframe".

The back of the Darby O'Gill DVD case reads " Presented As Originally Filmed in 1959 - Fullscreen (1.33:1)". In today's world, especially when Disney is concerned, "Fullscreen" can describe "Pan & Scan" or zoomed in or anything that will fill the 4:3 screen without black bars. :frowning: "Fullframe" is what stands for the entire film frame that was used in the filming. If the back of the case didn't describe "Presented As Originally Filmed", I would cringe, because of their past distributions.

Paul

P.S. Joe Caps wrote: I'm pleased to tell you that this DVD has the original countdown in gaelic.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

When King Brian calls for the Stradivarius, the request is in Gaelic as well, although the English captions, if you turn them on, translate it for you.

The aspect ratio disclaimer (which is given on a one sided insert in addition to the regular insert with the chapter listings) is a little hinky in that it talks about the film being "shot" in 4:3 and cropped for theatrical presentation, but it never mentions anything about how it was "composed". In any case, no mattes or equipment are exposed, and as I mentioned previously, a number of sequences seem to work better uncropped.

It does seem odd that a film from 1959 would look better in 4:3. Disney presented the DVD of Robert Stevenson's "Old Yeller", made two years prior to "Darby..." in 1.75:1, and cinematographer Winton Hoch certainly knew how to compose for widescreen by 1959 (he shot John Ford's "The Searchers" in Vistavision in 1956 and he shot "Mr. Roberts" in Cinemascope in 1955).

As a bit of useless trivia, Winton Hoch was also the Oscar-winning cinematographer on another St. Patrick's Day perennial, John Ford's "The Quiet Man".

One other comment. Estelle Winwood's dialog seems to be dubbed pretty awkwardly in the film, and always has. Does anyone know if it is actually her voice? Also, am I the only one who can not look at her in any film without laughing because I immediately think of her performance as the "Hold me, touch me" lady in "The Producers"?

Regards,

 

[Brian Kidd]

I'm glad to hear that Disney at least did a passable job on this film. Consider it officially added to my "must buy" list. Not that anyone here gives a hoot in hell about that.

 

[Joe Caps]

In the original theatrical trailer included?

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Unless I missed it, no trailer. The 50 minute or so "Disneyland" episode is the only promotional material on the DVD. Walt was quite the visionary getting an hour of prime time TV programming to promote his theme park and theatrical products whenever he needed it. I'm sure it helped that he did it in an entertaining way.

Regards,

 

[Malcolm R]

Still, OAR generally refers to a film's original theatrical presentation. If it was presented at 1.75 in theaters, then I would consider that its OAR. Lots of films today are shot in Super 35 which is basically 1.33. Yet we start screaming bloody murder if current films are released to DVD in 1.33. If it's not OK for current films, why is it OK for a film made in 1959?

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Shane was shown matted to 1.66:1 or wider during its theatrical presentation completely against the intent of the filmmakers when it was being produced. It makes a lot more sense if OAR is tied to the filmmakers' intent (at the time of production - just to stave off revisionism) rather than what theaters or studios did to it. Also, flat 35mm being matted to 1.85 has about 45 years additional historical precedent behind it today than it did in 1959.

Regards,

 

[WillG]

Although widescreen had been around for a few years in 1959, it was still relatively new. I would imagine that many directors still shot films at the time intending them for 1.33:1 exhibitions. Since widescreen was becoming very popular, theaters matted films off anyway. I understand that this was common practice back then even for films that were shot in the Academy ratio before the mainstream introduction of widescreen.

The difference between this and Super35 is that Super35 is a specific process that allows for 2.35:1 framing without using anamorphic lenses. In most cases the director is intending to shoot for 2.35:1 and deviations from that can rightly be considered MAR.

 

[george kaplan]

This isn't so much an issue of 1959 as it is the fact that this is a Disney film. Walt probably had tv in mind as much as theaters. We know he filmed tv shows in color which were later shown theatrically. It's quite possible that Darby O'Gill was filmed in 1.33 with television in mind, and since there seems to be lots of evidence that lots of Disney titles were theatrically shown in a range of aspect ratios, and since this is clearly not pan & scan, it's OAR enough for me.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Here's the exact quote from the insert:
Regards,

 

[Dick]

I really like that paragraph on the back of the DVD cover. There was obvious thought put into this with regard to those of us who really care about a film's OAR. I wish they would go back and re-do NATTY GANN and BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND (the two 2.35:1 films they've released only as pan and scan) as well as any films shot using and intended for 1.85:1. Then I'd truly believe someone controlling their home video library had a more consistent respect for the intended look of the films. Right now, it's hit-or-miss. This DARBY statement, plus superb OAR releases like THOSE CALLOWAYS, prove Disney can stand with the best of them when they want to.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Dinosaur is a 1.85:1 movie and is available in widescreen. IMDB lists two other movies by this title, but they're neither one available on DVD or from Disney.

 

[Brian Kidd]

Maybe he means BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND?

 

[Dick]

Yes, exactly. Thanks, Brian.

 

[LukeB]

I've just posted my review of the Darby O'Gill DVD here:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/darbyogill.html

 

[streeter]

I picked this up today and was pleasantly surprised. They should have just called this a special edition. Two excellent featurettes - including a new interview with Sean Connery (who I wasn't expecting to participate) - and the full Disneyland episode. The trailer would have been nice, but other than that it's great!