It is available in R2 and was formally announced in the very early days of dvd. It's a terrific piece of Americana, and I wonder if--having Driscoll and Patten as its stars--it is tainted by the SONG OF THE SOUTH controversy. It makes no sense, but nothing about the "blacklisting" of SOTS makes any sense whatsoever.
SO DEAR TO MY HEART is available officially in Brazil in NTSC format with Portuguese packaging but English menus and features. This has to be the exact disc produced for release in the US - it replicates the PAL UK region 2 release, but this one is NTSC. I highly recommend it.
Finally released 7/1/08 as an exclusive available only through the Disney Movie Club.
UNFORTUNATELY, the segment "Lost and Found" which features 25 minutes of unused footage from the film with commentary by Scott McQueen, Senior Manager of Disney Film Restoration and film historian Les Perkins has been left off and was replaced by two cartoons.
The South American DVD which includes this segment is fully compatible with Region 1 DVD players in the USA and can be found at Amazon.com under the title "Meu Querido Carneirinho". Only the cover and disc artwork are in Portuguese, but when you play the disc, the first thing that you'll see is a selection of languages. Just choose "English" and from there you'll be able to enjoy the movie and wonderful special features exactly as if it was a US release.
These Disney releases perplex me....they have released other titles that are even less well known (THOSE CALLOWAYS comes to mind)...so why not put this out in Region 1 as well? Very disappointing news.
I went directly from this thread to the Disney DVD Club website, went through the process of picking my movies and signing up, and then, bam! This club will not ship to P.O. Boxes. For various reasons, I have all of my mail go to a POB. I don't want to have all my Disney Club orders sent to a friend's home or something like that. This policy seems, if not discriminatory, at least counterproductive for Disney and I really don't understand the reason for it. Anyway, no SO DEAR TO ME HEART for me, I fear.
Say! Why can't they release "Song of the South" as a Disney DVD Club-only bonus? That way only the people who really want it will even see it, and the people who are offended won't see it to bitch about it.
Thought i would bring this up again....i realize that if we "really" want the title, there are ways to obtain it....but i am wondering if anyone knows why there is no general release....of course SONG OF THE SOUTH be appreciated as well. Blu versions would most definitely be appre
I bought mine from the Disney Movie Club years ago. But it's available from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/So-Dear-Heart-Burl-Ives/dp/B001CUBF6A/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1322066501&sr=1-1 and http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_12?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=so+dear+to+my+heart+dvd&sprefix=SO+DEAR+TO++
I'd had this on my "list" for a long time but had forgotten about it. Just ordered the Portuguese DVD referenced above. Thanks for restarting this one.
Watched this last night for my first time. What a beautiful old Disney film! Actually, everything about it is quintessential Walt Disney, conveying in every detail the man's love for, and longing for, life at the turn of the last century.
Didn't try to examine the picture quality close up, but everything looked flawless and absolutely gorgeous from where I sat, and the making-of / lost-footage documentary ranks among the best I've seen, informative and interesting throughout. A nice surprise all around, and a great addition to the Disney collection.
Thanks to all, starting with Chuck P. above, who recommended the Brazilian release...which I was very fortunate to snap up at $19.99, factory sealed, from an Amazon seller just a few towns away.
Looking at thie picture quality of the really wonderful DVD transfer, we get some idea how luscious Song of the South would look if Disney released a legit version of it on DVD.
SOTS, if Disney were to release on DVD/Blu-Ray, would certainly look better than what was on the Japanese laserdisc, that's for sure. The JP LD transfer looked like it was from a 16mm print.