Sound of Music 40th, Oklahoma 50th, State Fair 60th and Two for the Road in November (1 Viewer)

[RobertSiegel]

How are the soundtracks of the new R&H films? No one has mentioned those details.

By the wayI think it was INHD that took King and I and changed it to 16:9. The only part of their high-def presentation in the original aspect ratio were the credits, it then went to 16:9. I had thought it was on HD-net movies, but after these postings I remembered it was INHD.

 

[Joe Caps]

carousel was supposed to come with the french film Lilion as an extra but I hear this is not so.
can someone tell me what docs are on these discs and what they cover?
It seems now we have to beg for every scrap of info on these new titles.

 

[JPCinema]

The King ang I soundtrack is wonderfull. The other 2 films are just ok. The roadshow of SP is only in 2.0
Lilliom is not on the Carousel set.
The extras on Carousel are paltry. At least the commentary with Shirley Jones is lively.
SP at least has a wonderful excerpt woth Mary martin and Ezio Pinza.
SP has a old documantary with Diane Sawyer interviewing James Mitchner as revisits the islands that are the inspiration for his "Tales From the South Pacific"

 

[John Hodson]

Here is the full run down (or at least what's alledged to be contained) on those R2 discs for anyone that's interested at DVD Times.

 

[Joe Caps]

John Hodson thanks. but those info are months old and does not really tell what is on the disc.
South Pacific was supposed to have a doc called roadshow.
King and I was supposed to have 37 min of doc = what do they cover ?
Carousel was supposed to have a 21 min doc - what is in it?
Sorry, I am sasking tough and obscure sounding questions?

 

[Andreas Wagner]

Here are the specs of the UK Rogers and Hammerstein 12-DVD Collection: Enjoy!

Carousel: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition:
Audio commentary from Shirley Jones and music consultant Nick Redman
Liliom: the 1934 French feature film of the story that was the basis for Carousel (116 mins)
'Turns On The Carousel' featurette (21 mins)
Vintage stage excerpts
Movietone News segments
Additional songs
Stills galleries
Trailers

State Fair: Collector's Edition:
Optional sing along subtitles
Audio commentary from Richard Barrios and Tom Briggs
Audio commentary from Pat Boone
'From Page to Screen': featurette (29 mins)
Vintage stage excerpt
'State Fair' TV pilot (49 mins)
Stills gallery
Trailers

Oklahoma!: Collector's Edition:
Optional sing along subtitles
Audio commentary with Ted Chaplin and Hugh Fordin
Complete version of the film in Todd AO format with audio commentary from Shirley Jones and Nick Redman
Additional song
Three featurettes about Todd AO
Vintage stage excerpt
Stills galleries
Trailers

South Pacific: Collector's Edition
Optional sing along subtitles
Audio commentary with Ted Chapin and Gerard Alessandrini
Audio commentary from Richard Barrios
Roadshow version of the film, clocking in at 2 hours and 42 minutes!
'The Tales Of The South Pacific' featurette
'Roadhsow' featurette
Vintage stage excerpts
Movietone news
Mitzi Gaynor screen test Movietone News segments
Stills gallery
Trailers

The King And I: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition:
Audio commentary from Richard Barrios and Michael Portantiere
Anna And The King TV pilot with optional audio commentary from Samantha Egger (30 mins)
'The Kings Of Broadway'
'The King and I Stage Version' featurette
'The King Of The Big Screen' featurette
'A Royal Production' featurette
'Restoration' featurette
Vintage stage excerpts
Additional songs
Movietone News segments
Stills galleries
Trailers

The Sound Of Music: Collector's Edition:
Original 1965 Documentary Salzburg Sight and Sound (14 minutes)
Making of Documentary 'The Sound of Music: From Fact to Phenomenon' With Cast Interviews, Rare Music Outtakes, Photos And More! (87 minutes)
Audio Supplement by Ernest Lehman
Audio Interviews with Julie Andrews and Robert Wise
DVD-ROM Games and Links to Fan Site
Storyboards, Sketches, Production Stills
Theatrical trailers, Radio and TV Spots
Commentary by Director Robert Wise
DVD-ROM Link to The Sound of Music Web Sites and Events

And the packaging is a blast, too! (See: play.com)

 

[Joe Caps]

Andreas thanks but again - NO, No, No These again are the old specs
they dont' tell us what is really on these discs. We already no the Lillion is NOT on the carousel disc for example.

 

[John Whittle]

Robert,

PAL Speed-UP is the result of taking motion picture film shot at 24 frames per second and transfering it to video (in the PAL system) at 25 frames per second. This results in a 4 per cent speed up in both picture and sound. Now days most sound is pitch corrected but the action is slightly faster and the running time is 4 per cent less. The speed up will be present on any display device (computer, player, etc) since that's part of the PAL coding.

In NTSC US transfer the 24 frames per second film is transfered with the 3-2 system which changes the frame rate by repeating fields and thus doesn't affect the running time, pitch or speed. It does have it's own motion artifact but since most all people have only seen this with film on television, it's accepted as part of the "film look". In theory you could build a set/dvd player that would accept the NTSC coding and output a 72 frame rate which would replicate a three blade shutter in a motion picture theatre. (you may be able to do this some some of the advanced video devices and this is the hope and dream of those awaiting 1080p on HD dvds).

John

 

[Doug Bull]

As a person who has watched PAL TV transmissions since 1956 and later PAL Video, I must say that the only times I have ever noticed the PAL speedup, sound-wise, is on those occassions where I am very familiar with a performer's true sounding voice and also when I have been well aquainted with the actual speed of the music. Eg: from CDs,LPs,Film Projection and NTSC Video.
I have never and I repeat never, noticed any speed up in the motion or movement from a PAL source. (remember it's only 4%)
I own hundreds of NTSC Laserdiscs and DVDs and cannot personally see any motion differences between PAL and NTSC.(Although NTSC does suffer from a jerky movement)
PAL certainly is smoother has far better resolution than NTSC, although Progressive scan players and TV Displays have brought the images of PAL and NTSC a lot closer.

So what I try to do is order superior sounding NTSC discs when it involves sounds that I am familiar with , such as Musicals, but on those occassions when the DVD is cheaper or the title not as important, then I will probably opt for a PAL disc.

It's great to be able to chose DVDs from around the World and display them in true PAL or NTSC.
It's a shame that those from NTSC countries don't seem to get the format and region choice that are freely available to PAL countries such as the UK, Europe and Australia.

Hopefully HD DVDs may change that.
Will High Definition DVDs be confined to region codes only?

 

[RobertSiegel]

John and Doug, thanks for the explanation of the Pal system when played on NTSC (converted).

Interesting that the SOUND OF MUSIC that seems to be included in the Rodgers and Hammerstein UK box set is the old version, those are all of the extras from the original Sound of Music dvd release and not the 40th anniversary.....very strange.

Still, I love the design of the set.

Woiuldn't it have been nice (and very smart of Fox) to issue a 3-disc special packaging of Sound of Music with all the extras from both releases? Gee, I can't imagine that the sales of such an item, considering its popularity..would have been low. Perhaps DTS, and special box design, maybe even a publication (book) similar to the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang book included in that set...how about a repro of the pressbook or original advertising materials? Also, they could have included the cd that came with the laserdisc of the music masters. THAT is the tribute for this film I have waited for on video since the begining of VHS, and still havn't seen. Instead, I feel the packaging of the 40th anniversary edition was an embarassment to the film. With that little plastic clip-on for the 2nd disc, it was a real shame, I would have paid alot more for a real collectable.

There, I feel better hehe.

 

[Joe Caps]

Just got my three discs today. Some features originally promised are not there, - no lilliom, No MitziGaynor screen Test, no feature called Roadshow on the South Pacific disc.
Theres a LOT of great stuff. I will get back tomorrow. I am now in the middle of listening to the Richard Barios commentary that is on the roadshow version of South Pacific that has SO MANY wrong things in it, I can't believe it.

 

[Dennis.Kr]

I'd be interested in some screenshots.

 

[RolandL]

Did anyone check the running time? Is it 162 minutes? Does that include overture, intermission, exit, etc. ? I looking at a review in the March 24, 1958 issue of Boxoffice and it lists the running time as 167 minutes.

 

[Joe Caps]

Running times are deceiving on these long films. ONe never know if the original running times include the Overture, Intermission and Exit Music. Some do and some do not.

There is much restored footage in the new South Pacific.
South Pacific originally had two versions - the uncut roadshow version. The film was cut DURING it's first run.
Not just cut but redubbed with different music to cover the cuts. From THAT version, there are still a couple of things missing. The most important is a reprise sung by Bali Hai as Joe Cable goes tothe island for the first time.
In the cut version, this was replace with Joe NOT singing while the chorus on shore sang it.
In his commentary track, Richard Barrios puts down the reprise as being a rumor and it never happened. Bullshit !!
There area basic thre things to point to the reprise.
One - the original cutting continuity for both the preview print and the roadshow version, show it being there.
Two - the orignal roadshow pressboooks give a complete rudown of all musical numbers in the films, and that reprise is there.
Three -When it was decided to cut the film, the orders came from Richard Rodgers himself - along with a list of all cuts and changes to be made. In that list, he says he wants the reprise taken out and replaced with alternate footage of Cable NOT singing. Why would Rodgers order the replacement of footage that is not in the film?
For extra fun, there is a DVd from Image called Rodgers and hammerstein - the Sound of Movies.
The original version was replaced with a remastered collectors edition.
that edition only, has a complete set of Trailers from all the films. Go to the South Pacific trailer, and you can HEAR Joe cable sing the Bali Hai reprise. This starts at 1:20 into the trailer.
There are a couple of very short transitional things missing,but nothing that important. Still missing is a LOT of the Boars Tooth ceremony. It was almost seven minutes longer. Some of the Boars Tooth is resored, here, but not all, thank god. It's a bore.
Anyway, the film was ordered to be cut by the beginning of April 1958. the cut parts were junked.
Many years go bay, with several fans of th film looking for an uncut 70mm print. Unlikely as the prints were recalled and replaced with different reels.
About a year ago, a 70mm print was run at a film festival that had many of the missing scenes. Upon inspection, it turned out that the print was the standard short version. The collector who had the print had spliced ino theshort version many of the missing scenes from another source.
I don't know where the extra scenes came from , but there was more here than bargained for. The opening scenes with Billis and Bloody Mary have a LOT of stuff not cut from the roadshow version, but cut from a preview print.

After all this, it would be nice to take all of this one step farther return it to the original broadway continuity that director Joshua Logan shot.

On broadway, the opening scenes are with Nellie and Emile and includes Cockeyed Optimist and Some Enchanted evening.

Then we go to Bloody Mary and the Seabies and the songs Blood Mary, There is Nothing Like a Dame and Bali hai. this continuity was used for the European prnts but not in america, where Fox Head Buddy adler wanted to push the war angle by switching the order of the scenes.

However, the negative and master six track for the original continuuity very much exists.
the british dvd gives us the roadshow version and the standard short version (who needs it?).

 

[Doug Bull]

Joe, what is the picture and sound quality like?

It has been said that the Roadshow disc is only 2 channel Stereo, is that correct?
If it is, then that is a calamity.

 

[Joe Caps]

TheRoadshow is two channel stereo - why is that a calamity?
Its the disc with the long film that they put all of the extras on.
Frankly, I think the scenes with the color filters do not look as good as they did on the last transfer. The sound seems just fine to me.

 

[MattHR]

Like one of these covers?

Like the Planet of the Apes films, I've always been disappointed Fox has never used the original poster designs for ANY video release of The Sound of Music. I am happy to see Fox's upcoming Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno releases feature covers based on the original artwork -- for the first time! I'm a total nut when it comes to original movie poster art from that era! I wished the studios used it more for their DVD releases.

I normally don't like the DigiPak type of case, but I think TSOM would have looked really classy in a package like the recent Titanic special edition. I really like that sturdy outer-case on Titanic. It gives it a sturdy, "hard-cover book" appearance, which TSOM also deserves. I wish more classic films were packaged like this.

The current trend of placing a thin cardboard sleeve over a standard plastic case isn't very appealing. If they're going to use an outer cardboard sleeve, I'd prefer it to be similar to the old SuperBit style -- a sturdier sleeve that is open on just one end.

EDIT: I added another cover. It's styled like the Titanic SE -- a "leather-like", textured cover with gold lettering and borders.

 

[RobertSiegel]

Matt, those Sound of Music are AWESOME, especially the first one... Let's hear it for original poster art. I especially like the last one. I hate even more when they do not use the original lettering.

 

[Doug Bull]

I'm still undecided if I should go with the PAL editions ( released here in Australia middle of April and for me, at a much lower price than importing region 2)or wait until the Region 1 is announced.
Decisions, Decisions.

 

[RobertSiegel]

Doug, why would you wait for the region 1...are the editions you get different in content?