The Official Disney Movie Club Blu-ray Exclusives Thread (2 Viewers)

[AnthonyClarke]

Do these exclusives end up at ebay at some point?

They probably would, but at inflated prices.
Those of us here who are not allowed to join the Disney Club can only hope that after a brief exclusivity period, these titles go on open sale through Amazon and other online retailers.

 

[classicmovieguy]

There was, at one point, an Ebay-selling arm of the Disney Movie Club, but it didn't ship internationally.

 

[Mark-P]

It was mono originally. Did they keep the DVD extras?

Nope. As barebones as can be. Only "play" and "chapters" on the menu.

 

[MatthewA]

This boycott is getting easier and easier.

 

[Mark-P]

I've had a chance to spot check the discs on my projector. I'm actually very impressed with the picture quality. It looks like they have been cleaned up considerably. I'm seeing solid color, good contrast, stable image, and no dirt or damage.

Here are a few screencaps, but please DO NOT judge the Blu-ray based on these as they are highly compressed.

And finally one from the 2003 DVD to compare framing differences:

 

[Konstantinos]

They probably would, but at inflated prices.
Those of us here who are not allowed to join the Disney Club can only hope that after a brief exclusivity period, these titles go on open sale through Amazon and other online retailers.

Do they ever?

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I imagine some would but others can tell us....

 

[MatthewA]

Their DVD exclusives are fairly easy to find on Amazon.

Whoever is running the home video division needs to be replaced.

 

[LeoA]

I would've thought that Pollyanna, The Parent Trap (The Hayley Mills version, that is), the Swiss Family Robinson, and Old Yeller would've been the best choices for an initial round of live action Disney classics on Blu-Ray.

Or at least, that's where I'd of started out at. I like both of these films and appreciate these releases, but I wouldn't of started out with these.

 

[MatthewA]

For The Apple Dumpling Gang, they couldn't be bothered to keep any of the extras from the DVD. Not one.

As for the 5.1 remix, I'm not convinced it's anything more than a mono track spread out over every channel. They did fake 5.1s for a lot of titles. I doubt they went back to the music stems the way they did for Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

 

[Mark-P]

As for the 5.1 remix, I'm not convinced it's anything more than a mono track spread out over every channel. They did fake 5.1s for a lot of titles. I doubt they went back to the music stems the way they did for Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

For the 5.1 remixes they did for the "Vault Disney" line of DVDs back in the early 2000s the dialog was locked into the center channel with the music and effects subtly spread into the other channels. To do this they had to have separate dialog and music/effects tracks.Anyway for this release, Apple Dumpling Gang is back to mono.

 

[Mark-P]

The newest exclusives were released today. I will post specs once I receive the discs.

 

[Mark-P]

As promised, here are the specs.

Escape to Witch Mountain

Single Layer

Aspect ratio: 1.75:1

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono 320 kb/s

Special features: none

Return from Witch Mountain

Single Layer

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono 320 kb/s

Special features: none

 

[Konstantinos]

Thank you!

Do they both have English subtitles?


The 2nd one seems better than the first one.

I don't see a good resolution of grain in the first.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Interesting that they broke their pattern of releasing all the 1.75:1 films in 1.66:1 with Escape but not Return.

 

[Mark-P]

Thank you!

Do they both have English subtitles?


The 2nd one seems better than the first one.

I don't see a good resolution of grain in the first.

I always forget about subtitles and I shouldn't because I'll probably need them in my old age! There is only 1 subtitle track which is English SDH on each film.

Interesting that they broke their pattern of releasing all the 1.75:1 films in 1.66:1 with Escape but not Return.

The difference in grain structure and aspect ratio makes me wonder if perhaps Escape might be an older transfer. It still looks great though.

 

[MatthewA]

The difference in grain structure and aspect ratio makes me wonder if perhaps Escape might be an older transfer. It still looks great though.

It looks like the same transfer I saw on Netflix.

When American Cinematographer magazine covered Pete's Dragon, the film's cinematographer, Frank Phillips, who performed the same duties on both Witch Mountain films*, said that there had been improvements made to Kodak's film stock since the first of the two films was made. It and other articles from that magazine are available on Questia if you are willing to pay $100 per year.

And the second one has Dragon screenwriter Malcolm Marmorstein credited for its script. Apparently Robert A. Young, who wrote the first film's script, was busy with other projects.

 

[LeoA]

I hate to say it, but maybe today's sad news will make Disney get around to releasing The Parent Trap. That's the greatest of all of Disney's live action classics as far as I'm concerned, despite some stiff competition.

 

[Mark-P]

Brand new exclusives, now available from the club. Treasure Island should look fantastic as it should be from the original 3-strip Technicolor negatives. The Crockett movies were most likely shot on Eastman stock and since they were originally made for TV the aspect ratio will be 1.33:1 irregardless of how they were presented theatrically.

 

[Randy Korstick]

As a double feature the Crockett films are a steal and a no brainer. Your probably right about them being 1.33:1 but I read that the first one was planned to be released at the theaters if successful which is why it was shot in color when 98% of the public had Black and White tv in 1956 and the second one was definitely intended for a theatrical release due to the popularity of the first. So they were most likely shot protecting for 1.75: Disney continued this trend into the 60's releasing a lot of their action TV films to the theaters. It would be nice to see them 1.66:1 just to give them a different look from the TV versions.

Brand new exclusives, now available from the club. Treasure Island should look fantastic as it should be from the original 3-strip Technicolor negatives. The Crockett movies were most likely shot on Eastman stock and since they were originally made for TV the aspect ratio will be 1.33:1 irregardless of how they were presented theatrically.