- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
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- Robert Harris
The newest version of The Sound of Music from Fox Home Video takes a large step forward at trying to make amends for past transgressions, but in the end, doesn't quite get there.
This shouldn't be all that difficult when its predecessor was one of the worst looking discs to come from a major studio.
While eminently more viewable, changes haven't gone far enough.
The horrific electronic enhancement which covered the first go 'round is gone, and that's certainly a step in the right direction.
But color varies throughout from quite nice in some scenes to impermissable in others -- the night scene which includes the song "sixteen going on seventeen" for example with horrific flesh tones.
Overall in many interior scenes, the color is simply pumped too high, making Eleanor Parker's gown, face and hair in one shot look almost monochromatic.
The wonderful delicate golden tones which Mr. Wise used in his prologue title over the city is almost an ochre with the right side of the image going decidedly green.
The initial scenes as Maria is introduced to the baron and the children look fine, with the exception that the left side of the image is blue.
There is also a vertical scratch which offends the opening shots -- something that could easily have been corrected digitally, if someone cared enough.
Overall the image seems soft, looking as if it were rendered on an archaic piece of transfer equipment.
In short, hopefully someone at Fox will make yet another attempt to do right by this classic, which seems beloved to at least a handful of people. I've got to believe that sales will go above 500 units, so additional time and effort should have been taken.
We'll look forward to the high definition version.
One thing that I found delightful was a recent half hour visit with the "children" allowing them to place their performances and experience in perspective, while allowing viewers to get to know a bit about them. There are additional extras, which all will still look better than the film, which one would think should be the centerpiece of the effort.
Recommended, more or less.
RAH
This shouldn't be all that difficult when its predecessor was one of the worst looking discs to come from a major studio.
While eminently more viewable, changes haven't gone far enough.
The horrific electronic enhancement which covered the first go 'round is gone, and that's certainly a step in the right direction.
But color varies throughout from quite nice in some scenes to impermissable in others -- the night scene which includes the song "sixteen going on seventeen" for example with horrific flesh tones.
Overall in many interior scenes, the color is simply pumped too high, making Eleanor Parker's gown, face and hair in one shot look almost monochromatic.
The wonderful delicate golden tones which Mr. Wise used in his prologue title over the city is almost an ochre with the right side of the image going decidedly green.
The initial scenes as Maria is introduced to the baron and the children look fine, with the exception that the left side of the image is blue.
There is also a vertical scratch which offends the opening shots -- something that could easily have been corrected digitally, if someone cared enough.
Overall the image seems soft, looking as if it were rendered on an archaic piece of transfer equipment.
In short, hopefully someone at Fox will make yet another attempt to do right by this classic, which seems beloved to at least a handful of people. I've got to believe that sales will go above 500 units, so additional time and effort should have been taken.
We'll look forward to the high definition version.
One thing that I found delightful was a recent half hour visit with the "children" allowing them to place their performances and experience in perspective, while allowing viewers to get to know a bit about them. There are additional extras, which all will still look better than the film, which one would think should be the centerpiece of the effort.
Recommended, more or less.
RAH
