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FANTASIA 75th Anniversary Blu-ray release -- wish list (1 Viewer)

EddieKE

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Not sure if this is a topic already broached within HTF, but here goes...

Next year is the 75th Anniversary of Disney's FANTASIA. Haven't heard any rumblings of another BD release in the works, but just in case Disney happens to read HTF, I'd like to engage members in a discussion about what such a release would include.

Here's my wish list. I'm definitely mindful that I'm being "pie-in-the-sky" about my wish list. Guess that's why they call it that...

FANTASIA 75TH ANNIVERSARY BLU-RAY BOX SET

* Original roadshow version mastered in 4K (assuming that was the 2010 BD release)
* HD presentation of 1990 Restoration version (has original Deems Taylor narration audio)
* ALL previous bonus features from laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray releases
* Reprint of original souvenir program
* Commemorative 35mm frame
* Proposed NEW Bonus Feature: Interviews with filmmakers (directors, cinematographers, animators, VFX and makeup artists) on how FANTASIA influenced their careers and achievements.

Let the comments fly!

Thanks for reading,
Ed
 

FoxyMulder

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I already have Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, most of the extra content from the dvd set i had seemed to be missing, the only thing which would get me to re-buy these titles would be if Disney gave us a more film like presentation, not keen on their smoothavision approach to animation, oh and maybe if they released it uncensored, not much chance of either happening.

P.S. The audio mix for the music score on Fantasia 2000 is possibly the best i have ever heard, it's a 7.1 mix.
 

Powell&Pressburger

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I wish there was an option to be able to choose the Irwin Kostal versions during the animated sequences. Some say this would be impossible to do. Not sure why. It would be a nice bonus to create an ultimate edition of the film.

However I don't need interviews with other filmmakers who had nothing to do with the film. Unless a better approach is handled - possibly in a Criterion release format. So many of those interviews can get so sugarfilled it gets redic. I would rather have commentary by a historian who can give more detail into the making of the film.

It would be nice to have a box set released of just Fantasia with really classy artwork. The combo pack released on BLU is great but the artwork was not as special as it should have been. IMO
 

EddieKE

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Completely forgot about the 1982 re-release with the Irwin Kostal orchestrated and conducted soundtrack. I think for the 1990 Restoration version, an alternate audio option of the Kostal soundtrack (DTS-HD, ahem) would be possible.

I know the "Inspiration" type bonus features can get WAY maudlin, but it sometimes helps contemporarize (word?) a catalog title for new audiences (and gives the marketing/PR team a chance to drop big, current names in the press release and packaging to help sell).
 

Matt Hough

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The studio needs to put all of the bonus material back in disc format and not force users to watch featurettes from an internet site. Some of us with slower than broadband connections have a hard time watching any of this material without continuous buffering.

And, of course, the films need to be uncensored and with the original narration intact. I, too, would like for them to somehow allow the Irwin Kostal rerecordings to be situated as an alternate soundtrack.
 

Powell&Pressburger

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I have made my peace with getting this film uncensored I'd like it that way but I've made my peace too much to ask for... that KOSTAL soundtrack should be added as a alternate music track if they can't do DTS HD 5.1 or 7.1 etc Id' be happy with a DTS HD 2.0 at the least.
 

Jim*Tod

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Too bad they could not figure a way to do the original Fantasound mix using current technology. I understand at the El Capitan in LA they showed FANTASIA with a sound system/mix which came close to replicating the original sound concept. Otherwise... not sure I would bite for another blu ray yet of this title.
 

Powell&Pressburger

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I've never compared the sound mixes between the Laserdisc and DVD / BLU versions but I've been told by others the older stereo laserdisc (if I recall correctly could have been the 5.0 DVD) contained better separation then the more recent 7.1 mix. I have to say I didn't feel the BLU felt that directional with the audio but I would have to compare. Others may chime in with their observations / examples.
 

Bryan Tuck

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Wasn't the Pastoral sequence censored differently in the 1982 cut? That might make including the Kostal recordings challenging for that section, but I'm sure something could be done.

I would love to have the Deems Taylor narration that survives as an option, and perhaps the option to watch the 1990 cut (which was I think was essentially the 1946 cut). And also, wasn't the original Fantasound configuration essentially Left-Right-Center-Surround? I may be completely wrong about that, and I'm not sure of the history of the elements, although I know they were considered too damaged for a while (hence the Kostal re-recordings).

And just as a curiosity, it might be interesting (in a "Love Conquers All" sort of way) to see the 80-minute 1942 cut. But I could live without that, I guess :)
 

Ignatius

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I have no expectation that the uncut version will ever be released, particularly given how early in the film's release history the cuts were made. While they bother me in principle, I've honestly never been particularly fussed by them.

Otherwise I agree with pretty much everything everyone else has said. The shorter cut with Taylor's original narration is essential, I don't want to have to rely on my VHS copy the rest of my life. Same goes for the bonus features, I never owned the DVD and have no plans to ever connect my Blu-Ray player to the internet.

Given the sheer number of different releases the film has had, it might be nice to include the 1982 Irvin Kostal version as its own seperate presentation as it removed the Deems Taylor material entirely in favour of a simple narration track. There are two different versions of that narration as well from different re-releases so a disc producer could well go mad trying to decide which alternates are worth including. I'd say a proper special edition should include the Roadshow - for obvious reasons, the 1990 restoration - as the most widely seen and released version of the film, and the 1982 re-edit - as an example of how the film was re-tooled to try and appeal to modern sensibilities.
 

MBrousseau

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It is possible for Disney to edit a new audio mix with the 1982 Kostal score. I did it myself when the first Fantasia blu-ray came up. I was so frustrated at Disney for omitting the digital stereo tracks conceived for the 1982 re-release of the film. All the musical segments of Fantasia fitted pretty well with the CD from the OST of the movie. I made my own blu-ray edition just like I always wanted to have. Everyone visiting me heard the difference. Both eyes and ears were pleased to see Fantasia that way in high fidelity sound. It sounds fan-tas-tic!
 

moviebuff75

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*1940 Roadshow Version Uncut/Uncensored
*1990 50th Anniversary Edition
*All extras previously released in HD.
*Mini-Reproductions of All Release Posters
 

andySu

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FoxyMulder said:
I already have Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, most of the extra content from the dvd set i had seemed to be missing, the only thing which would get me to re-buy these titles would be if Disney gave us a more film like presentation, not keen on their smoothavision approach to animation, oh and maybe if they released it uncensored, not much chance of either happening.

P.S. The audio mix for the music score on Fantasia 2000 is possibly the best i have ever heard, it's a 7.1 mix.
I'm not keen on this disney smoothAvision DNR approach after seeing other disney screen captures doesn't give Star Wars a New Hope.

First time I saw Fanasia that I can possibly recall was around a friends years ago on VHS Hi-Fi stereo in Dolby pro-logic and I was thrilled with voice panning at the start and the spread of music width.

I'm not keen on films being 7.1 when they have all this tech gear now and can't even present it in its entity what about Fantasound 3 stereo. I guess next they'll remix it Atmos expect no below stereo surrounds I won't be hearing the whole picture while those swans skate on ice or am I think of Swan Lake?

I like the last bit of music on the trailer Ave Maria.



I guess next they'll remix it Atmos expect no below stereo surrounds I won't be hearing the whole picture while those swans skate on ice or am I think of Swan Lake?

Even for a small clip in Dolby Stereo here the last few seconds with panned music to the surrounds was great. You need to drop acid :P when watching it. Look at the colours for, youtube at 480p.



magic mushrooms if you dropped acid you'll be seeing dancing mushrooms for a month. :lol: The film is such a musical joy.

 

Marc Hampton

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I'm usually a purist, but I must admit I miss having the title card at the beginning of the film. It seems weird at intermission.
 

Lord Dalek

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Marc Hampton said:
I'm usually a purist, but I must admit I miss having the title card at the beginning of the film. It seems weird at intermission.
You should be grateful you're even getting a title card at all. The original premiere engagements didn't have one.
 

hanshotfirst1138

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I'm sure that the eternal censors which will always be applied will still be here, but otherwise, a 4K remaster sounds mightily enticing. How many versions of this have there been, I understand it's had an extremely complicated history. What was it mixed in originally? Six track?
 

warnerbro

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I agree with this "Options to hear Deems Taylor, the uncut Pastoral, and the Clair de Lune short in HD will be enough to make me happy." And also, no Disney smearing of grain and detail!
 

Lord Dalek

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Fantasia was original mixed in four-track (Left-center-right with a control channel that threw stuff to the surrounds) using a separate optical print that ran interlocked with the main feature. Mags didn't exist yet so that's why the fidelity isn't that great (doesn't help that the current sound master is derived from a 4-track mag made in 1955 over telephone wires).
 

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