- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,316
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Every time I view a film c. 1960, I'm aware of the problems of late 5248 Eastman stock.
And while Disney's 101 Dalmatians is such as beast, it falls outside of the real world, as it was fortunately, like virtually all other Disney animated features, shot SE, ie. sequential YCM black & white.
No color fading. No registration or fringing problems.
The most basic point of color timing a film from the 1953-1960 era is to first try to get flesh tones in the ballpark, and then see where everything else falls. In many cases, fleshtones will not answer back, and that's it.
If 101 Dalmatians were shot on Eastman, one would look to the the stars of the film, and go for black spots on a white background, or is it a mottled white against a black background?
Regardless, once you have the pure black and white, everything else should fall into place.
Disney's new Blu-ray of 101 Dalmatians, which is probably the third to final animated feature produced under the hand of Mr. Disney, has blacks and whites in dalmatians, and I would hate to think what the film might look like, had it not been shot SE.
Color and resolution are gorgeous.
Grain is as it has been with past Disney Blu-ray releases, and while I personally don't like the grainless look, I've become resigned to it. It's not a war anyone is going to win. And most important to me, I know that with each Blu-ray, new data files have been archived, and anything is possible in the future, should the tides change.
From a story perspective, the opening sequence of this delightful film has always reminded me of the Goofy "How to..." series.
Great for kids, and a pleasure for adults, 101 Dalmatians falls into the late Disney animated feature category, where quality reigned supreme.
A terrific cinema entertainment, and a beautifully produced Blu-ray.
Image - 4.5
Audio - 4
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH