- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,313
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Charles Vidor's 1952 Hans Christian Andersen, starring Danny Kaye, was a terrific piece of entertainment six decades ago, and remains so today. I saw it in its original release, and remember the music to this day.
This is not a docudrama about the Danish creator of fairy tales, nor a bio-pic or re-enactment of his life. Rather, as the opening credits tell us, it is a fairy tale about a great spinner of fairy tales.
I've not seen a dye transfer print of this in decades, and if I were to tell you that I recall how it looked, I'd be lying, as I don't.
The new Warner Bros. Blu-ray of the Goldwyn production has nice looking color, with good shadow detail, but seems to be occasionally lacking a bit in overall resolution. I'm not certain what the HD master was made from. It's certainly adequate. I'm seeing occasional mis-regiatration of the records, which becomes obvious at times.
This seems out of place for a WB release, as their Ultra-rez process generally takes care of most problems. If this did go through the process, I'm thinking that the elements may have become problematic, as they would not be nitrate. Early acetate is the enemy.
Safety film, from the early 1950s tended to shrink, and differential shrinkage in a three-strip production is not our friend. Could it be too far gone to bring the image into perfect alignment? Anything is possible.
Fortunately, those areas which have the problem, are few and far between.
Audio works very nicely.
What comes to the fore here, is that very special quality that was part and parcel of being a Goldwyn production. It was all about quality.
A wonderful film, especially for children.
Image - 3
Audio - 4
Recommended.
RAH
This is not a docudrama about the Danish creator of fairy tales, nor a bio-pic or re-enactment of his life. Rather, as the opening credits tell us, it is a fairy tale about a great spinner of fairy tales.
I've not seen a dye transfer print of this in decades, and if I were to tell you that I recall how it looked, I'd be lying, as I don't.
The new Warner Bros. Blu-ray of the Goldwyn production has nice looking color, with good shadow detail, but seems to be occasionally lacking a bit in overall resolution. I'm not certain what the HD master was made from. It's certainly adequate. I'm seeing occasional mis-regiatration of the records, which becomes obvious at times.
This seems out of place for a WB release, as their Ultra-rez process generally takes care of most problems. If this did go through the process, I'm thinking that the elements may have become problematic, as they would not be nitrate. Early acetate is the enemy.
Safety film, from the early 1950s tended to shrink, and differential shrinkage in a three-strip production is not our friend. Could it be too far gone to bring the image into perfect alignment? Anything is possible.
Fortunately, those areas which have the problem, are few and far between.
Audio works very nicely.
What comes to the fore here, is that very special quality that was part and parcel of being a Goldwyn production. It was all about quality.
A wonderful film, especially for children.
Image - 3
Audio - 4
Recommended.
RAH
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