- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 17,805
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I'd never seen these two APJAC productions. Arthur P. Jacobs was best known for a little series entitled Planet of the Apes, which arrived in 1968.
Tom Sawyer was released in 1973, and Huck Finn a year later. Produced in concert with Reader's Digest, and with quality casts and crew, they're both wonderful fair for kids.
What's interesting here is the amount of talent that went into these productions.
Let's take a look at the credits.
Tom Sawyer was directed by Don Taylor, who made a career change in 1961, after a couple of decades in front of the camera. Probably best known for Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).
Cast-members, Celeste Holm, Warren Oates, Lucille Benson, Henry Jones, with Johnny8 Whitaker as Tom, Jeff East as Huck, and a very young Jodie Foster as Becky.
Cinematographer was Frank Stanely (Magnum Force, 10).
The great Murray Spivak acted as Sound Re-re supervisor.
Huckleberry Finn features Jeff East as Huck, supported by Paul Winfield, Harvey Norman, David Wayne, Arthur O'Connell, and Gary Merrill.
Laszlo Kovacs was behind the camera.
Did I mention that these are musicals?
Composer on Tom Sawyer was John Williams.
The screenplays of both films were written by the Sherman brothers, who also created songs and lyrics. If the name doesn't sound familiar, here's an hint from Vincent Canby's New York Times review, with an interesting perspective on the quality of Tom vs another film produced a few years previous.
"The new musical version, adapted by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman, who also wrote the score together, may be just a little too worldly for some people. About half of the songs supplied by the Sherman brothers might—with different lyrics and orchestrations—have turned up in any number of other, considerably inferior Sherman musicals from "Mary Poppins" to "Charlotte's Web." The small, ageless boy who plays Tom—Johnny Whitaker—is a TV veteran, as well as a Disney graduate, and it shows."
The new Blu-ray - both films are on a single BD-50, with no problems - appears to be from an IP, with good color and densities, proper grain structure and black levels. It could have used a bit of clean-up, but for the price of admission, I'll accept it.
Audio is 4.0 DTS on Tom, and 2.0 on Huck. Only minor problem noted, which almost sounded as if it might have been a mag transfer problem, was a slight bit of muffle in some dialogue, but not in music. Not something that would have gotten past Mr. Spivack.
A nice respite from super-hero films for kids, as offered by Twilight Time.
Image
Tom Sawyer - 4.25
Huckleberry Finn - 4.25
Audio
Tom Sawyer - 4
Huckleberry Finn - 5
4k Up-rez - 4.5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH
Tom Sawyer was released in 1973, and Huck Finn a year later. Produced in concert with Reader's Digest, and with quality casts and crew, they're both wonderful fair for kids.
What's interesting here is the amount of talent that went into these productions.
Let's take a look at the credits.
Tom Sawyer was directed by Don Taylor, who made a career change in 1961, after a couple of decades in front of the camera. Probably best known for Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).
Cast-members, Celeste Holm, Warren Oates, Lucille Benson, Henry Jones, with Johnny8 Whitaker as Tom, Jeff East as Huck, and a very young Jodie Foster as Becky.
Cinematographer was Frank Stanely (Magnum Force, 10).
The great Murray Spivak acted as Sound Re-re supervisor.
Huckleberry Finn features Jeff East as Huck, supported by Paul Winfield, Harvey Norman, David Wayne, Arthur O'Connell, and Gary Merrill.
Laszlo Kovacs was behind the camera.
Did I mention that these are musicals?
Composer on Tom Sawyer was John Williams.
The screenplays of both films were written by the Sherman brothers, who also created songs and lyrics. If the name doesn't sound familiar, here's an hint from Vincent Canby's New York Times review, with an interesting perspective on the quality of Tom vs another film produced a few years previous.
"The new musical version, adapted by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman, who also wrote the score together, may be just a little too worldly for some people. About half of the songs supplied by the Sherman brothers might—with different lyrics and orchestrations—have turned up in any number of other, considerably inferior Sherman musicals from "Mary Poppins" to "Charlotte's Web." The small, ageless boy who plays Tom—Johnny Whitaker—is a TV veteran, as well as a Disney graduate, and it shows."
The new Blu-ray - both films are on a single BD-50, with no problems - appears to be from an IP, with good color and densities, proper grain structure and black levels. It could have used a bit of clean-up, but for the price of admission, I'll accept it.
Audio is 4.0 DTS on Tom, and 2.0 on Huck. Only minor problem noted, which almost sounded as if it might have been a mag transfer problem, was a slight bit of muffle in some dialogue, but not in music. Not something that would have gotten past Mr. Spivack.
A nice respite from super-hero films for kids, as offered by Twilight Time.
Image
Tom Sawyer - 4.25
Huckleberry Finn - 4.25
Audio
Tom Sawyer - 4
Huckleberry Finn - 5
4k Up-rez - 4.5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH
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