Blu-ray Review Anastasia (1956) Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Kyrsten Brad]

Well folks, thought I'd chime in here as my interest in "Anastasia" (if we ever have a baby girl, that might be what we name her) has been piqued since Twilight Time's announcement.
Oh as for my purchase plans, last quarter was Disney's turn as I ordered 5 Disney titles (with 4 more now on the back burner) but this quarter, Twilight Time gets a shot (tax refund was quite sizable this year). My TT titles that have my interest are:

1. Anastasia
2. In The French Style
3. Mississippi Mermaid

Actually I plan to pair up my coming TT purchase of Anastasia with the 1997 animated version which should make a very interesting comparison. Anybody here who has seen the animated version AND the 1956 theatrical version go ahead and chime in on what I can look forward to (without any spoilers of course, I have yet to see either film thought I know the start of the general story. I've been deliberately skipping some reading here so it doesn't get spoiled.

 

[classicmovieguy]

They both take as their starting point the Marcelle Maurette/Guy Bolton play. I can see lovely echoes of the '56 "Anastasia" in the 1997 animated film. I should add that I'm a bit biased when it comes to the animated film, having fallen in love with it as a young teen when it first came out. I bought every piece of the merchandising that I could. It's a great, solid musical.

 

[Mark Collins]

TT you have always held a large part of my heart where classic films are. I shall as always support you guys anyway I can. I am sorry about the region business. I hope I read that right. Please considrer with Fox of course the Monroe early years. Love Nest and so many others.

To me you are the greatest!!! I also know we the people born in the 5os see our movies coming out in few titiles unless TT or another company comes out with a BD movie.

Time for me to say thank you Twilight Time.

 

[haineshisway]

They both take as their starting point the Marcelle Maurette/Guy Bolton play. I can see lovely echoes of the '56 "Anastasia" in the 1997 animated film. I should add that I'm a bit biased when it comes to the animated film, having fallen in love with it as a young teen when it first came out. I bought every piece of the merchandising that I could. It's a great, solid musical.

Well, it's about to open as a stage show - more songs by Flaherty and Ahrens.

 

[Twilight Time]

TT you have always held a large part of my heart where classic films are. I shall as always support you guys anyway I can. I am sorry about the region business. I hope I read that right. Please considrer with Fox of course the Monroe early years. Love Nest and so many others.

To me you are the greatest!!! I also know we the people born in the 5os see our movies coming out in few titiles unless TT or another company comes out with a BD movie.

Time for me to say thank you Twilight Time.

Thanks so much, Mark -- we really appreciate your support -- it's people like you who keep us going!

 

[classicmovieguy]

Well, it's about to open as a stage show - more songs by Flaherty and Ahrens.

Yes. Even at the time I first saw it, I could virtually see the proscenium.

 

[OliverK]

The increase in detail over the DVD is staggering at times:
http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=542&y=160&d1=7792&d2=7793&s1=74239&s2=74249&l=0&i=5&go=1

I does not seem to have the typical bluish deluxe look of other Fox releases of the time, which to me makes this release even better looking, excellent!

 

[haineshisway]

The increase in detail over the DVD is staggering at times:
http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=542&y=160&d1=7792&d2=7793&s1=74239&s2=74249&l=0&i=5&go=1

I does not seem to have the typical bluish deluxe look of other Fox releases of the time, which to me makes this release even better looking, excellent!

Well, why is that? Because there is almost no blue in the production design or lighting. This transfer has just as much blue as every other transfer in terms of its palette and you can see that when the parade is happening. I love all the Fox transfers

 

[Konstantinos]

Actually I plan to pair up my coming TT purchase of Anastasia with the 1997 animated version which should make a very interesting comparison. Anybody here who has seen the animated version AND the 1956 theatrical version go ahead and chime in on what I can look forward to (without any spoilers of course, I have yet to see either film thought I know the start of the general story. I've been deliberately skipping some reading here so it doesn't get spoiled.

The animation film is very good too and has some greatly executed scenes, but i hate the comic relief character, Bartok. I wish he wasn't included. (a film on this character was made also and is included in the bluray)
The songs are exceptional with "once upon a December" being sublime, and one of my favourite film songs ever.
it sounds like it's coming straight from a 50s hollywood musical.
Pity it wasn't nominated for an oscar!

By the way, have you got TT's Nicholas and Alexandra?
it serves like an exceptional "prequel" to the Anastasia film.

 

[bigshot]

This thread is a train wreck

 

[OliverK]

Well, why is that? Because there is almost no blue in the production design or lighting. This transfer has just as much blue as every other transfer in terms of its palette and you can see that when the parade is happening. I love all the Fox transfers

I am quite certain that I will love this transfer a bit more than River of no Return, Cleopatra and a few others but I am happy for everybody who likes all of them

Anastasia also reminds me that I still did not get around to watch Nicolas and Alexandra, I should certainly get that one in before Anastasia!

 

[Nick*Z]

Color timing is not the issue on this disc, but rather color saturation, contrast, and some interminable gate weave and wobble beginning in the scene where Anna first meets members of the committee and is recognized by her mother's lady in waiting. Image instability is glaringly obvious in the next few scenes where Bounin is training Anna in the ways of addressing various members of the court, the side to side weave so obvious it's fairly impossible to keep one's eyes focused on the actual performances being given, as Bergman hurls the book balanced atop her head. This review also fails to mention the obvious tear that occurs seconds before the end, just between "the end" credit and the one that identifies the production as "A Cinemascope Release".

But it's the color and contrast that suffer the most. While much of the early sequences look passable - if slightly darker than expected - we enter some challenging moments in the scenes taking place at the opera. Note that there are no true reds in this transfer; carpeting, wallpaper, etc. all registering as weak, washed out hues of a sort of pseudo-red/purple/pinkish shading. I am grateful this transfer did not adopt the blue/teal/beige bias so many Fox Cinemascope catalog have, but this is still far from perfect color balancing, and the transfer also suffers from some weak contrast levels. Viewed in a completely darkened room, the transfer is - again - passable, but even in a room with dim lighting it looks rather anemic and dark.

Finally, the isolated score features several tracks in which the audio is ever so slightly attenuated. Listening to the intro to the Russian Easter cue or the various snippets of the Sleeping Beauty ballet and you'll hear what I mean; a slight warping that could have been easily corrected. Still, it's very gratifying to have Alfred Newman's score retained in its complete form for the first time. This is one of his best. I really wanted to love this disc, because I simply adore the movie and have been a fan of it for many years; owning the LaserDisc, DVD, and now this Blu-ray. But the transfer itself rates about a 3 out of 5 and that's all. Giving it a 4.5 suggests it is almost perfect, which I sincerely assure you, it is not! Regrets.

 

[Nick*Z]

The increase in detail over the DVD is staggering at times:
http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=542&y=160&d1=7792&d2=7793&s1=74239&s2=74249&l=0&i=5&go=1

I does not seem to have the typical bluish deluxe look of other Fox releases of the time, which to me makes this release even better looking, excellent!

Dear Oliver:

There is no 'typical' Deluxe bias toward blue, only an egregious error on the part of whoever is responsible for a good deal of the more recent Blu-ray releases of Fox back catalog - the mastering resulting in a blue, or occasionally teal/beige bias. I assure you, NONE of Fox's DeLuxe movies originally projected in a darkened theater ever looked like they currently do on Blu-ray, especially The Blue Max, Wild River, The Black Swan (1942), Desk Set, The Best of Everything, The King and I, and, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. If you want a good barometer of what vintage DeLuxe ought to look like on Blu-ray I strongly suggest you seek out Criterion's release of Bigger Than Life which ought to be the exemplar to follow.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Dear Oliver:

There is no 'typical' Deluxe bias toward blue, only an egregious error on the part of whoever is responsible for a good deal of the more recent Blu-ray releases of Fox back catalog - the mastering resulting in a blue, or occasionally teal/beige bias. I assure you, NONE of Fox's DeLuxe movies originally projected in a darkened theater ever looked like they currently do on Blu-ray, especially The Blue Max, Wild River, The Black Swan (1942), Desk Set, The Best of Everything, The King and I, and, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. If you want a good barometer of what vintage DeLuxe ought to look like on Blu-ray I strongly suggest you seek out Criterion's release of Bigger Than Life which ought to be the exemplar to follow.

In your opinion.

 

[Nick*Z]

And that of at least two color technicians presently working at DeLuxe who have chosen to remain anonymous but were kind enough to share their 'opinions' with me.

 

[Robert Crawford]

And that of at least two color technicians presently working at DeLuxe who have chosen to remain anonymous but were kind enough to share their 'opinions' with me.

Their opinion means nothing to me without verification as anybody can pose as such on the internet.

 

[Nick*Z]

I find it rather incredible to the extent a moderator of any forum would go to discredit even something only he would consider an 'alternative' or 'theory'. At the very least, the purpose of a forum ought to be to invite fruitful discussion from all sides without having to worry about being 'slapped down' for expressing such ideas as part of this same shared experience. Frankly, considering our past run in's on this forum, Robert, I am not terribly surprised you've taken this directive in addressing me. I am, alas, saddened, you cannot engage me on a more intellectual level of discussion other than to say, "you're wrong" and "shut up." How very sad, indeed!

 

[Robert Crawford]

I find it rather incredible to the extent a moderator of any forum would go to discredit even something only he would consider an 'alternative' or 'theory'. At the very least, the purpose of a forum ought to be to invite fruitful discussion from all sides without having to worry about being 'slapped down' for expressing such ideas as part of this same shared experience. Frankly, considering our past run in's on this forum, Robert, I am not terribly surprised you've taken this directive in addressing me. I am, alas, saddened, you cannot engage me on a more intellectual level of discussion other than to say, "you're wrong" and "shut up." How very sad, indeed!

Well, let me say this, I never said you were wrong or you should shut up! I said it was your opinion then you mentioned some anonymous inside sources that supported your opinion which I replied I don't place much credence on such information because anybody can pose as somebody they're not.

I don't see how my position is out-of-line for a forum moderator. I never said you can't continue your POV in this thread, but that doesn't mean I can't voice my personal POV that counters yours. Frankly, I have no personal bias against you, we just don't agree on this issue or in some other previous discussions.

I hope you're not suggesting that I should mute my right to express my personal opinion on this forum just because I'm a moderator. I have no problem if others disagree with my stated opinion. Contrary opinions is one of the reasons why this forum and others like it are used as an avenue to exchange ideas and opinions. As long as civil discourse is maintained throughout such discussions, such threads of discussion are exactly what the HTF tries to be all about.

 

[OliverK]

Dear Oliver:

There is no 'typical' Deluxe bias toward blue, only an egregious error on the part of whoever is responsible for a good deal of the more recent Blu-ray releases of Fox back catalog - the mastering resulting in a blue, or occasionally teal/beige bias. I assure you, NONE of Fox's DeLuxe movies originally projected in a darkened theater ever looked like they currently do on Blu-ray, especially The Blue Max, Wild River, The Black Swan (1942), Desk Set, The Best of Everything, The King and I, and, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. If you want a good barometer of what vintage DeLuxe ought to look like on Blu-ray I strongly suggest you seek out Criterion's release of Bigger Than Life which ought to be the exemplar to follow.

Thanks for you post Nick, very interesting.

In the spirit of staying positive I thought that it would be a good idea to point out the lack of the "deluxe-look" that has been hinted at/proposed by members of this forum and the impressive resolution.

I agree with you in that I do not like how the titles you mention look on Blu-ray but I would suggest to take this to the appropriate thread as Anastasia for once does not seem to be affected by whatever is making the other titles so blue and or teal/cyan.

Maybe we can continue the discussion in another thread as I am curious if somebody from Fox consulted with the people working at Deluxe and ask for their input.

 

[OliverK]

Their opinion means nothing to me without verification as anybody can pose as such on the internet.

Unfortunately people can lose their job over taking part in forum discussions which is a sad reality.

Maybe if Nick tells us a bit more about what they had to say everybody can make up his mind himself. Didn't we have a thread about Fox and blue / teal where this discussion could be moved to?