Bedknobs & Broomsticks (1971) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ethan Riley]

Well, to be fair, they didn't want to cut B&B; they only did it to appease Radio City Music Hall (I guess). But if you think about 1970s movies, you'd be hard pressed to name a lot of American movies that ran longer than 2 hours. Maybe for the same reasons; getting people in and out of the multiplexes. I'm actually surprised that we see a lot of 2 1/2 or 3 hour blockbusters nowadays.

 

[JohnMor]

I am scratching my head over this decision. It makes ZERO sense. Even if they didn't want to spend the time and money on seamless branching, then at least put the prior dvd version in the package so that people would have both versions. Talk about not understanding your audience.

 

[MatthewA]

I am scratching my head over this decision. It makes ZERO sense. Even if they didn't want to spend the time and money on seamless branching, then at least put the prior dvd version in the package so that people would have both versions. Talk about not understanding your audience.

And that's what makes this action so contemptible. They are capable of putting out more effort than they expend, but they chose to expend that effort on depriving viewers of a choice between versions. If they had done the lazy thing with the bonus DVD and just threw in the same one from 2009, that would have been an improvement. An insufficient improvement, but an improvement nonetheless.

Well, to be fair, they didn't want to cut B&B; they only did it to appease Radio City Music Hall (I guess). But if you think about 1970s movies, you'd be hard pressed to name a lot of American movies that ran longer than 2 hours.

Well there was that movie about those gangsters who made offers people couldn't refuse. That was over three hours and it was the number one movie of all-time for a few years. Won some Oscars, too. Same deal with the sequel.

 

[classicmovieguy]

To make things even more frustrating, the music side of the company is moving in the opposite direction. Reissuing the classic soundtracks in lavish new editions in the 'Legacy Collection'. The next release, "Mary Poppins" is a three (yes THREE) CD affair with tonnes of outtakes and rare material. "Sleeping Beauty" will follow in October/November.

Disney's days of stacking their DVDs and Blu's with hours of thoughtful material may be over, dead and buried, but I'm at least happy to see the soundtracks are still looked upon favourably - for the time being, anyway.

 

[MatthewA]

It's been more than a decade and a half since the last wave of soundtrack reissues. They want to get these done now while there's still a market for physical media. What will that market look like in 2021 when Bedknobs and Broomsticks celebrates its 50th anniversary? And what, if anything, will Disney do to commemorate it?

No, I don't think any of us should have to wait that long for another Blu-ray. If I ran the studio I would pull this release immediately and replace it with a re-authored version with a seamless branching option that represents the restoration exactly as it had always been.

 

[classicmovieguy]

I've noticed that the soundtracks come in 'spits and spurts' (remember the short-lived 'Archive Collection' line from 1998?). I was so happy when "Happiest Millionaire", "Pete's Dragon" and, yes, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" soundtracks were reissued in 2002 - sadly all are now OOP - but where are the soundtracks for "Summer Magic", "Babes in Toyland" and "... Family Band"?

 

[Thomas T]

Why do people have such a bias against anything more than 2 hours long?

I don't have a "bias" against anything more than 2 hours long but I can't sit too long without getting antsy and I need to stretch my legs. We won't even go into my bladder! Although I loved the film, I was physically uncomfortable during the 3 hour Blue Is The Warmest Color and I want to see the current critically acclaimed Boyhood but its three hour running time intimidates me.

 

[MatthewA]

Then maybe they need to bring back intermissions.

 

[darkrock17]

Then maybe they need to bring back intermissions.

The last movie I saw with an intermission per say was 2007's Grindhouse.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Some people may be unhappy that I am dredging this thread back up.

I have to be honest....initially, I tried to keep my opinion out of this thread.

I thought the original DVD of Bedknobs and Broomsticks was a bit too long
as far as pacing was concerned. So, having Disney release the abridged cut
was not a big deal to me. At the same time, I totally respected and agreed to
the opinions that the longer cut should have been made available via branching.

So, let me start by saying that I know this film fairly well. I was 8 or 9 years-old
when Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released. I remember the theater I saw it
at. I remember the big cardboard cut-out of Angela Lansbury riding her broom
that sat in the lobby. I loved this film so much that I saw it multiple times. I even
had my parents buy me the soundtrack. I knew all the songs quite well -- remember
most all of them word-for-word 42 years later.

So, today, I am sitting watching this Blu-ray for the first time. I notice something is
missing. Where the heck is the song "With A Flair"?

I realize that Disney cut the song out. Now, that song was in the original film that
I saw theatrically. It was on the soundtrack.

Now I understand the anger against Disney for what they did with this release.

I go to the bonus section and see a wealth of scenes and extended songs that were
obviously mastered for a Blu-ray presentation, but not included.

Now, again, part of me thinks that the extended version of Bedknobs & Broomsticks
is a bit too long. But, at the same time, I can't pick and choose what I want and don't
want. To have an entire song like "With a Flair" cut from this release only tells me that
the longer version should have been included here.

Fortunately, I own the extended DVD like most of you do. I popped it in and compared
where footage was cut out. It's rather sinful to see what was done. I was happy to see
that the DVD still looks pretty damn good (albeit not as sharp), and sadly it's the version
I am going to reach for in the future.

I don't want to start everyone in this thread up again. What has been said has been said.

I just want to let you know that I have done a complete 360-degree turn in opinion of what
Disney has done here. They should not have cut this film down the way they did. This is a
bonafide treasure which deserves to get a proper release with both cuts of the film.
I don't know what has happened to Disney in the past year or so. Between the Frozen 3D
debacle and releasing Bedknobs & Broomsticks in a butchered version makes me think
there is a lot of penny-pinching going on over there -or- nobody understands the importance
of putting out proper Collector's Editions.

 

[Mark-P]

So, today, I am sitting watching this Blu-ray for the first time. I notice something is
missing. Where the heck is the song "With A Flair"?

I realize that Disney cut the song out. Now, that song was in the original film that
I saw theatrically. It was on the soundtrack.

Now I understand the anger against Disney for what they did with this release.

I believe you are mistaken. The song was never in the film until it was restored into the 25th Anniversary cut. The only reason you were familiar with the song was because you owned the soundtrack as a child. It is not unusual for soundtrack albums to contain songs that were cut from movies.

 

[TravisR]

Between the Frozen 3D debacle...

Yeah but they're re-releasing Frozen with a sing-a-long feature this year. That's totally makes up for the lack of 3-D. Oh wait...

 

[classicmovieguy]

Ronald, I loved your post. I'm still so upset over what Disney has done to this film (again!). You can't have Emelius without "With a Flair", just as you can't have Eglantine without "Nobody's Problems".

 

[MatthewA]

Does the color at least try to resemble what the original Technicolor prints looked like?

 

[Mark_TB]

FWIW, the digital download that comes with the Blu-Ray disc is the restored version -- and in HD.

 

[FoxyMulder]

FWIW, the digital download that comes with the Blu-Ray disc is the restored version -- and in HD.

Unfortunately i would i imagine it's download quality HD and not blu ray quality HD.

That does make it even more ridiculous that they didn't supply 2 discs with the restored version on one and theatrical on the other, it's gotta be a case of cheapness or laziness or a simple mistake on Disney's part because they obviously have the other version available in HD but didn't put it on blu ray, there is just no excuse for this and i hope it damages their sales.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

FWIW, the digital download that comes with the Blu-Ray disc is the restored version -- and in HD.

I think that depends on where you get the digital download from. I went the Amazon route and got the 117-minute verison.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

This guy claims it's the longer version based on "Disney publicity." Amazon says otherwise. The next few months will be...interesting.EDIT: I called Disney today to exchange my Little Mermaid Blu-rays. When I asked about the running time on Bedknobs, the woman genuinely did not know.

Matthew, what number did you call at Disney?Got my Blu of TLM. But have yet to watch it.

 

[MatthewA]

Matthew, what number did you call at Disney?Got my Blu of TLM. But have yet to watch it.

1-800-72-DISNEY

 

[Mark_TB]

I think that depends on where you get the digital download from. I went the Amazon route and got the 117-minute verison.

I went through iTunes to get the 139 minute version.