DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Sleeping Beauty SE (Disney) --VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! (1 Viewer)

[Bill Burns]

How do we stand on the cropping debate? Simon -- any luck with the cells? Can anyone confirm that the cropping is the same as would be found in a four perf 35mm reduction from the eight perforation 35mm original (or a 70mm print of the original), and is no more extensive than this? If what we see here represents a carefully restored four perf 35mm reduction, many who aren't quite the stick in the mud I am () will be content with that (as is the case with 35mm reductions to theatres); any future HD-DVD reissue will likely derive itself from this same master, so those of us waiting for a proper large format remaster may have a very long wait ahead of us, and that of course influences eventual buying decisions for this version (not for me, but, again, that's just me, stubborn to a fault ).

 

[Brian Kidd]

I must admit that I'm charmed by this film. It isn't as exciting as some of the other classic Disney films, but it is unquestionably well-made and gorgeous to look at. The making-of featurette is way too short and OLD. Methinks it was on the videocassette released back around the mid-'90s. I always enjoy the vintage Disney shorts and programs, though. GRAND CANYON and the other one (not going to even venture to spell it right now. You know, the one about Tch...Tch...Oh heck, you know.) harkens back to a more pleasant time in the House of Mouse. I've become a freak about collecting films and shows made while Walt was still alive. They seem to have a level of charm and quality that quickly dissipated after his death.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Wow ! Watched it last night , and i have to say great audio and picture thats even a little better than snow white. Great restoration, the extras, i dont think ill ever get through all of them. Im actually afraid of the amount of extras on next months lion king, which is even more extras than sleeping beautys dvd ! lol !

 

[Robert Harris]

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that this title not be added to collections. Its video and nothing more.

I'm not aware of any actual restoration work involving 35mm 4 perf elements, and this would have no affect on the film in any case.

Scott MacQueen did a beutiful job of printing this film back to a new 65mm elements several years ago, and that element has obviously not been used for this transfer.

Starting a job with the wrong element isn't going to yield a proper final result no matter how much digital processing has been brought into play to eliminate those horrid grain and paint particles.

As a quick reference of how much of the image may be missing at the bottom of the frame please refer to the MPAA logo in the main titles.

RAH

 

[george kaplan]

I have no doubt whatsoever that Robert is correct as to the cropping on this dvd compared to what we could have had.

However, in regards to the laser disc David is spot on. In my comparison the framing is exactly the same, or possibly just a fraction more on the dvd than on the ld. And the increase in picture quality is truly stunning.

I do not have the capability of capturing the images from my ld player, but I have compared them on the same tv at the same time (via switching inputs), and there is certainly no loss in framing from the ld to the dvd.

It's a shame we're not seeing everything we could, but there is no reason not to upgrade from the ld, as this is clearly superior visually (I haven't tried to compare the audio, so I can't speak to that).

 

[Simon Caleb]

Hi Bill,

Re; How do we stand on the cropping debate? Simon -- any luck with the cells?

I'm currently awaiting their arrival in the post, rest assured I'll report back as soon as humanly possible

 

[DaViD Boulet]

If those are 35mm reductions they might not reveal the cropping when compared to the LD/DVD versions apparently sourced from a 35mm element.

If what RAH says is true (I'm sure it is) that a nice 65 mm element was prepared a while back...it is sad that Disney didn't use this as their source for restoration.

Do we have any Disney "insiders" who know the politics/scoop here? Feel free to PM me if you have some info and I promise to keep it confidential.

BTW, sad as it makes me that the current 35 mm source may have been overly matted in the vertical axis, I still can't recommend this disc highly enough...it's just so beautiful!

dave

 

[Reagan]

Maybe Disney is saving the 65mm restored print for the platinum edition...

Aw, who am I kidding, you just know we'll get the same transfer. But David, you are right, it does look great.

-Reagan

 

[Simon Caleb]

This is just a stop-gap until the film clips arrive.
I've found a
picture of an uncropped animation cell
Well actually it's a few cells on top of each other but you get my drift; I've marked out the full uncropped image available on the R2 UK SE dvd, which gives us a very rough idea of just what is missing from that particular scene.

Now I realise the whole cell wouldn't necessarily be shown, but still...

 

[ChrisMatson]

Simon-
Great picture, but you've got an extra "[url" at the end of your link.

 

[Jason Perez]

Ladies and gentlemen...put your hands together for David Boulet!

This review is awesome in every way, and I want to thank you personally for putting forth such a professional and detailed effort! This release was on my radar anyway, but now I am definitely going to run out and pick it up, especially since I have a little bit of a break between screeners!

Thanks again David, you are a tough act to follow. Please don't raise the bar any higher!

Regards,

Jason

 

[TonyD]

wow, that's alot of crop.
are we waiting to see if the entire dvd is cropped that much, or do we know now?

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Looks to me like the black borders within the frame would be indicative of what would be exposed to the Technirama camera, and it looks slightly narrower than 2.35:1. RAH, what is your verdict?

 

[Simon Caleb]

Those black borders are the markers I've put on to show the edges of the UK dvd picture info.
Outside of that it's anyone's guess as to how much would have been originally shown.

 

[BrettB]

Is there panning or zooming in the scene that cel is from?

 

[Brandon Conway]

IIRC, I believe there is a zoom.

 

[Simon Caleb]

The scene in question appears on the PAL UK R2 dvd at 1 hour 6min 42 seconds, and there is no zoom, pan or movement of any kind in that exact shot, except for the smoke & flames.

I would like to say, I've amended the picture having just re-viewed the scene in question, there appears to be a little more picture info on the left hand side, but now I may have been too generous with the lower horizontal, it's a little tighter on the dvd transfer than I've marked out.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I A/B'd it with my CLV laserdisc. The aspect ratio is essentially the same, but the content of the frame is not. The laserdisc has a little more information on the bottom and a little more cropping on the top. The title card that RAH mentioned is a good example. The text is not cropped on the laserdisc, but it is very tight. On the DVD it is partially cropped. There is no evidence of side cropping between them that I could see.

Regards,

 

[Angelo.M]

This is a wonderful presentation of the film, and a great DVD overall. My 3-year-old was mesmerized.

 

[Simon Caleb]

Quote - I A/B'd it with my CLV laserdisc. The aspect ratio is essentially the same, but the content of the frame is not. The laserdisc has a little more information on the bottom and a little more cropping on the top - Quote

I must just say, the cell I used clearly isn't the finished animation as seen in the final print, it's still missing other additions, but essentially it's most if not ALL of the width & height of the original animation cell. I used it as a rough example of what's missing, that is until the clips of 35mm film arrive.

I too noticed the horizontal top of the NTSC laserdisc was slightly more cropped.

Saying that, I adore this film & love my dvd set! It looks stunning on my 43" plasma.