Mary Poppins 50th Anniversary Blu-ray December 10th, 2013 (1 Viewer)

[jimmyjet]

i suspect most accents are not done well.

i was watching north and south mini-series awhile back.

and almost none of it sounded like what i thought southerners sounded like.

so i asked a good acquaintance in tennessee - he confirmed that for me.

however, it did not change my liking of the series, nor his.

same goes for mary poppins. the message is still the same.

 

[Mark-P]

I'm happy to see the enthusiasm here at HTF for this title. It's an absolute favorite of mine and it will be my eighth dip. My purchases have been as follows:

VHS 1.33:1 linear stereo
VHS 1.33:1 Hi-fi stereo
Laserdisc 1.33:1 analog (or digital, I don't recall) stereo
Laserdisc Archive Edition 1.66:1 digital stereo
Laserdisc Limited Special Edition 1.85:1 AC3 5.1
DVD Limited Gold Edition 1.85:1 letterbox Dolby Digital 5.1
DVD 40th Anniversary Edition 1.66:1 anamorphic Dolby Digital 5.1 (Home Theater Enhanced Mix, a big mistake!)

There have been many more editions, but those are the only ones I got.

Albert, curiously, 1.75:1 is the only ratio that Mary Poppins hasn't been released in! Hopefully the Blu-ray will rectify that.

 

[jimmyjet]

i dont think i saw it until my 30s.

i think mainly because it was considered to be a sissy movie by 10-year old boys.

and it was never part of my consciousness after that.

although had i seen it when i was 10, i would not have gotten the full effect of the movie that i did when i saw it, as an adult.

 

[Mark-P]

i dont think i saw it until my 30s.

i think mainly because it was considered to be a sissy movie by 10-year old boys.

and it was never part of my consciousness after that.

although had i seen it when i was 10, i would not have gotten the full effect of the movie that i did when i saw it, as an adult.

Well this is one sissy-boy who loved it.

 

[jimmyjet]

LOL - how old were you when you first saw it ?

 

[classicmovieguy]

I was around 4 or 5. It was shown on TV and we taped it. It was around the same period that I was similarly introduced to "Parent Trap", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".

For some reason the scene where Mary starts singing a duet with her mirror reflection during "Spoonful of Sugar" completely freaked me out!

 

[BBbrowd]

I was 7 when I first saw it, at the theater in its 1973 re-release. I had already heard the soundtrack album for a couple of years by then, so seeing it come alive on the big screen was an experience I'll never forget. I think it has remained my favorite film of all time ever since.

Mark-P, it's nice to read about all the editions you purchased. I too purchased it in several of its many releases on home video, laserdisc, and dvd. I'm so happy that we will finally have a great blu-ray edition. I loved the isolated score track on the last laserdisc edition.

 

[Matt Hough]

I agree about Van Dyke's accent: not worth troubling about, and at least he's consistent with it in the film. He doesn't start and stop it or alter it halfway through. It is what it is.

 

[Matt Hough]

Well this is one sissy-boy who loved it.

Make that two! I was 14 when I saw it on a vacation in New York City, and I was completely enchanted. COuld not stop playing the soundtrack LP.

 

[calvinm]

This is one of a few films that I'd actually listen to with an isolated music/score track if it were included. Sadly, I don't suppose that's going to happen. As a Brit, I've never came across anyone that's been bothered by Van Dyke's accent though perhaps the outrage didn't make it north of Hadrian's Wall!

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Regarding the unfortunate "Home Theater Mix" which was included on the 40th Anniversary disc: I think the fact that Disney went back to the excellent 5.1 mix from the "Gold Edition" for the 45th Anniversary presentation is a firm indication that it has been buried forever.All I can say about this Blu-ray is "It’s about time!" I’ve been reading about the new 300GB 4K optical format scheduled for 2015 and thinking "They barely made it!"

 

[Erik_H]

Looking at the above list of the many releases of "Mary Poppins" on home video reminds me that this was the first major Disney classic to be released on videotape. "Poppins" debuted on Beta and VHS either in late 1980 or sometime in 1981. I bought a Beta copy, back in the day when new releases were "priced for rental" and only available at a steep price---usually somewhere in the $60-80 range---for consumer purchase. I assumed that Disney decided to use "Poppins" as a test case for home video release of a classic title, after its last major theatrical re-release in the summer of 1980 did modest business compared to the company's lucrative reissues of top-tier animated classics such as "Snow White" and "101 Dalmations".

I am looking forward to the Blu Ray release. I remember reading a posting on this forum from a few years ago quoting a source from Disney that "Poppins" was in the process of being prepared for Blu Ray but that the company was taking its time in order to get it right (or something to that effect).

 

[Mike Frezon]

I was 14 when I saw it on a vacation in New York City, and I was completely enchanted. Could not stop playing the soundtrack LP.

Amen, Brother!

We wore that sucker out!

(Unfortunately, though, it may have been the prototype for the "floating head" DVD cover...)

 

[Mike Frezon]

I am looking forward to the Blu Ray release. I remember reading a posting on this forum from a few years ago quoting a source from Disney that "Poppins" was in the process of being prepared for Blu Ray but that the company was taking its time in order to get it right (or something to that effect).

I remember reading that here on the forum. I, too, certainly hope its true. But then there's that little matter of the "Saving Mr. Banks" tie-in.

Or, maybe, those two events--combined with the big anniversary--are all part of one massive well-coordinated Disney plan.

Fingers crossed.

One of the great joys of the forum is discussion of highly anticipated releases like this.

 

[Rob_Ray]

I didn't catch "Mary Poppins" until the summer of 1966, by which time I had memorized the soundtrack album. As an earlier poster said, it was such a thrill to see that album come to life on the screen. When a commercial on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color announced that it was "back by popular demand", several of the kids on our block mowed lawns and did other jobs in order to save up enough money to make a day of it. Going to movies in those days was a major event for us.

 

[jimmyjet]

i loved parent trap. i was 3 years younger - not old enough yet to be told by anyone that it was kid's stuff - LOL.

i recall seeing that at the theater. in my neck of the woods, going to the theater was a fairly common thing for kids to do.

i think i went every 3-4 weeks, anyways.

there were tons more theaters. and they would often run older shows in the mix. it was not just new releases.

 

[Eric Vedowski]

Make that two! I was 14 when I saw it on a vacation in New York City, and I was completely enchanted. COuld not stop playing the soundtrack LP.

My father was too cheap to buy the real soundtrack. We got the "Mary Poppins" with voice double extraordinaires Marni Nixon and Bill Lee, also put out by Disney.

 

[Matt Hough]

My father was too cheap to buy the real soundtrack. We got the "Mary Poppins" with voice double extraordinaires Marni Nixon and Bill Lee, also put out by Disney.

Mary Poppins.jpg

Yes, I remember seeing that album in stores and wondering why anyone would want that when they could have the real McCoy. However, the cover states it's a storybook, so I guess it did have its purpose.

 

[warnerbro]

My wish is that there will be a music only track as they had on the last laserdisc version. I see they're including a Mary-oke of certain songs, which may be a music only track on certain songs. And I do hope they include the original stereo track the way it was in theatres. It was very strong. I hear they went back to the original film stem separations for the animated sequences, cleaned and re-attached them so they have a cleaner look. The animated stem separations and live action separations were included in the last DVD release.

 

[Simon Massey]

Mary Poppins is one of my favourite Disney films and as a Brit I never had an issue with Dick van Dyke's accent simply because the qualities of the film, including his performance, are strong enough to make it irrelevant.I had the pleasure of hearing a live orchestra play the opening sequence to the film recently and it gave me goosebumps hearing it. The Feed the Birds sequence still brings a tear to the eye.Really looking forward to this !!