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

[JohnMor]

This is the soundtrack I had...

 

[classicmovieguy]

I love that artwork!

 

[classicmovieguy]

This is the only "white clamshell" VHS of "Mary Poppins" still in my collection - I'm pretty sure it's a late-1980's printing. Excuse the plastic glare - my scanner tried it's best.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

That looks like one of the first, if not THE first release. Dead giveaway? The linear stereo track. If it had been 1985 or later, it would have been VHS hifi. Sent from my iPad using Home Theater Forum mobile app

 

[classicmovieguy]

Don't think it was the first, as the artwork was different (see the post by BBbrowd) but it very well may be an earlier 80's printing...

 

[Ethan Riley]

This is the only "white clamshell" VHS of "Mary Poppins" still in my collection - I'm pretty sure it's a late-1980's printing. Excuse the plastic glare - my scanner tried it's best.

img631.jpg

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I have no idea where this one came from. Was it for foreign release? I very much recall the one in post #104, and later I owned the one in #112. This one may have been relatively short-lived. I'd guess that if it was released in the U.S., it was the second packaging.

The white clamshells are generally rare in collectors' hands; they were generally intended for the rental market. I don't believe I actually had any. I did start buying Disney product when they had those Gold Collection releases of popular shorts. Those retailed for about $29.95. I had about 5 of them, maybe. Then they were doing lower-cost collections in cardboard slipcovers; those were about $14.95 and usually had 3 or 4 shorts. Then the floodgates began to open and they were releasing their back catalog on vhs at popular prices. All of the animated features were in clamshells, but not all of the live-action features. The clamshells existed mostly because parents wanted something that would last a while.

And now...

 

[classicmovieguy]

I bought it from a guy in the States. It's an American release but not exactly sure which one.

I have a few other 80's clams - "Pollyanna" (2 copies), "In Search of the Castaways", "Moon-Spinners", "Lt Robin Crusoe USN", "Freaky Friday", "Escapade in Florence", "Swiss Family Robinson", "Candleshoe" and "Babes in Toyland". Also "Parent Trap" in the cardboard sleeve packaging.

 

[Mark B]

This is the only "white clamshell" VHS of "Mary Poppins" still in my collection - I'm pretty sure it's a late-1980's printing. Excuse the plastic glare - my scanner tried it's best.

img631.jpg

img632.jpg

That is the VHS edition I had as well, purchased in 1986.

 

[classicmovieguy]

That makes more sense.

 

[Mark-P]

That looks like one of the first, if not THE first release. Dead giveaway? The linear stereo track. If it had been 1985 or later, it would have been VHS hifi.


Sent from my iPad using Home Theater Forum mobile app

That one is most likely the second VHS incarnation.
Here is the first. The one I purchased in 1984 looked exactly like this. And by the way, the retail price was $84.95 and nobody was giving discounts at that time.

Edit: I've been corrected in a post below. This is actually the 2nd VHS incarnation. There was an earlier VHS mono version with a different cover that I didn't know about. It is fascinating what can be learned in these forums.

 

[Ejanss]

Although this new edition will probably include some updated music videos, but not the PogoMix version:

 

[classicmovieguy]

Or the horror movie re-edit.

 

[BBbrowd]

This is fun, remembering all the releases of Mary Poppins on home video cassette through the years. It reminded me of all the various covers, so I thought I'd put together a photo grouping. There were even a few more minor variations and releases than the ones pictured below, but these are the basic ones. I was surprised that when the 40th Anniversary DVD came out in 2004, there was even another VHS released.

Here they are, starting with the very first one in 1980 and ending with the 40th Anniversary Edition in 2004.

 

[KPmusmag]

I am very excited about this release, and I am enjoying reading everyone's memories of the film, as I share so many experiences with many of you. MP was the first movie my parents took me to (original release). I was only two, so I can't say I remember that viewing, but my mother says that I was rapt with attention and never moved my eyes from the screen for the entire 2 hours and 20 minutes. When it was over, she says I grabbed on to the armrest and refused to leave, crying, "More, more." A home theater buff in the making, for sure. That first VHS release was a thrill to own, but at $80 it was my only Christmas present that year. (It wasn't great quality, by the way; I was disappointed that the ABC TV broadcast looked better, and the sound level was inconsistent - and that first VHS was linear MONO.) And a bit of trivia - the very first laserdisc of MP was stereo, except for the horse race reel - someone flipped a wrong switch and that reel of film was in mono - not combined, but just the right track on both tracks. It was fixed on the subsequent realease which also had CX noise reduction (remember that, anyone?).

Of course I had the LP, and played it a great deal. It is worth mentioning that several of the tracks on the LP are alternate recordings, that have never been released on the various CDs, which contain the music only as heard in the film. Besides the longer Overture (which has an ending rather than fading into the scene, as in the movie), both "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Jolly Holiday" are alternates (and there may be others of which I am unaware). In "Sugar", there is more whistling (by Julie Andrews) and a vocal tag, again allowing the song to end, whereas in the movie it segues into the nursery sequence music. "Jolly Holiday" has slightly different banter between Mary and Bert, and no barnyard sequence. As much as I appreciate the 40th Anniversary double CD, which contains most of Irwin Kostal's genius underscore, I do wish they had included those alternate tracks for the sake of completeness. The Pamela Travers story meetings are interesting, but IMO would have been better as an audio supplement on the DVD, as they are about the whole movie, not just the music, and frankly get tiresome after one or two listenings. The additional space on the CD would have also allowed the inclusion of the Marni Nixon recording; while Julie will always be the one-and-only Mary Poppins, Marni's recording possesses its own charms and I would love to have it in pristine digital format. (And the storybook album was fun, too.)

Here is a picture of me on Christmas Eve, 1965, with a special present in the background.

 

[Charles Smith]

Okay, I think that one takes the prize for a Mary Poppins memorabilia shot!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Gotta say...

That's a cool picture. Priceless, in fact!

Thanks for sharing. Brought a smile to my face.

 

[KPmusmag]

Early days into this thread, but let the fun begin.

mp1.jpg

mp2.jpg

mp4.jpg

I'm not sure if these 35mm IB Technicolor scans are from an original or a re-issue print.


Doug.

Thank you for these scans; fantastic!

In 1990 I was lucky enough to attend a screening of MP in Costa Mesa, CA which was attended by Julie Andrews, Karen Dotrice and The Sherman Bros. It was a really supercal afternoon. Part of the fun was a tour of the projection booth after the film. The movie was on reels - not on a platter - and the projectionist, bless his heart, was wearing white gloves and handling the film very carefully. Here's the thing, though - it was on 70mm. He held a bit of the header up to the light and I could clearly see the Beuna Vista logo. I have never been able to find mention of this film being blown up to 70mm. Does anyone recall seeing it in 70mm? (By the way, the print had some wear and sound dropouts, but was overall gorgeous as I recall. 23 years ago; I can't believe it.)

Here is a small memento of the afternoon from the very gracious Ms. Andrews. She looked absobluminlutely loverly in a mid-thigh length, clingy black dress, with flecks of silver. Her hair was a very rich brown with almost auburn highlights, and the bluest eyes I have ever seen.

 

[Rob_Ray]

That IS a cool picture and it depicts a scene that was playing in living rooms all across America on Christmas Days in 1964 and 1965. I know it did in mine, though I was a gawky eight years old by then.

I enjoy the completeness of the latest CD version, but I do wish they would release the original 1964 soundtrack album on a second disc, as it's the one I prefer. For one thing, the film version of "A Spoonful of Sugar" contains a lot of visual "Mickey-Mousing" that isn't particularly enjoyable without any visual accompaniment. The soundtrack version is much more enjoyable as a aural only piece. And I believe Julie's last chorus of "Sugar" on the album is simply her earlier chorus repeated with new underscoring, but I cannot be sure.

I love Irwin Kostal's beautiful orchestral underscoring to the finale of "Pavement Artist" which fades out in the movie but is heard complete on the 1964 soundtrack. And the album version of "A Man Has Dreams" is a nice alternative to the film version. Frankly, to this day, I pull out my CD-R version of the vinyl soundtrack more often than I do the CD.

 

[KPmusmag]

"MARY POPPINS" in 3D??

mp5.jpg

Oh well, my fondly remembered View-Master, purchased at Disneyland all those many years ago.

Doug.

Call me obsessive, but I actually scanned my View Master of MP. Not 3-D, obviously, but fun to look at anyway.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Gotta say...

That's a cool picture. Priceless, in fact!

Thanks for sharing. Brought a smile to my face.

+1