Dick
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- May 22, 1999
- Messages
- 9,937
- Real Name
- Rick
After years of frustration, trying to find a halfway watchable copy of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS from the (Dave) Fleischer Studio, I can put the search to rest. Steve Stanchfield at Thunderbean has rescued this visually lovely movie from P.D. Hell, with a sharp, richly saturated transfer, taken -- in Steve's own words -- from "a 1957 NTA 35mm IB technicolor release print that was printed using the Paramount technicolor negs. When NTA reissued the film they had the negs printed by Technicolor without any changes- then they cut the Paramount titles off each print and replaced them with theirs." Which is why the Paramount logo at the head of the film looks so rough and scratchy. But the rest is pure gold. I first saw this movie after paying a hundred bucks for a feature-length Super 8mm print, which was pretty awful (one reel was so dark it was hard to see any detail, another was too light), and have ever since been ambivalent about it. The Fleischer animation, as in the best of his Popeye shorts, is sumptuous, second only to that of his main competitor, Walt Disney. However, the story (an aspect of production for which Disney had a clear edge, as in SNOW WHITE of two years earlier), is weakly constructed and feels longer than its 76 minutes. The characters are either buffoons (both Kings and Gabby), or colorless and boring (the lovers, Gulliver himself). I can't imagine kids not getting restless watching the prince and princess - both rather poorly designed - holding hands and singing dull romantic songs. The title character is rotoscoped and looks jerky and expressionless. Gabby is obnoxious in the same way Walter Brennan could be in one of his more over-the-top performances, but does have the one memorable song of the film, "All's Well," which, along with Victor Young's pleasant underscore, was nominated for an Oscar. He's really the only character who has any personality, even if an insufferable one. But Gabby is beautifully animated. The reason to own it? Other than for the three "serious" characters I mentioned above, the art work is delightful. The angles chosen for the drawings and the use of "light" is imaginative and gorgeous, especially in the night sequences before, during and after Gabby's discovery of the Giant On The Beach. Notice the "placement of the camera" when Gabby walks along with his swinging lantern singing his signature song, and the way the light escapes between the boards of a bridge. There are several great sight gags, too, as he runs in terror from the unconscious Gulliver. I wish the remainder of the film had been as clever, but the layouts of the town and castle, and the general look of the film throughout, is detailed in the way only animation from that era tended to be. This transfer is incredible. Even on my 55" plasma it is sharp as a tack. I adjusted the brightness down, as the contrast is a bit weak, in order to accentuate the rich colors and to bring out the deep blacks. You'll be amazed, especially if you unknowingly purchased the horror that is the Botch Koch anamorphic widescreen edition. This beats out all previous DVD releases (and I think I've seen them all!) by a mile. The soundtrack is clear as a bell (original mono, of course). Well worth the price.
