The Music Man SE??? (1 Viewer)

[Brandon_D]

Would anybody else like to see this classic musical in a two-disc DVD??

 

[Dane Marvin]

Very much so. The snapper version isn't entirely bad, but two discs and some great packaging would be sweet. Would be a great addition to Warner's 2-Disc musicals collection.

Living in the town that this "River City, Iowa" was supposedly based upon has made me biased to some extent.

 

[GlennH]

Yes, it was the first title I listed in my post in the Warner 2-disc SE survey thread.

 

[luke_ha]

definately a movie that needs an SE.

 

[Todd Phillips]

Yes. My answer is yes.

Current one looks bad on a large screen.

 

[jonathan_little]

Yeah, I've held off buying the current version since I figure this film is bound to have a special edition released someday.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Having played the part of Harold Hill nearly twenty years ago in my high school's production of The Music Man makes me biased to some extent as well.

The currently release suffers from excessive edge enhancement, IMHO. It's not an awful transfer, per se, but it is definitely about time for an SE of this title.

Link Removed

 

[Geo Gabor]

I have two beefs with the current DVD. The first is that the volume on the menus is way out-of-whack with the volume of the movie. I can't offhand remember which is louder, but if you've set your volume level to one, then the other is much too loud, or vicey versey.

The other is that the default action on the DVD is to play a commentary. What's up with that?????

I'd be thrilled with an SE.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Would like to see this revisited sans the ringing from EE on the current disc...

Otherwise, a stunning (current) DVD.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. I distinctly remember it's the menu volume that's louder than the movie, by the way. It's almost as bad as the "lion roar" opening on some MGM DVDs. Ouch!

 

[jonathan_little]

Oh but folks, Dolby says we can listen to a night's worth of movies without touching the volume knob thanks to dialnorm! :rolleyes

 

[RobertSiegel]

yes!yes! This is a great movie, and I hope that Warner Brothers will revisit this title. It's a shame how most musicals get the plain treatment instead of SE. Universal's release of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE had nothing on it, yet there is a 15-minute short released at the same time. It's nice to see these 2 disc special editions of the classics. I only wish that Fox would be so wise with films like Hello Dolly and their Cinemascope catalog.

I also think the transfers of musicals is improving. Anyone who is a musical fan, or quality dvd fan, should check out SWEET CHARITY, a 70mm transfer that is beautiful, but the soundtrack blew me away.

I would also like to see special editions of the Rogers and Hammerstein movies from Fox (Oklahoma, South Pacific, King and I, Carousel,ect). And where is FLOWER DRUM SONG, the only R&H movie not on dvd?

 

[TonyDale]

There is still the 1960's STATE FAIR to make it to dvd as well.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Ah yes, Tony, another musical set in Iowa that deserves a fine DVD treatment.

 

[TonyDale]

We've got the Iowa one; it's the one that's set in Texas that we're clamoring for:
Bobby Darin, Pamela Tiffen, Pat Boone, Tom Ewell, ALICE FAY (!) and of course, Miss Ann-Margret doing quite a number with "Isn't It Kinda Fun?"

 

[Dane Marvin]

Oops -- my bad. Do you own the one I was talking about? If so, is it a quality release?

 

[TonyDale]

It's technicolor perfection. Great dvd. You should also look into Image's ROGERS & HAMMERSTEIN: THE SOUND OF MOVIES.

 

[Paul Linfesty]

SWEET CHARITY was transferred from 35mm elements, which is proper, considering it was shot in 35mm Panavision.

 

[RobertSiegel]

Paul, thanks for clarifying that.

 

[DeeF]

From the Widescreen Museum:



The Music Man was made in Technirama. It was printed to 35mm 8-perf film (which moves through the projector horizontally), making it akin to a 70mm widescreen movie.

It is perfectly possible, though, that the DVD was made from a version of the movie downprinted from the original widescreen source.

The Widescreen Museum has a log of movies made in each of the processes , but it declines to mention how each of the movies was SEEN, i.e., whether some of them had 35mm prints, as opposed to 70mm prints.

The Music Man, movie and DVD, definitely needs some work done, restoring of the original elements and perhaps digital cleanup. The DVD could look much, much better.