International The Secret of NIMH Eureka blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[titch]

Don Bluth's best animated feature is being released on a region B Limited Edition blu-ray 09th December from a "studio supplied master". The last time this was released on blu-ray, the video source was a DVD master, which looked unbelievably awful - even in 2011. Although nothing that deters me from purchasing a film, the cover art on the previous blu-ray was also atrocious: cutesy and infantile. The Secret of NIMH's gorgeous "golden-era" classical cel-animation is a real treasure to animation fans, and the story is gripping and moving, appealing to adults.

Eureka Video's limited editions are usually very good value, packed with supplements and a booklet. This one is no exception:

• Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring original poster artwork [2000 copies]
• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a studio supplied master
• Brand new audio commentary with animation scholar Sam Summers, author of DreamWorks Animation: Intertextuality and Aesthetics in Shrek and Beyond Archival audio commentary with director Don Bluth and producer Gary Goldman
• The Rats of NIMH – A new on-camera interview with director and animator Don Bluth
• Beyond Your Wildest Dreams - A new on-camera appreciation of The Secret of NIMH with animation expert and fan Stacey Abbott
• Courage of the Heart – A new video essay by children’s media expert Catherine Lester on motherhood in The Secret of NIMH
• Secrets Behind the Secret – archival featurette
• Theatrical trailer
• Stills Gallery
• A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Don Bluth and The Secret of NIMH by Peter C. Kunze, author of Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance

I'm looking forward to seeing the "new on-camera interview" with 87 year old Don Bluth! This edition, with the booklet and the lovely artwork on the O-card slipcase, is only going to be released in 2000 copies, so I'm pre-ordering - the price is $23, including shipping to Norway. I'm more than willing to take the chance that this is a new MGM master, for that price. By the time reviews come in, it will be sold out.

The Secret of NIMH | Eureka

eurekavideo.co.uk

 

[Konstantinos]

I bet it will be the same master. If It was a new one, it would say so in the description.
Anyway, I guess I'll order it too since I don't own this.
If I understood correctly the 2000 copies disclaimer refers to the slipcase and not generally to the number of copies made?

 

[titch]

I bet it will be the same master. If It was a new one, it would say so in the description.
Anyway, I guess I'll order it too since I don't own this.
If I understood correctly the 2000 copies disclaimer refers to the slipcase and not generally to the number of copies made?

Slipcase with booklet.

 

[titch]

MGM/UA have supplied an old master to Eureka - speckles abound throughout the film, although no major damage and it is nothing like the flat-out stunning BFI Watership Down 4k UHD (or the two Disney 4K UHDs released last year). The grain looks OK - I much prefer it like that, instead of being wiped out with DNR. Still, it's a lovely package, with some nice supplements. Hope I grow old as vigorously as Don Bluth!

 

[Interdimensional]

Don Bluth's best animated feature is being released on a region B Limited Edition blu-ray 09th December from a "studio supplied master". The last time this was released on blu-ray, the video source was a DVD master, which looked unbelievably awful - even in 2011. Although nothing that deters me from purchasing a film, the cover art on the previous blu-ray was also atrocious: cutesy and infantile. The Secret of NIMH's gorgeous "golden-era" classical cel-animation is a real treasure to animation fans, and the story is gripping and moving, appealing to adults.

I always found his two Spielberg produced features superior, but The Secret of Nimh definitely has more cult film status.

I hope this sells well enough to encourage more of his films to be remastered, because pretty much all of them have issues.

I suspect they may naturally have more inherent grain than other animated films of the era due to some of the in camera effects and multiple exposure techniques, but it would be good to see what a fresh 4k camera negative scan would reveal.

 

[titch]

I always found his two Spielberg produced features superior, but The Secret of Nimh definitely has more cult film status.

I hope this sells well enough to encourage more of his films to be remastered, because pretty much all of them have issues.

I suspect they may naturally have more inherent grain than other animated films of the era due to some of the in camera effects and multiple exposure techniques, but it would be good to see what a fresh 4k camera negative scan would reveal.

It probably needs restoration à la Watership Down. A fresh 4K scan from the negative would work wonders. This is old-school animation, on par with the early Disney classics. As Don Bluth said, he left Disney to make animation like this, because Disney's cost-cutting in the 1970s meant that they couldn't afford to make animation of this quality.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I have a complicated relationship with this film. I love the quality of the animation and the voice cast is great [including a VERY young Wil Wheaton and Shannon Doherty], but I was first introduced to the story by the Robert C. O'Brien Newbery Medal winning children's book, which is far darker and does not rely on a magical deus ex machina to wrap up the story. I'd love a remake, even if the book is a bit of a downer.

 

[titch]

I have a complicated relationship with this film. I love the quality of the animation and the voice cast is great [including a VERY young Wil Wheaton and Shannon Doherty], but I was first introduced to the story by the Robert C. O'Brien Newbery Medal winning children's book, which is far darker and does not rely on a magical deus ex machina to wrap up the story. I'd love a remake, even if the book is a bit of a downer.

Fair point. However, The Secret of NIMH is still generally regarded as a "dark animation" film. Did you want Don Bluth to go all Grave of the Fireflies?

 

[Traveling Matt]

I have a complicated relationship with this film. I love the quality of the animation and the voice cast is great [including a VERY young Wil Wheaton and Shannon Doherty], but I was first introduced to the story by the Robert C. O'Brien Newbery Medal winning children's book, which is far darker and does not rely on a magical deus ex machina to wrap up the story. I'd love a remake, even if the book is a bit of a downer.

I too was introduced to the story via the book, in middle school I believe, and found it vividly imaginative. Then we watched the film afterwards and it didn't match the picture in my head at all. I found it much darker than the book, which to me clearly conveyed a more bucolic setting and slower tempo. The film just dove into mysticism and magic that wasn't there in the book version, and also mostly ignored the humans/laboratory component (which is in the title). I still sort of enjoyed it though. It'd be nice to revisit.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Fair point. However, The Secret of NIMH is still generally regarded as a "dark animation" film. Did you want Don Bluth to go all Grave of the Fireflies?

It's not quite that. As Travelling Matt put, it, there's a bucolic feel to it, and the ending, while triumphant, has less of the deus ex machina vibe with a touch of sadness.

 

[Konstantinos]

This blu-ray seems to be out of stock at the moment at Eureka store, and I cannot find it at amazon either.
I hope it's not OOP.
I just asked Eureka in their facebook, hope they reply.

 

[titch]

This blu-ray seems to be out of stock at the moment at Eureka store, and I cannot find it at amazon either.
I hope it's not OOP.
I just asked Eureka in their facebook, hope they reply.

It's sold out. You'll have to wait and see if they release a standard edition. Why didn't you preorder it, when it was announced? It was only £16, including shipping. A 2000 copy Limited Edition run will sell out quickly.

 

[Konstantinos]

It's sold out. You'll have to wait and see if they release a standard edition. Why didn't you preorder it, when it was announced? It was only £16, including shipping. A 2000 copy Limited Edition run will sell out quickly.

Yeah, I know. I can't pre-order everything when it's available.
Anyway, they told me a standard edition will follow, and to contact their customer support in case a handful of these limited editions is available in their warehouse.

 

[Konstantinos]

I just managed to get a copy!
They've put 5 last copies online (after they contacted me).
First class customer service!

 

[Konstantinos]

Has anyone got this directly from Eureka?
I'm worried because it said about shipping that it doesn't have a tracking number.
So, they may leave it at my house and leave, right?