The Sound of Music on 4K Disc? (1 Viewer)

Is there still nothing new about what time the Sound of Music will be released on 4K UHD bluray?

I wonder why it isn’t possible to find anything at all on the internet since this year is the 55 years anniversary for the movie.

Can the reason be that somebody already is aware that the movie will require another full restoration due to the wrong color and high cut of the sound from the 2010 restoration.

Looking very much forward to the day when we final get this movie right, with the vivid color I remember from 70 mm film.

It won’t be on disc, perhaps on Disney+.

I agree with Robert. No 4k disc release. Disney has put the brakes on 4k releases. Had Fox not been dissolved, there could have been a better chance, perhaps.

Robert Crawford said:

It won’t be on disc, perhaps on Disney+.

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Ronald Epstein said:

I agree with Robert. No 4k disc release. Disney has put the brakes on 4k releases. Had Fox not been dissolved, there could have been a better chance, perhaps.

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This is a cash-cow title for Disney so it has a better chance of a UHD release than a lot of other titles in the catalogue. From what I've heard, Disney plans to release future UHD titles on a case-by-case basis.

DVBRD said:

This is a cash-cow title for Disney so it has a better chance of a UHD release than a lot of other titles in the catalogue. From what I've heard, Disney plans to release future UHD titles on a case-by-case basis.

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Anything is possible. Due to this pandemic, who knows what is going to happen as these studios are bleeding money and are in need for more revenue streams.

DVBRD said:

This is a cash-cow title for Disney so it has a better chance of a UHD release than a lot of other titles in the catalogue. From what I've heard, Disney plans to release future UHD titles on a case-by-case basis.

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Absolutely.

IF Disney suddenly started considering 4k disc releases for Fox product, The Sound of Music would definitely have to be in their top 5 list. The only thing that worries me is that the last title they went with was HOME ALONE.

Looking very much forward to the day when we final get this movie right, with the vivid color I remember from 70 mm film.

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I saw this multiple times in 70mm when it was originally released, and the color never struck me as "vivid". It was typical "Color By Deluxe" Eastman Color, pretty natural looking, but certainly not Technicolor vivid.
Still, I would like to have a 4K restored version (even if there is little chance that the original color balance could or would be maintained due to the age of the original 70mm elements).

Vern Dias said:

I saw this multiple times in 70mm when it was originally released, and the color never struck me as "vivid". It was typical "Color By Deluxe" Eastman Color, pretty natural looking, but certainly not Technicolor vivid.
Still, I would like to have a 4K restored version (even if there it little chance that the original color balance could or would be maintained due to the age of the original 70mm elements).

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I agree with you the color is definitely not Technicolor vivid, but still more saturated and natural on the 70mm film I have been able to watch, compared to the earth look like color from this 2010 restoration which as far as I know is made from original elements.

The 2010 Blu-ray has a razor sharp and clear picture but unfortunately the color is very wrong, properly due to faded original material.

Kruse said:

The 2010 Blu-ray has a razor sharp and clear picture but unfortunately the color is very wrong, properly due to faded original material.

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Hello, Dolly! and The Sound of Music used to be more neutral in color balance than their Blu-ray versions and I can confirm that for Hello Dolly, that had a new print struck at Deluxe that was quite natural in color with no clipped highlights. I have since waited to catch The Sound of Music in 70mm but it has always eluded me for one reason or another. So the color timing was most probably not due to a faded negative but due to a deliberate choice by the colorist(s) and I am pretty sure that the color timing could be changed as it was for The King and I and a few other titles over the years.

I can't claim to know what the color timing should be, but yeah, the restored BD also always seemed at least a bit off to me. They went for a more golden, contrasty burnished look, but also made it a tad greener looking than I suspect it should be.

_Man_

Yeah , watched a little bit of SOM today and was suprised by the difference between what I've seen from film on a screen and what's on the blu-ray disc.
The results prompted me to use video scopes to dig a little deeper. The results seem to show that the mastering engineer didn't pay enough attention to the video scopes during the color grading of the master used for the blu-ray disc.

I apologize as these were taken with my cell phone. (Ignore the moire on the first and last photo). Last time I checked, clouds should be white, possibly tending to a nautral grey with maybe a hint of blue, not yellow. The video scopes clearly show that the red channel is hot, and the blue channel is weak, which means yellowish clouds. The entire film shows a red bias with weaker blues throughout. That would account for the "burnished" look, also the nun's tanned faces, etc. This could be easily corrected.

Resulting in white clouds and more natural skin tones.

These issues could easily be fixed without resorting to a full blown restoration.

All images copyright 20th Century Fox and are used solely for illustration.

I have read that in its initial release 70mm prints for SOUND OF MUSIC had two different color timings:
Rich colors more in line with the Technicolor look (the studio's preference) and muted colors with a slightly blue tinge (Robert Wise's preference). I don't know for sure this is true, but when I saw it in 1965 my memory is that the color was fairly soft and muted. I like the blu ray for its clarity but would agree there is something off with the color---Andrews' hair looks red. Let's keep our fingers crossed for 4k disc.

Sound of Music - 4k restoration official trailer

dannyboy104 said:

Sound of Music - 4k restoration official trailer

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This trailer is from the 4K restoration done in 2010, which look exactly like the Blu-ray.

I already see this 4K version in a theatre back in 2011.

Vern Dias said:

I saw this multiple times in 70mm when it was originally released, and the color never struck me as "vivid". It was typical "Color By Deluxe" Eastman Color, pretty natural looking, but certainly not Technicolor vivid.
Still, I would like to have a 4K restored version (even if there is little chance that the original color balance could or would be maintained due to the age of the original 70mm elements).

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I also the film 5 times in 70mm during the 1973 re-release and found the color subtle and delicate. Later that summer I saw it in 35mm and color intensity was increased and it seemed to garish to me.

The color on the blu ray looks brownish and forced. Also, it is missing many sound effects and music details. I'm not sure what happened. I also saw the film at the theatres during its original run and 1990 re-release and the colors were more subtle and natural.

Ronald Epstein said:

Absolutely.

IF Disney suddenly started considering 4k disc releases for Fox product, The Sound of Music would definitely have to be in their top 5 list. The only thing that worries me is that the last title they went with was HOME ALONE.

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They went with Home Alone and Hocus Pocus because those "restorations" were in the can already before the pandemic. Easy peasy to put them on disc. With Disney's announcement of focusing on Disney+ almost exclusively, the insider rumors on Blu-ray.com look to have been true. Disney is thinking of phasing out physical media except for their tip topiest best sellers and animated features. Fox will probably be ignored except if James Cameron finally gets Avatar, Aliens, True Lies, and The Abyss approved. Titanic seems to be with Paramount, at least for North America.

DanH1972 said:

They went with Home Alone and Hocus Pocus because those "restorations" were in the can already before the pandemic. Easy peasy to put them on disc. With Disney's announcement of focusing on Disney+ almost exclusively, the insider rumors on Blu-ray.com look to have been true. Disney is thinking of phasing out physical media except for their tip topiest best sellers and animated features. Fox will probably be ignored except if James Cameron finally gets Avatar, Aliens, True Lies, and The Abyss approved. Titanic seems to be with Paramount, at least for North America.

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I mean, this couldn't be that hard either. A new color correction and HDR pass on the existing 8K scan or even 4K master, and it would be pretty damn good. Would be a damn shame if this 70mm classic didn't get a chance to shine on UHD.

Ronald Epstein said:

Had Fox not been dissolved, there could have been a better chance, perhaps.

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Fox had been releasing this in different configurations about every five years as long as I can remember. I absolutely think that would have continued this year if they were still their own company.

Jake Lipson said:

Fox had been releasing this in different configurations about every five years as long as I can remember. I absolutely think that would have continued this year if they were still their own company.

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I was holding off on upgrading my DVD anticipating a 4K disc... but when Fox sold out to the Mouse, I gave up and bought the Blu-Ray. It is a great disc, especially for its vintage, but it could be a lot more.