The UK Announcement Thread

[ichabod]

As for Greyfriars Bobby, I'll bet that is simply a repackaging of the existing disc.

Yes that's what I thought, however in the past Disney simply does a second print run keeping the same cover and art regardless of how old the release is. So it seems strange that Disney would rerelease a title only 2 years after the original release with a different cover and even a new UPC.

[ichabod]

OK after Greyfriars Bobby got a rerelease something else has too, only confusion will reign!

The original DVD release of Flubber was pan and scan, hence the reason I never bought it, but today in ASDA I saw Flubber for sale and noticed its cover had been given a slight rejig. So I check the back and lo and behold it says 1.85:1 widescreen, so I bought and Yes it is anamorphic widescreen. However the tricky part is the new widescreen version has the same UPC (bar code) as the old pan and scan version, which explains why unlike the recent rerelease of Greyfriars the new Flubber didn't have a newer release date. So if you're a fan of the film but didn't pick it up because it was pan and scan, get down to your local ASDA where it's part of the 2 for £10 sale.

There any other Disney DVDs including:

The Incredible Journey
The Three Caballeros
Saludos Amigos
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad
Tarzan 2 Disc SE
The Black Hole
Melody Time
all of the Princess crap

[ichabod]

Well I got my copy of The Incredible Journey and it is anamorphic, I took some caps, because I know certain ones amongst you would only ask for them anyway!

[vanmunchen]

Is anyone able to say whether The Great Train Robbery is anamorphic?

[ichabod]

The Great Locomotive Chase is non anamorphic and has the exact same transfer as the R1 DVD.

[vanmunchen]

The Great Locomotive Chase is non anamorphic and has the exact same transfer as the R1 DVD.

Many thanks. Disapponting but saved me a pointless purchase.

[Enchantress]

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/1116900/ ... and+stimpy

Play.com have given a Ren and Stimpy season 1+2 release date for October!

Fantastic!

[Wonderlicious]

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/1116900/ ... and+stimpy

Play.com have given a Ren and Stimpy season 1+2 release date for October!

Fantastic!

Erm, it's not all that great, I'm affraid:
http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=60694

[Enchantress]

That does suck, I'll still pick it up though probably.

[Wonderlicious]

That does suck, I'll still pick it up though probably.

Seriously, I would get the Region 1 version though due to the censorship on the Region 2 version. I've been meaning to pick up the Stateside Ren and Stimpy disc for some time. However, John K does scare me a bit, so I hope there's not too much of him on the disc.

[Enchantress]

Is it just that 3-4 minutes that have been censored, or is there more? If it's alot more I'll probably go R1.

[Poppins#1]

I just recieved my region 2 copy of "Follow Me, Boys" from Blahdvd.com. They were very efficient. It was delivered to me in one week from when I ordered it, all the way from Jersey (wherever the heck that is, somewhere in the U.K., I think) and it was only £5.99 (about $11.30).

I made this puchase based on ichabod's comparison screencaps, and I must say it was a good decision. Compared to the washed-out, overly-cropped region 1 dvd (I had rented this), the region 2 disc is an absolute beauty. This transfer is zoomed out to reveal more image on all four sides (I would have preferred 16x9 widescreen, but I'm just happy that it is not plagued by the horrible cropping issues of the region 1 disc.) The colors are more vibrant and the picture is sharper and has much better contrast.

I should be receiving "That Darn Cat" in the next week, and I'm sure I'm going to be just as happy with that one.

Ichabod, do you happen to have the region 2 "Kidnapped"? I'd like to know how it compares to the Disney Movie Club exclusive DVD that has been reviewed here. I'm thinking the DMC version has been overly cropped as well.

[ichabod]

Seriously, I would get the Region 1 version though due to the censorship on the Region 2 version.

Did neither of you read the article carefully? it says that syndication prints were accidentally used for the R1 DVD, so that has cuts too!

[ichabod]

...all the way from Jersey (wherever the heck that is, somewhere in the U.K., I think)

Ichabod, do you happen to have the region 2 "Kidnapped"? I'd like to know how it compares to the Disney Movie Club exclusive DVD that has been reviewed here. I'm thinking the DMC version has been overly cropped as well.

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... 0&start=60



It looks to be open matte to me.

Also after receiving my copy of The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band something puzzled me and I gave it a bit of thought. The DVD is presented in fullscreen. Now the transfer is not what could be described as 'open matte' because there is not an excess of space at the top and bottom of the frame. So therefore one would asume that it would be pan and scan, right? However with pan and scan it is usually blatantly obvious because bits get chopped off both sides, however whilst watching it I noticed how all through the film everything was in shot and the framing didn't seem wrong. For example:



(there are better examples than this but I can't be bothered capping them) Frequently (as there are many 'performances' in the film) we see the characters lined up or arranged whilst performing, so naturally you would expect the unlucky ones at each end of the line to get chopped, but no all the line are clearly within the shot! Then I noticed something in Luke's review which is mentioned in the bonus features. This film was originally intended for TV, for the anthology show, but was instead blessed with a theatrical release! If intended for TV, could its actuall OAR be fullscreen?

It certainly is a conundrum.

[Poppins#1]

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... 0&start=60



It looks to be open matte to me.

Also after receiving my copy of The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band something puzzled me and I gave it a bit of thought. The DVD is presented in fullscreen. Now the transfer is not what could be described as 'open matte' because there is not an excess of space at the top and bottom of the frame. So therefore one would asume that it would be pan and scan, right? However with pan and scan it is usually blatantly obvious because bits get chopped off both sides, however whilst watching it I noticed how all through the film everything was in shot and the framing didn't seem wrong. For example:



(there are better examples than this but I can't be bothered capping them) Frequently (as there are many 'performances' in the film) we see the characters lined up or arranged whilst performing, so naturally you would expect the unlucky ones at each end of the line to get chopped, but no all the line are clearly within the shot! Then I noticed something in Luke's review which is mentioned in the bonus features. This film was originally intended for TV, for the anthology show, but was instead blessed with a theatrical release! If intended for TV, could its actuall OAR be fullscreen?

It certainly is a conundrum.

Sorry Ichy, I missed that post you made with Kidnapped. It definetely looks like a different transfer. But the framing is almost identical to my eyes.

You make good points about Family Band. I think the same could be said about Kidnapped. There doesn't seem to be any head room that would indicate open matte, yet nothing seems to be cropped off the sides either. If I didn't know better, It would appear that both these films were COMPOSED for 1.33:1. It's just hard to believe that given their theatrical origins, they would be filmed this way, as they would certainly have been matted by projectionists who didn't know better (assuming they were meant to be 1.33:1)

I was hoping maybe there was a clue in the differences between the two transfers. But alas, the mystery is unsolved.

[Wonderlicious]

Did neither of you read the article carefully? it says that syndication prints were accidentally used for the R1 DVD, so that has cuts too!

Well, there's less cut on the Region 1 set, anyhow...

[Poppins#1]

I apologize for taking this thread off-topic, but I wanted to amend one of my previous statements. My memory of “Kidnapped” from the Laserdisc of the 1990s was that it was not open matte, but rather cropped. After considering the opinions of Michael Miller in his review and ichabod, both who thought this to be open-matte, I decided to go into my garage and dig out the old 1992 Laserdisc. Since the Disney-Movie-Club exclusive “The Story of Robin Hood” is the identical transfer as the Laserdisc (as I stated in my review here), I’m going to assume the DMC-exclusive "Kidnapped" is the same as the Laserdisc as well.
After reviewing the Laserdisc, I am changing my opinion to agree with Michael and Ichabod that “Kidnapped” probably is open-matte. I’m basing this mainly on the opening credits, which just barely fit into the 1.75:1 matte area. Matting to 1.85:1 would definitely clip the credits. For the rest of the movie, matting it at 1.75:1 would be a little tight (which is probably why I originally thought it was cropped), but mostly acceptable. I think 1.66:1 would probably be a more comfortable fit, as it would give the composition a little more room to breathe.
Okay, my detour is finished. You can now go back to talking about UK Announcements.

[ichabod]

[Andy]

Ah, i forgot about Brother Bear 2.

Just out of interest whos going to buy The Wild just because its been added to the "classics" collection. Im certainly not, im just going to pretend it never exsisted....then i wont feel theres a gap in the collection.

[cornelius]

Ah, i forgot about Brother Bear 2.

Just out of interest whos going to buy The Wild just because its been added to the "classics" collection. Im certainly not, im just going to pretend it never exsisted....then i wont feel theres a gap in the collection.

Well I wish I could adopt your stance but it would gnaw away in my head. Thankfully I can use the excuse that I haven't seen it yet and it comes out the week of my daughter's birthday as an excuse for buying it. It can't be that bad surely?