Song of the South on Dvd Discussion & Speculation Thread

[Siren]

[Matt]

HI EVERYONE. THOUGHT I LET YOU KNOW THAT ON SONGOFTHESOUTH.NET THEY HAVE POSTED A RUMER OF A PREVIEW OF SONG OF THE SOUTH COMMING TO DVD ON THE PREVIEW SECTION OF THE 2-DISC DVD OF SLEEPING BEAUTY WHICH GETS RELEASED ON OCTOBER 7TH 2008. THEY HAVE A LINK TO THE WIKEPEDIA WEBSITE WHICH IS REPORTING THE NEWS!! ALSO ON THE PREVIEWS IS.....PINOCCHIO, WALL-E, PRINCESS AND THE FROG, TINKERBELL, BOLT AND SONG OF THE SOUTH. MY REACTION TO THIS IS.....ILL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT!!! ALTHOUGH I REALLY HOPE THIS IS TRUE.....I DO NOT KNOW HOW RELIABLE WIKEPEDIA IS AT THERE INFORMATION SO DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INPUT ON THIS?????

Has this been confirmed yet or we won't know unit the DVD actually comes out?

[SpringHeelJack]

Matt, I'm going to take a stab at this and guess that it's not true. If it ends up being true, I will *insert humiliating thing here*.

[drfsupercenter]

I've bought several copies of Song of the South. Ultimately they are from one of either two sources. 1) the latest PAL VHS release from the mid 1990s or 2) the Japanese laserdisc from around the 1990s. You can tell if it is from the laserdisc, because it usually has unremovable subtitles.

Utlimately the transfer is pretty good on both. It looks like the film went under some restoration before being released on video in the UK, but it still looks like a film from 1946. My favorite disc I have of the film DOES contain those extra features, but it has a different menu setup with songs and art and such (except instead of "Coal Black the De Sebbin' Dwarves", mine has "The Martins and the Coys"; the missing segment from Make Mine Music). Honestly, the 1986 re-release trailer is almost reason enough to get the disc if you can. It really is a fun trailer that, I think, displays the spirit of the film perfectly.

Both of these are bootlegs made by the same guy. I have both of them... If anyone wants them, just let me know.

It's actually not from a PAL VHS, it's from the Hong Kong laserdisc (which WAS a bootleg of the PAL VHS at one point). The problem with that is that it's 4% sped up and it can't be fixed since the DVD is NTSC.

But if it has those trailers and the Coal Black short, it's definitely the bootleg I'm describing. I get so sick and tired of how every site on the Internet sells that same disc and acts like theirs is the best one... they're all identical! And I got it for free!

Now, if someone actually has the VHS or laserdisc, then I could definitely use you

The problem with the BBC airing is that while it's restored and looks great, it was broadcast in NTSC speed, but PAL. That's the same problem with playing PAL at NTSC speed... you can't reverse it. It has a motion blur problem that's nearly impossible to fix.

So the best sources, I'd say, would be the Japanese laserdisc for the non-songs, and a slowed down PAL VHS for the songs. (Also, the Sing Along Songs tape with Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah on it is a good source for about 75% of that song since they failed to subtitle it)

[Matt]

Matt, I'm going to take a stab at this and guess that it's not true. If it ends up being true, I will *insert humiliating thing here*.

LOL I think we all will

[zackisthewalrus]

It's coming at last! The controversial 1946 Disney film, "Song of the South" will be coming to the Walt Disney Treasures line November 10, 2009. The film will be in a gold Walt Disney Treasures tin, and it will be the first ever volume in the line to be released in Blu-ray Hi-Def. The film will be fully remastered and restored to its original brilliance with up to 7.1 audio tracks.

Disc 1

The Movie - 94 Minutes

Audio Commentary with Leonard Maltin and Roy Disney.

Music Only Track

Deleted Scenes

Song Demos

Technical Specs:
English 7.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix (Blu-ray Only)
English 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix
English 2.0 Original Mono Track
Spanish 5.1
French 5.1
Subtitles (English, Spanish, French)

Disc 2

Mighty Satisfactual - A 90-minute look at Song of the South, the actors, the animators, Walt's idea, and the controversy surrounding the movie.

Fear - A 20-minute featurette at why the movie hadn't been released to a home video format until now.

Fan Interviews - Interviews with devoted fans Christian Willis, owner of SongoftheSouth.net, and Aaron Wallace, the creator of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Pod, a podcast about the Walt Disney Company.

Reaction - Interviews with African-American figures who show they're opinions on the film.

Restoring the Film - A 10 minute look at restoring the film.

Splash Mountain Ride-Through - Riding through one of Disney's most popular attractions.

A Look at Making Splash Mountain - A 5-minute look at design to building to becoming extremely popular.

Trailers/TV Spots:
1946 Original Trailer
1955 Nash Car Commercial
1956 Re-release Trailer
1956 Re-release TV Spots
1972/1973 Re-release Trailer
1972/1973 Re-release TV Spots
1980 Re-release Trailer
1980 Re-release TV Spots
1986 Re-release Trailer
1986 Re-release TV Spots

Putting Uncle Remus in Br'er Rabbit's World - A look at how they combined animation and live-action over 60 years ago

The Blu-ray release will also include BD-Live funtionality, and it will include a Bonus DVD Disc of the film.

DVD SRP: $32.99
Blu-ray SRP: $35.99

Then I woke up. *sigh*

[The_Iceflash]

Is this true?! If so this is exciting news! I'm gonna love Song of the South as a Disney treasure!

[zackisthewalrus]

No... Just a wish....

[The_Iceflash]

No... Just a wish....

Oh yeah. I just saw the bottom.

[ajmrowland]

[Mason_Ireton]

Sweet niblets...had me goin there I was like....FINALLY though if the film was released as a treasure I see the commentary, the behind the scenes featurette showing up...as for interviews bout the controversy (maybe) yet other than that..I'd buy the treasure set.

[carolinakid]

If it were any other company than Disney, that release you described would be a reality.
Warner addressed much of these issues when they bravely released The Jazz Singer on DVD.
Gone With The Wind and Holiday Inn (and other films of their time) are available witn no problems
WTF is Disney afraid of? And the hypocrisy is incredible as the film is readily available in Europe and Asia.
Maybe President Obama should make a plea for a release?

[ajmrowland]

If it were any other company than Disney, that release you described would be a reality.
Warner addressed much of these issues when they bravely released The Jazz Singer on DVD.
Gone With The Wind and Holiday Inn (and other films of their time) are available witn no problems
WTF is Disney afraid of? And the hypocrisy is incredible as the film is readily available in Europe and Asia.
Maybe President Obama should make a plea for a release?

Sure, have the president request a Brand new DVD release of a film he likes.

[stewie15]

Why would you do this? Its a waste of hope and space.

[goofystitch]

I thought it was fake when it said it would be on Blu-Ray, but I knew for sure it was fake when I saw that there was a 7.1 mix and a music only track.

[rexcrk]

To be honest... I have NO interest in this movie what-so-ever.

Yet, I have this strange desire to want to buy it if it ever became available.

Probably just to spite those PC morons who are so against this movie (you have no idea how much I hate censorship and political correctness)

[slave2moonlight]

Throw in some galleries (including merchandising) and that would be one sweet release!

[Mickeyfan1990]

That DVD idea would be so sweet without question!

[zackisthewalrus]

I've bought several copies of Song of the South. Ultimately they are from one of either two sources. 1) the latest PAL VHS release from the mid 1990s or 2) the Japanese laserdisc from around the 1990s. You can tell if it is from the laserdisc, because it usually has unremovable subtitles.

Utlimately the transfer is pretty good on both. It looks like the film went under some restoration before being released on video in the UK, but it still looks like a film from 1946. My favorite disc I have of the film DOES contain those extra features, but it has a different menu setup with songs and art and such (except instead of "Coal Black the De Sebbin' Dwarves", mine has "The Martins and the Coys"; the missing segment from Make Mine Music). Honestly, the 1986 re-release trailer is almost reason enough to get the disc if you can. It really is a fun trailer that, I think, displays the spirit of the film perfectly.

Both of these are bootlegs made by the same guy. I have both of them... If anyone wants them, just let me know.

It's actually not from a PAL VHS, it's from the Hong Kong laserdisc (which WAS a bootleg of the PAL VHS at one point). The problem with that is that it's 4% sped up and it can't be fixed since the DVD is NTSC.

But if it has those trailers and the Coal Black short, it's definitely the bootleg I'm describing. I get so sick and tired of how every site on the Internet sells that same disc and acts like theirs is the best one... they're all identical! And I got it for free!

Now, if someone actually has the VHS or laserdisc, then I could definitely use you

The problem with the BBC airing is that while it's restored and looks great, it was broadcast in NTSC speed, but PAL. That's the same problem with playing PAL at NTSC speed... you can't reverse it. It has a motion blur problem that's nearly impossible to fix.

So the best sources, I'd say, would be the Japanese laserdisc for the non-songs, and a slowed down PAL VHS for the songs. (Also, the Sing Along Songs tape with Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah on it is a good source for about 75% of that song since they failed to subtitle it)

My bootleg is a rip from the Japanese laserdisc (I'm pretty sure). The menu is Play Movie, Chapters, and Features. The "features" are just some things that the person who made it found on songofthesouth.net. Haha. And then the main menu plays "Song of the South," the features menu plays "Uncle Remus Says," and multiple other menus play other songs from the movie. Not too bad. Haha

[xxhplinkxx]

I just watched Song of the South tonight for the first time. Thank god for YouTube.