Blu-Rays for Gone With the Wind and Wizard of Oz

[The Little Merboy]

Why waste money on a 'deluxe' five disc set with a collector's book and poster book and things that you will end up not ever looking at again for the time you own the set?

Well...it's their money.

Exactly.

I'm one of those people who loves poring through hours and hours of bonus material, so Warners can't include enough as far as I'm concerned...and this movie deserves every minute!

You took the words right out of my mouth

[Matt]

What is the difference from the new 2-disc set from the 2005 DVD edition? Is there really a need to upgrade?

[dvdjunkie]

Matt wrote:

What is the difference from the new 2-disc set from the 2005 DVD edition? Is there really a need to upgrade?

Even with a standard DVD, the picture quality will amaze you. But if you go the way of Blu-Ray then you really need to upgrade. The picture is phenomenal, and the sound is crisp, and pure and all of the magic of this wonderful classic comes to life again!

Escapay wrote:

The single-disc Wal-Mart version is simply Disc 1 from the 2-or-3 disc versions, actually.

You are very wrong there, Scaps. This is an exclusive to Wal-Mart and not anyone else. This is a single disc with over six hours of extras, plus the movie. I have looked at all of the other two and three disc sets and none of them have all of those extras that I listed on the first disc. So it is totally different than anyone else's single-disc version and well worth the money.

[blackcauldron85]

So, I haven't been keeping up with this thread lately, and I just read on page 3 (?) that the Gone With the Wind DVD will have the movie spread on 2 DVDs. That makes me sad. That was part of the reason I wanted to upgrade from my VHS to the DVD. Surely there's room for the whole movie on one DVD, right? I'll still buy it, but I'm disappointed.

[Disneykid]

Escapay wrote:

The single-disc Wal-Mart version is simply Disc 1 from the 2-or-3 disc versions, actually.

You are very wrong there, Scaps. This is an exclusive to Wal-Mart and not anyone else. This is a single disc with over six hours of extras, plus the movie. I have looked at all of the other two and three disc sets and none of them have all of those extras that I listed on the first disc. So it is totally different than anyone else's single-disc version and well worth the money.

Actually, Albert's quite right. Here's the breakdown. The Wal-Mart disc has this:

· Sing-along Track
· Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman (daughter of Arthur Freed), Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr (son of Bert Lahr), Jane Lahr (daughter of Bert Lahr), Hamilton Meserve (son of Margaret Hamilton), Dona Massin (MGM choreographer), William Tuttle (make-up artist), Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy, and Jerry Maren
· The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
· Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
· We Haven’t Really Met Properly
· Music and Effects Track
· The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic [1990 TV special]
· Memories of Oz [2001 TCM documentary]
· The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
· Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
· Harold Arlen’s Home Movies
· Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
· It’s a Twister! It’s a Twister! The Tornado Tests
· Off to See the Wizard
· 3 Vault Shorts
· Audio Jukebox Selection
o Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo
o Good News of 1939 Radio Show
o 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
· Still Galleries
· Six Theatrical Trailers

The Emerald Edition from Target and the Ultimate Collector's Edition boxed set has all of the above as well as the following:

· Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman
· L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain
· Celebrating Hollywood’s Biggest Little Stars
· The Dreamer of Oz (1990 TV special)
· The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)
· His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
· The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914)
· The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)
· The Wizard of Oz (1925)
· The Wizard of Oz (1933)
· MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary

So to sum it up, the Wal-Mart version has the film itself and all the supplements that directly relate to the making of it. The Target and boxed set versions include a second disc with vintage Oz films and documentaries and a third disc about the history of MGM. This page provides visual proof of this (notice how the Wal-Mart version outright says "Disc One"): http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3480

So, I haven't been keeping up with this thread lately, and I just read on page 3 (?) that the Gone With the Wind DVD will have the movie spread on 2 DVDs. That makes me sad. That was part of the reason I wanted to upgrade from my VHS to the DVD. Surely there's room for the whole movie on one DVD, right? I'll still buy it, but I'm disappointed.

Well, Gone with the Wind is a four-hour film. You can fit four hours of video content on a single disc, but it results in a loss of quality. That's not a big deal for bonus features, but that's a problem when you want to present the movie in the best way possible. At least they broke the film up at the right place. Disc one will have the first half of the film and the intermission. Disc two will have the entrance music and the second half of the film.

[ajmrowland]

So, I haven't been keeping up with this thread lately, and I just read on page 3 (?) that the Gone With the Wind DVD will have the movie spread on 2 DVDs. That makes me sad. That was part of the reason I wanted to upgrade from my VHS to the DVD. Surely there's room for the whole movie on one DVD, right? I'll still buy it, but I'm disappointed.

They may have to separate it because of a high bit-rate. And if it's anything like the LOTR, it'll have multiple audio options that take up space, and/or a lot of features on either disc part of the film is on.

[Matt]

So then it is good to upgrade? lol

[Escapay]

Which one, Matt? Gone with the Wind or The Wizard of Oz?

If you're going from DVD to Blu, both would seem to be worth the upgrade based on the Ultra-Resolution transfer alone.

albert

[Cordy_Biddle]

So, I haven't been keeping up with this thread lately, and I just read on page 3 (?) that the Gone With the Wind DVD will have the movie spread on 2 DVDs. That makes me sad. That was part of the reason I wanted to upgrade from my VHS to the DVD. Surely there's room for the whole movie on one DVD, right? I'll still buy it, but I'm disappointed.

They may have to separate it because of a high bit-rate. And if it's anything like the LOTR, it'll have multiple audio options that take up space, and/or a lot of features on either disc part of the film is on.

"Gone with the Wind" always have and probably always will have this problem. The original snapper-case DVD from Warners was a flipper (meaning you flipped the disc over during Intermission). The problem with squeezing a 4-hour movie onto a single sided disc is the loss of quality. The film would run at a lower bit-rate, and that would destroy the overall quality of the Ultra Resolution restored transfer, which Warners has spent a lot of valuable time and money on.

I wish we could see the whole film without the bother of changing a disc, but I think the restoration job will more than make up for that.

[Escapay]

"Gone with the Wind" always have and probably always will have this problem.

Except on Blu-Ray.

albert

[Cordy_Biddle]

"Gone with the Wind" always have and probably always will have this problem.

Except on Blu-Ray.

albert

Yes, there's the exception. Given Blu's higher storage capacity. The previous 4-disc SD release for 'Gone with the Wind' had the movie over two discs with all extras confined to the third and fourth discs. As you would expect, picture quality was amazing, with little or zero digital artefacts.

[Matt]

From the Wizard Of Oz 2005 release, to the new Special Edition DVD release. Does the Blu-ray come with a DVD?

[zackisthewalrus]

From the Wizard Of Oz 2005 release, to the new Special Edition DVD release. Does the Blu-ray come with a DVD?

The Blu-ray does not include a DVD of the film. It does include a double-sided DVD of "When the Lion Roars."

[CampbellzSoup]

I think at Walmart it comes with a DVD version of the film

[goofystitch]

I think at Walmart it comes with a DVD version of the film

The Walt Mart version is 1 Blu-Ray disc. None of the Blu-Ray versions come with a DVD of the film. The UCE is the only version that comes with a digital copy.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

This might seem like some ridiculous questions, but what is the best Blu-ray set with the most bonus features? I don't think I'll ever get the UCE, so what are the other options? And exactly what bonus material is in the Target and Walmart versions? And are there any other versions, besides those two, that are worth looking at? I don't want to spend too much but I would like a great Blu-ray set for this film. Thanks peoples.

[Disneykid]

Scroll up a bit on this page to see the complete bonus material listings. To make it simple: If you don't want the physical goodies but want all the bonus material, get the Target one. The Wal-Mart one is only the first disc of that set, and there's no other way to get all of the disc-based content without all the extra swag.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Scroll up a bit on this page to see the complete bonus material listings. To make it simple: If you don't want the physical goodies but want all the bonus material, get the Target one. The Wal-Mart one is only the first disc of that set, and there's no other way to get all of the disc-based content without all the extra swag.

Wow, I didn't even see your previous post (I guess I overlooked it). Thanks for the answer though; I'm pretty sure that I'll go with the Emerald Edition. Thanks again.

[AwallaceUNC]

Does anyone know if Target will have a lower-priced, no frills edition of the Gone with the Wind Blu-ray too?

-Aaron

[jpanimation]

Does anyone know if Target will have a lower-priced, no frills edition of the Gone with the Wind Blu-ray too?

-Aaron

I'm counting on it, only I hope it doesn't also come with When the Lion Roars (as it would be kind of dumb to get it twice as they've assuredly already bought Oz). BTW, DVDBeaver has a review of GWTW up and the PQ looks amazing:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/FILM/DVDCompar ... hewind.htm

I've got to wonder if Selznick used a higher quality film stock then MGM as GWTW has way less grain and ever so slightly more detail then Oz. Either way, when they drop to $25 or less (preferably $20), I'll be picking up the Target version of both Oz and GWTW. I'm also planning on picking up NxNW and BladeRunner, with those aforementioned titles, when they go on sale, hopefully on Black Friday.