chadhobbick wrote:In the list posted above about how the sets might be broken down, where does "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?" and "This is America, Charlie Brown" fall? I'm more than likely wrong here, but those were tv specials so wouldn't they be included somewhere on the sets?
Ah, I totally overlooked "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?" when I was making the list!
I have a feeling it'll be in a 1980s Volume One, which would give the set 7 specials (one of which is an hourlong special). It likely won't be on 1980s Volume Two, since there would be two hourlong specials there.
"This is America, Charlie Brown" probably will get its own release like what Paramount did.
albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
not2foul wrote:next month in Australia, they are releasing a 60th Anniversary set that will contain the C.B and Snoopy show plus I think 26 of the specials, which seems quite tempting. Its not released by Warners over here, its through a cheapy but good quality distributor who, I believe will use a decent transfer, and it will be quite reasonably price.
Magna Pacific released the 'Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show' and 'Peanuts' specials on DVD in Australia. Their video quality is decent, but they aren't remastered, and have no extras.
I added a complete list of Australian DVD releases so far, if it is any help.
The '60th Anniversary' DVD set looks like a bundle of the earlier DVD releases, with a single disc added, with three later Christmas specials (exact titles unknown).
So, I wrote a Blu-ray review of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" just for fun. Being a critic is one of the jobs I want to pursue at some point. Here it is.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Blu-ray Review
Movie: 5/5
Christmastime is here, happiness and cheer, time for all that children call the greatest Christmas special of ALL TIME! “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is the 1965 Christmas special that is a tradition for many families nowadays. It has been aired at least one time every year since it’s television release in 1965 and has seen multiple home video releases. The most recent one is Warner Home Video’s Blu-ray release.
For the lame people who’ve never seen this timeless special before, here is the rundown of the story. Christmas is in the air, and all of the children are happy except for Charlie Brown, who is depressed with the cheerfulness. When he sees the local “psychiatrist,” Lucy, she gives him the advice to direct the Christmas play at the school. When he gets to the school, he finds the play to be too commercial and not true to the meaning of Christmas. He decides to go get a Christmas tree to help with the mood. When he and Linus go and get a tree, they find many aluminum trees in an assortment of colors and one small green tree that is near death. Charlie decides that he likes this tree the best and brings it back to negative feedback. Linus then steps forward and shares the real meaning of Christmas.
Video (4/5):
Warner presents “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in a remastered 1080p High Definition transfer. The new transfer gives the special new life. Colors have never looked cleaner, and lines have never looked sharper. The transfer has a small amount of grain, but that is not removable and is wear from the source.
Audio (3/5):
The audio is presented for the first time in 5.1 Dolby Digital. It’s a very quiet track, so turn up the volume.
Special Features (3/5):
The first bonus feature, and the lengthiest, is the bonus special “It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown.” This special, which premiered in 1992, holds multiple story lines as Charlie sells wreaths, Marcie plays Mary and Peppermint Patty plays a sheep, Snoopy is a convenience store Santa, and much more. The special is not as good as the main feature, but it’s good nevertheless. The special is also presented in 1080p HD with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. With the giant time period between the original special and the bonus special’s releases, the bonus special actually looks better than the main feature.
The second bonus feature is called “A Christmas Miracle: The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas.” It profiles the short time that they had to develop and make the special, and it shows the creative genius of Charles Schulz. It is presented in standard definition.
The final bonus feature is a Bonus DVD Copy with all of the features listed above in standard definition. It also includes a digital copy for portable media players. Unfortunately, this digital copy is only compatible with PC media players, so the digital copy won’t work in iTunes or on an iPod. Yes, Warner is stupid and thought this would be the right digital copy.
Closing Thoughts:
I love this special. A lot. With that said, the retail price is $29.99. It’s sold in stores like Target and Best Buy for $25, and is currently on Amazon for $18.99. Comparing with the DVD price, it’s not that bad, but it’s still a lot for 25 minutes of main feature and 40 minutes of bonus. It’s a good package, just a little overpriced. Hopefully, Black Friday sales will bring down the price to something more affordable.
4 Stars out of 5
What do you think? What could I improve on in my writing?
In addition, from the stuff that I've read, DVD reviewers like to go into technical stuff when concerning the presentation. Print flaws may be there, but what about technical stuff like Aliasing, edge enhancement, or color-banding. Also, mentioning things about the soundtrack, such as speaker activity or clarity of dialogue also helps.
Remember, this is just stuff you commonly find in a DVD/blu-ray review and is just my advice. You've done very good so far.
The shortest Peanuts special ever, Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is now on it's very own DVD, after being a bonus feature on Paramount's R1 'I Want a Dog for Christmas' disc. This new DVD is exclusive to the american chain of CVS pharmacy stores. This also features the new to DVD special 'Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?'.
JiminyCrick91 wrote:The shortest Peanuts special ever, Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is now on it's very own DVD, after being a bonus feature on Paramount's R1 'I Want a Dog for Christmas' disc. This new DVD is exclusive to the american chain of CVS pharmacy stores. This also features the new to DVD special 'Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?'.
JiminyCrick91 wrote:The shortest Peanuts special ever, Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales is now on it's very own DVD, after being a bonus feature on Paramount's R1 'I Want a Dog for Christmas' disc. This new DVD is exclusive to the american chain of CVS pharmacy stores. This also features the new to DVD special 'Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?'.
Well, I looked for this at my local CVS and had no luck. I'll try another one. All of the Charlie Brown geeks in my area may have already tried to get it. Haha
Edit: Got this today at a different CVS! Does anyone know how I can take screencaps on a Mac. I'll share some if you help me with that. Thanks!
Last edited by zackisthewalrus on Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
i'm really hoping they continue releasing the volume sets of these great cartoons, i also hope they re-release the "this is america" series as well. i missed out on the first out of stupidity, i didn't know it would go out of print. my brother got it though. anyway i already have the 1960's and 70's sets. just got them today. well actually my dad bought it for me- it's gonna be my christmas present, so while i do have it i cannot see them til christmas which is when i will actually be receiving them. can't wait...
An overall opinion of "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales":
I'm fairly disappointed overall on the DVD. I know I shouldn't be since it's a CVS Pharmacy exclusive, but I don't know. Of the specials, the bonus one is better. 18 minutes is way too short for a special, especially a main one. CBCT looks like it was edited with Windows Movie Maker. The spine on the DVD says "Remastered Deluxe Edition," but it's obvious that these aren't remastered. The main feature doesn't look remastered, and it looks like the bonus special was converted straight from a videotape to DVD. "Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?" was a great story that showed how great the Van Pelts were friends with everyone else. If you love Peanuts a lot, go ahead and skip on this release. It shouldn't be too long before "Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?" is on a decade set. If you really need CBCT, go ahead and get it.
I got my copy at CVS yesterday. The transfer for "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales" was a bit improved from the previous release and the transfer for "Is This Goodybye, Charlie Brown?" looked kinda good.
I don't see why something as recent as "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales" even needs remastering, but it's disappointing to hear that "Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?" doesn't have a good transfer.
I've already got "Christmas Tales" from the old Paramount DVD for "I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown" and I'm not that desperate to see "Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?" again, so I'll wait for the Decades set.
albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
Cool! Man, I still need to get these! I have just had too much stuff to get (finally started getting the Looney Tunes Golden Collections, 1 and 2 so far), but definitely am going to start on these soon. I'm just going to hold off on buying any individually released ones and just get them as they come out through these decade sets...
So, I just got the '60's set today, and I have a question, or another list request for you experts (like Escapay) on apparently everything, ha. Of all the Peanuts animated material (another words, not including anniversary documentaries or documentaries in general), what Peanuts material will not (most likely) be in these sets. In other words, which Peanuts titles are feature films, and therefore probably not going to be in a decade set. Which are series (This is America, Charlie Brown? Is that a series? I was totally unfamiliar with this until seeing the Mayflower one on my Paramount Thanksgiving disc), and stuff like that. In other words, what animated Charlie Brown programs need to be acquired outside of the decade sets for whatever reason?
I also am curious about a live action video I remember that I used to see in video rental stores (but never rented) about a plush Snoopy doll traveling across the country. What the heck was that? Does anyone know? Thanks in advance.