Darby O'Gill and the Little People DVD Press Release

Post by **Luke** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 6:09 pm

<center><img src="http://www.ultimatedisney.com/images/darby-header.jpg">

NEW TO DISNEY DVD ON AUGUST 3
Disney’s Legendary Fantasy

DARBY O’GILL
AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE

Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Sean Connery,
Jimmy O'Dea, Kieron Moore, Estelle Winwood,
Walter Fitzgerald, Denis O'Dea, Jack MacGowran, J.G. Devlin,
Nora O'Mahoney, Farrell Pelly</center>

BURBANK, Calif., June 1, 2004 – For the first time ever, Disney’s wonderful family classic DARBY
O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE comes to Disney DVD on August 3, with special bonus
materials. This live-action, sparkling fantasy gem is available on Disney DVD for $19.99 (S.R.P.) from
Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

In DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE take a wee bit of ancient folklore, mix in some
spectacular special effects and a magical cast, and you've got one of the most enchanting fantasies of all
time! A frisky old storyteller named Darby O'Gill is desperately seeking the proverbial pot of gold.
There's just one tiny thing standing in his way: a 21-inch leprechaun named King Brian. In order to get
the gold, Darby must match his wits against the shrewd little trickster -- which proves no small task,
indeed! Disney’s DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE casts a fun-filled spell of magic,
mirth, and nonstop shenanigans for the whole family.

The fine cast for DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE features Albert Sharpe; Janet Munro;
Sean Connery; Jimmy O'Dea; Kieron Moore; Estelle Winwood; Walter Fitzgerald; Denis O'Dea; Jack
MacGowran; J.G. Devlin; Nora O'Mahoney; Farrell Pelly. Written by Lawrence Edward Watkin.
Directed by Robert Stevenson, legendary filmmaker of such Disney classics as “Old Yeller.”

<center>
DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE
Bonus DVD Materials</center>

• Cast Member Featurette

• “Little People, Big Effects”
Discover the film’s wonderful special effects, which are still enormously enjoyable today.

• “I Captured The King Of The Leprechauns”
A look at Disney’s handling of the Leprechaun myth.

<center>
Some “Darby O’Gill” Fun Facts:
</center>

• Production on the 1959 film began in the mid-1940s when Walt Disney discovered H. T.
Kavanagh's "Darby O'Gill" stories and in 1946, sent artists to Ireland for background material.

• Leprechaun means little body in Gaelic, and according to legend, they are 21 inches tall, usually
dressed in grass green, 5,000 years old, and immeasurably wealthy.

• With the aid of lavish matte shots, the film was shot entirely in California.

STREET DATE: August 3, 2004
Prebook: June 22
Suggested Retail Price: $19.99 for DVD.
Feature Run Time: Approximately 91 minutes
Rated: G
Bonus materials not rated.
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1, formatted 4x3
Sound: Dolby® Digital 2.0
French language track: Available
French subtitles: Available
Spanish subtitles: Available

Walt Disney Home Entertainment is distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., a
recognized industry leader. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the marketing, sales and
distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, Dimension and
Buena Vista videocassettes and DVDs.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... vemz"><img src="http://www.ultimatedisney.com/images/darby.jpg">
Pre-order Darby O'Gill and the Little People on DVD</a>

<a href="http://www.ultimatedisney.com/darbyogill.html">Read our Darby O'Gill and the Little People DVD Review</a>

MickeyMousePal · Post by **MickeyMousePal** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 6:28 pm

I saw Darby O'Gill and the Little People on VHS and I thought it was great one of the best live action Disney film.
Sean Connery did a really great perfermance in this movie.
I would buy this DVD when it comes out!!!

Maerj · Post by **Maerj** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 8:08 pm

Its a cute movie for sure and there are some great special effects there, especially considering the age of the film. I personally tend not to trust Leprechauns, Genies and the like. Wishgivers tend to try to teach you lessons too often or even worse try to trick you and who needs that? I just want my wishes, thank you very much!

Joe Carioca · Post by **Joe Carioca** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 8:34 pm

This is a pan-and-scan job, isn't it? Shame on you, Disney!

Hmm, and I wonder if they are going to include the whole "I Captured The King of the Leprechauns" show or just some excerpts of it.

Maerj · Post by **Maerj** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 8:45 pm

Well, it was one of those 1.75:1 format films, those are usually fullscreen on DVD aren't they? I wonder if they will have the original Irish voices on the DVD or the dubbed ones without the strong Irish accents?

Post by **Luke** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 9:29 pm

I'm not so sure. This is from 1959, same year as Shaggy Dog. And just like that one, they're putting effort into the extras. So even if widescreen films started becoming the norm midway through the decade, I'm thinking there's got to be a reasonable chance that the Disney films were still being made in Academy Ratio.

This one was definitely not intended for TV, like Shaggy Dog might have been, but I doubt Disney would put effort into this release and do a pan-and-scan job. It just goes against all the Special Edition live action releases they've done.

But I don't know for sure.

Joe Carioca · Post by **Joe Carioca** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 9:43 pm

I don't know... This film had tons of special effects, so it seems more probable they would shoot it in widescreen. There should be a book in which we could find the original aspect ratio of all Disney movies - it would make our lives so easier, hehe.

Disney Guru · Post by **Disney Guru** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 10:42 am

Great Movie

Deffiantely another Disney DVD I will be buying

Joshua Clinard · Post by **Joshua Clinard** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 3:29 pm

The theatrical aspect ratio is 1.75:1. This DVD is open matte, which is just as bad as pan & scan in my eyes. Any alteration of the original aspect ratio is unaccaptable, and I won't buy it, as much as I like this movie.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:07 pm

If Josh is right, then that's upsetting. The cover art is none too pretty, either. I like the features though, and a purchase is likley on this one, though not definite. It's been YEARS since I've seen it.

Maerj wrote:I personally tend not to trust Leprechauns, Genies and the like. Wishgivers tend to try to teach you lessons too often or even worse try to trick you and who needs that? I just want my wishes, thank you very much

Yes, I tend to say "no thanks" and quickly walk by them when I see them on the streets.

-Aaron

Ludwig Von Drake · Post by **Ludwig Von Drake** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:41 pm

I am very glad that there will be bonus features and I hope they include the disneyland program about the making of the movie. I will definetly be buying this DVD.

buffalobill · Post by **buffalobill** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 9:16 pm

Article today at DVDFile says that Darby & Black Hole will both be released in anamorphic widescreen. I'm hoping they got it right because I really want to buy Darby but won't buy a P&S job.

Post by **Luke** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 10:42 pm

buffalobill wrote:Article today at DVDFile says that Darby & Black Hole will both be released in anamorphic widescreen. I'm hoping they got it right because I really want to buy Darby but won't buy a P&S job.

That would mean that Disney's own press release is wrong and DVD File is right, which would be kind of an unusual occurrence. Not that DVD File isn't right most of the time, but the info in this thread is from Disney themselves and not through an opinionated and fallible human filter. I mean they didn't even get the release dates right:

In Space... - 2:47pm

...No one can hear you scream. Or laugh. On August 24th, Buena Vista Home entertainment will release a couple of cheesy but beloved old favorites, The Black Hole and the Lucky Charms-inspired Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Both will get remastered anamorphic widescreen transfers and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks, their respective theatrical trailers, plus additional extras: a new making-of featurette on The Black Hole, and "Cast Member," "Little People, Big Effects" and "I Captured the King of the Leprechauns" featurettes on Darby O'Gill. Retail will list for $19.95 a pop.

From what I'm hearing, a 1.33:1 release would almost certainly be an open-matte presentation, and that's more than a little disappointing for such a highly-anticipated and long-missing DVD.

bmadigan · Post by **bmadigan** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:01 pm

Luke wrote: From what I'm hearing, a 1.33:1 release would almost certainly be an open-matte presentation, and that's more than a little disappointing for such a highly-anticipated and long-missing DVD.

What is open-matte?

Post by **Luke** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:04 pm

bmadigan wrote:
Luke wrote: From what I'm hearing, a 1.33:1 release would almost certainly be an open-matte presentation, and that's more than a little disappointing for such a highly-anticipated and long-missing DVD.
What is open-matte?

It means the film was filmed in a 1.33:1 ratio, framed for widescreen, and was shown matted to widescreen in theaters. An open-matte removes the mattes and allows you to see areas above and below the theatrical image and what was framed for it. Depending on how the film was shot, microphones and other equipment could occupy this area in certain scenes. In these cases, the film would be cropped like a normal pan-and-scan transfer to remove the unsightly items.

Generally, you'll lose a little but not very much on the sides, and merely gain picture above and below. But that's not always the case, and in any event, you're not getting the film as it was intended to be seen (the widescreen ratio that it was framed for and exhibited in).

disneyboy · Post by **disneyboy** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 8:55 pm

From WideScreenAdvocat.org

Disney Set to Release Darby O’Gill in Full Screen Only!
Sun, June 6, 2004

With Disney, you never know if a given DVD is going to be done right or not. It seems like the popularity of a title has nothing to do with the quality of the release. Case in point: Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Disney has just issued a press release for the DVD, which will be released on August 3rd, and guess what? It will be released only in full frame. Now I know that this movie is much more popular than some of the other classic films that have gotten the widescreen treatment this summer! What gives? The aspect ratio for this film is 1.75:1, and our best information is that this will be an open matte transfer. While it’s not pan and scan, we believe that any ratio other than the original theatrical aspect ratio is wrong. For those of you that have created your own mattes, you can make your choice, but remember, not everyone has their own mattes. You are also sending Disney a message with your purchase: it is okay to release titles in a modified aspect ratio.

Posted by: Joshua Clinard @ 02:22 pm
No Comments (Visited 2 times)

This is INSANE. The people at BVHV do NOT seem to know that the purpose of DVD is to be SUPERIOR to VHS. WHich means films on DVD SHOULD be in WS!!! Now we have this, FAMILY BAND, AND they are releaseing ELLA ENCHANTED, a movies that came out THIS YEAR in FUL SCREEN!
[/b]STOP THE MADNESS!!

Post by **Luke** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:05 pm

Their source is us. Might serve you some good to check out our front page: www.ultimatedisney.com. Merging with the existing press release thread.

disneyboy · Post by **disneyboy** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:27 pm

U mean u gave WideScreen Advocate the info.?

disneyboy · Post by **disneyboy** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:35 pm

What is open-matte?[/quote]

,"" framed for widescreen, and was shown matted to widescreen in theaters. ""

Does that mean they FORCE it into widescreen?? Like Gone With the Wind in '67??

2099net · Post by **2099net** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 2:44 am

They don't force it to be widescreen by matting it in the theaters, as it was shot and composed to be widescreen during the filming.

Historically, the reason films were matted on cinematic release (like Derby Darby O’Gill) is because the filmstock and shooting equipment for making Academy sized (4:3) exposures was cheaper than the special widescreen filmstock and equipment. This is because prior to the 1950's all films were flat Academy ratio and also because filming in full scope widescreen either requires special anamorphic lenses (which squash the image into a 4:3 frame) or special film stock (which again requires new special cameras). Anamorphic lenses are expensive as they are very complex and precise- they need to keep everything in the image in perfect focus while horizontially (but not vertically) squeezing the image. Just as some lenses for glasses cost more than others based on the comlexity of the lens, so do Anamorphic lenses.

Widescreen was "invented" in the 1950's to enable the film industry to compete with television. Films with a ratio of 1.66:1, 1.75:1 or 1:85:1 are often Academy sized exposures matted (just like most of the later pre-CAPS Disney animated films are). But just because a 4:3 image was filmed doesn't mean it was intended to be shown. Full 2.35:1 films are almost always specially filmed Cinemascope®/VistaVision®/Whatever films, as matting the image and blowing it up on the cinema screen to that extent would result in the grain on the image being much more apparent.

Nowadays some films are filmed in Academy sized exposures to make the transition to full screen transfers easier - the film studio is thinking of the inevitable home video, television and pay per view sales. If you watch some of the modern "making of" featurettes on DVD you'll probably notice the monitor the director reviews shots on have two framing outlines - widescreen and full frame. This enables the director to compose for the widescreen image, while keeping an eye on the full frame image at the same time.

Having a 4:3 image matted to a widescreen showing in the theater is not forcing the image to be widescreen. It would be more accurate to say showing the film unmatted is forcing the film to be full frame. Unmatted 4:3 films often have a lot of "empty" space at the top of the frame (for example outdoors, lots of empty sky is visible over the actors heads) and it really doesn't look right.

Matting is just the practical solution to filming widescreen on cheaper equipment or a compremise during the shooting for the inevitable television screenings, but the director almost always films with the widescreen format in mind.

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