Have You Ever Seen Song Of The South?

[msadrakula]

I've watched it just recently and loved it. I have a copy of the PAL and NTSC format. I'm thinking about selling my PAL format since it doesn't play in US VCR's, but I wanted a copy of the original along with my bootleg copy.

[Chernabog]

Yes of course I have!
It has been in my collection since the beginning of the 90´s.
And the copies I have are legal too.

[Wonderlicious]

Have I ever seen Song of the South? Yes. I'm from England and Disney has distributed it on video and TV a couple of times. I think that the live action pieces are a little twee yet still kinda cute. I wouldn't say it's racist at all. The animated parts are AMAZING.

[jebsdad]

I last saw the film at the theaters in 1986.

I have a copy from the Japanese laserdisc.

I have always considered the animation in this film to rank near the top of any of the animated "classics". But the live-action story is less interesting to me. The live action is "OK" but a "one time viewing" for me. In fact, I copied the animation separately and usually only watch the animation when I want to watch Song Of The South.

[my chicken is infected]

It's one of my favorites. I obtained my copy from filesharing services since I don't have $50 to blow on a bootleg DVD or $300 to blow on a PAL video I can't even play.

[MutantEnemy]

Whats amazes me is that in 1994 they had no problem playing it at WDW. They showed it at Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground nightly movie showing... The good old days!

[Little Red Henski]

I own a bootleg DVDR copy of Song of the South. My mulatto parents also bought me a Song of the South story book & record when I was a small child.

[Class316]

I have a DVD of it copied from the Jap LD.

[disneyfella]

I saw it for the first time a few years ago. I purchased the dvd "under the counter" at a British store in Florida while I was working for MGM. It is a very imaginative and happy-go-lucky film. I understand some of the NAACP's hesitance with the release of the film, however I do NOT feel that censorship of that kind will benefit anyone. A release of the film is rumored to be soon under the Walt Disney Treasures banner. I feel that released in a certain context, the film can be seen as it was meant to be seen and not as segregational propaganda. Here's hoping we get to see it on our store shelves soon.

[That1GuyPictures]

I have now seen the film and believe that it is far from offensive.
If anything it is true to what the nation was used to at the time.
I believe that with the right historical context (yes, that means you...Leonard Maltin) that the film should be released here in america.
I'm not if favor of promoting a film like this all over TV like the usual Disney fare. I think a treasures release would be extremely fitting.

I just hope that someday I can watch it with a better transfer than the terrible one I have on a DVD.

(I know the JAPANESE LD is the best transfer available, but it's really not all THAT great, and I wish that they'd just remaster/restore it to it's proper form for DVD. The LD transfer is REALLY dark, and not all that colorful, and I'm sure that the original release prints were much brighter and colorful than this.)

[Lars Vermundsberget]

A release of the film is rumored to be soon under the Walt Disney Treasures banner.

I know that this has been mentioned, but are we talking about a "truthful" rumour here, or just wishful thinking turned into rumour?

[ohmahaaha]

I was fortunate enough to have seen it on the big screen back in the 70s, as I did nearly all of the classic Disney animated films up through The Aristocats. I'm pretty sure I went back to see it a couple of times at least while it was playing. This was back in the days where you had plenty of theaters where they only had 1 screen - imagine that.

[That1GuyPictures]

A release of the film is rumored to be soon under the Walt Disney Treasures banner.

I know that this has been mentioned, but are we talking about a "truthful" rumour here, or just wishful thinking turned into rumour?

As far as I know, it's just got to be wishful thinking.

Either way I think releasing it as Treasure is a pretty good idea!
And would probably stir up a lot less controversy.

[JaneMccoy]

I've seen it. I like the stories Uncle Remus told. Johnny was a little annoying to me because of his voice. But I was satisfied with the movie. I didn't think it was racist at all, but i can see how people can think it is. people just need to open up their minds to the movie and realize its from the viewpoint of that era.

after i saw the movie, i finally understood the whole splash mountain attraction.

[deathie mouse]

I haven't seen it but i hope it stops being "banned" in the USA someday so i can add it to my collection after a full Technicolor restoration.

The UK broadcast isn't horrible but it didn't look too exciting neither and it was cropped (zoomed in). With help from disneyunlimited I did a little dethistoration and we got the full 1.375 Academy frame back and some of the sparkle



capture courtesy of disneyunlimited

[I am the Doctor]

I purchased a legal copy of the UK PAL videotape before Disney took it off the market. Having watched both Song of the South and Gone With the Wind, I really fail to see how Song of the South is any worse than Gone With the Wind, which is considered by many to be a classic and has just received a new deluxe DVD release this week.

[That1GuyPictures]

The more that I have watched Song of the South,
the more I feel like I'm watching a kid-friendly
version of Gone With the Wind.
In some respects, I feel as though Disney
and his team were in some ways trying to recreate
the feel of Gone With the Wind in the live action sequences...
and weave their own magical animation into the hybreed.
The special effects are very impressive for the 1940's and
were at the time probably astounding.

I wish I had a better reference print with better color so
that I could comment further on the animation and set
design and so forth...but I really did enjoy the film, and
In my opinion it is probably one of the best live action
Disney films I've ever seen.

Disney is shooting themselves in the foot by not releasing
it on DVD, becuase every devoted follower of the film will
probably buy a bootleg, and everyone else probably won't care.

As for racism, Gone With the Wind is much worse,
and people hail it today as one of the best films of all time.

Disney should set the record straight by releasing it to the public,
instead of acting like it's something to hide.

The NAACP can say all they want about it, but the film still is art,
and deserves to be shown on DVD no matter how "racial" it may be.

Part of me wonders if Disney just didn't release it for so long so
that it could have huge buildup for it's first release. Someone
correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it ONE OF THE ONLY MAJOR
releases from the Disney Company that hasn't recieved a home
video release of any type in the US?

[MK Sharp]

I saw SOTS for the first time last year, and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. Admittedly, being Australian, I'm not intimately aware of the history and issues surrounding the Civil War and its aftermath. But there was no blatant denigration of the black characters by the whites.
Overall I thought it was a charming film, which just the right amount of schmaltz to bring a tear to my jaded cynical eyes.

Oh, and how did I see it? I *cough* taped it off the Disney Channel...

[That1GuyPictures]

"I'm sorry children, we'll have to eat cardboard and string this week - Daddy's just bought some more DVDs."

That is such an awesome quote! Did you make it up yourself?

[Barty]

Yea, i saw it... the only passage i really liked was the piece shown in the documentary on the alice ME dvd... but as a whole movie i didnt like it.