DVDizzy Forum

What I'm curious about is the source of that DVD.

Is it the Japanese LD? Hong Kong LD? UK VHS?

Just got the Song of the South DVD from Classic Reels. It's the one sold at the the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton, GA.

Although the disc presentation and cover are very nice, the movie is a low quality PAL to NTSC conversion running 90 min 26 sec. The NTSC versions from MayanCastle and even my own conversion from a years ago PAL British broadcast look much better.

Bonus Features:

Radio interviews with Walt Disney and the cast (First heard on a popular DVD bootleg that's been around for many years.)

1972 re-release trailer (Menu says "60's trailer" - Can be seen on YouTube)

Behind-the-scenes footage (9 min. From a Disney website. Now can be seen on YouTube.)

Audio from the 1947 Tales of Uncle Remus records

Audio excerpt from a 1947 Amos and Andy Show featuring James Baskett as his character Gabby Gibson promoting Song Of The South

Also, it contains a Spanish audio track which is not listed on the DVD menu or the cover. You have to select it by pressing the AUDIO or LANGUAGE button on your player's remote.

Aint It Cool article, featuring a pic of James Baskett & kids on the Disney backlot (I've never seen this great photo before. Would make such a great DVD/Blu-Ray cover with the animated world background put in behind them... le sigh)
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/63717

DancingCrab wrote:I've never seen this great photo before. Would make such a great DVD/Blu-Ray cover with the animated world background put in behind them... le sigh

It's funny, because Disney already did that around 20 or so years ago when the film was continuously available in the UK and various other European countries (albeit with a wee bit of touching up).

Guess they decided there were one too many black people on the cover. haha

Well, in my opinion, I don't think Song of the South is a racist movie. Stereotypical, yes, but I don't think is that racist. Feel free to disagree, but that's my humble opinion.

I have several copies on DVD (Bootlegs, of course. I was looking for the best one and found it) and the original Euriopean PAL VHS (which I cannot watch ) as well as the converted NTSC VHS. I don't understad why Disney won't release it! It's such a sweet, beautiful and inocent film! I don't see anything racist or negative about this film. If Disney thinks it is though, they could just add a filmed disclaimer explaining the context of the film like they did for so many of the cartoons in the Walt Disney Treasures series when Leonard Maltin would introduce and explain certain cartoons that had sensitive content. I mean, there are tons of films that are available who are far more racist and offensive that this film will ever be. I hate that Disney is not giving us the option to decide on our own whether we want to purchase this film or not. They could also just release it as a Disney Excliusive on the Disney Movie Club like they did with its purported sequel "So Dear To My Heart".

Be sure to check out any computer or electronic 'shows' that may be coming to your town. Here in Wichita, we had this big three-day computer/electronics show that featured Laptops for $99 and up. They also had Home Theater in a box with a Blu-ray player for just $199. Of course most of their get-you-in-the-door-specials were of limited quantities, but even with that said, their prices were well below anything you could find at Best Buy or Amazon.com or even eBay.

While cruising around the different Blu-ray and HD Players (I didn't know they still made those) I stumbled on a huge table featuring, according to the salesperson, over 10,000 titles on DVD or Blu-ray. I spent a little over an hour there and picked up on Blu-ray, for $15 each, "The Flim-Flam Man" with George C. Scott and Michael Sarrazin; "The Final Countdown" starring Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Charles Durning and Katherine Ross; Walt Disney's "Song of the South", which was a two-disc Blu-ray set, and it is truly a Blu-ray Hi-Def release. It's picture is crystal clear and sharp as a tack with the very vibrant pictures that I remember when I saw this in the theater back in the 60's.

They had several DVD Disney titles in their collection of sales items. They were all priced at $10 or less. Everything looked like it was original, even the Blu-rays, as the came in the Blu Amaray style case. There were some very legitimate Disney and regular DVD titles available at the same tables. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to tell which is real and which boot, so I was very happy with the money I spent.

Hey, dvdjunkie!

Could you post a pic of your SOTS bluray find? How about a list of the disc contents?

dvdjunkie wrote: Walt Disney's "Song of the South", which was a two-disc Blu-ray set, and it is truly a Blu-ray Hi-Def release. It's picture is crystal clear and sharp as a tack with the very vibrant pictures that I remember when I saw this in the theater back in the 60's.

Wow, I'd be interested to know who was behind that? How did they convert the film to HD? That had to take some high tech equipment.

I would also like to know more about this bootleg Blu-ray set.

milojthatch wrote:

dvdjunkie wrote: Walt Disney's "Song of the South", which was a two-disc Blu-ray set, and it is truly a Blu-ray Hi-Def release. It's picture is crystal clear and sharp as a tack with the very vibrant pictures that I remember when I saw this in the theater back in the 60's.

Wow, I'd be interested to know who was behind that? How did they convert the film to HD? That had to take some high tech equipment.

Ditto! I'd love to own a good blu-ray copy, even if it is a bootleg! Where can you get one?

So Dear to my Heart is not a sequel to Song of the South.

First, WilbyDaniels is correct about "So Dear To My Heart", it is NOT a sequel to "Song of the South".

Now some bad news for everyone who wants pix or screen caps. Don't have a printer, so I can't scan or copy or send things like that. And if I had the capabilities I probably wouldn't know the first thing about how to do it. Even at the ripe old age of 73, technology passed me by many years ago and all this posting of pictures has me totally baffled.

Good news, I will tell you about what's on this wonderful, two-disc set. First, it looks like the cover of the UK VHS version except a little brighter and it is circled in gold. Also any reference to Walt Disney is gone, you just know this is the Disney classic by the art and the title.

As for the restoration, I can say that it is presented in both the matted 1:85.1, and it is anamorphic so those who want to watch the full screen version can, and then the wonderful 1:33.1 pillar box, and it has the Disney-View on it. It doesn't say it anywhere in the menu, it just says Anamorphic 1:85.1 and theatrical 1:33.1.

The mix of animation and live-action has never looked better than on this Blu-ray. Don't know who is responsible for this particular restoration, but they should be hired by the folks at Disney to take the place of those few who don't seem to care about their job and just transfer movies to Blu-ray haphazardly.

Now the contents of the discs:

Disc One: 1) "Song of the South"
2) Three trailers - the original release, the re-release to theaters, and a bonus trailer that tags this movie as it was scheduled to be released on VHS sometime in the 70's.
3) Audio only track of Johnny Mercer, his orchestra and chorus doing all the songs on the soundtrack. Really restored well, sounds like it was recorded yesterday.
4) Audio only track of James Basket guest starring on the Amos & Andy radio show and promoting "Song of the South".

Disc Two:
1) "Disneyland" television show excerpt featuring Walt Disney showing some unfinished scenes from "Song of the South", and early interviews with Ruth Warrick, Luana Patten and James Basket. (approx. 15 min.)
2) Censored out-takes now Un-Censored. Featuring scenes from Fantasia, Melody Time and Make Mine Music. It is so good to "Pecos Bill" unedited and completely intact. (approx. 20 min.)
3) The Ant & The Aardvark cartoon series. All 13 cartoons with a hilarious interview with John Byner included. (approx. 95 min.)
4) Donald Duck Wartime Cartoons which features 8 cartoons released during WWII featuring my favorite "Donald Gets Drafted". (approx. 50 min.)
5) Buzz Bee Meets Donald Duck which features five cartoons of Donald and that pesky bee. (approx. 38 min.)
6) Coal Black & da Sebben Dwaffs, the Warner Bros. send-up of the Disney classic film. This is the best copy I have ever seen of this great 'toon. And it has been restored beautifully. The sound is lacking a little, but much better than the DVD release.
7) Rare Walt Disney interview with Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten about the making of "Song of the South". Don't have any dates on this, but it is in Black & White and is showing its wear. Still awesome to have in the collection. (approx. 10 min.)
Trailers for "Kidnapped", "Swiss Family Robinson", "Tron", and the live version of "101 Dalmations" and last but not least "Treasure Island". (approx. 15 min.)

Hope this answers your questions about why I am so enamored of this release. All I can tell you is read the newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch television closely because those commercials for the Computer and Electronics shows are fast and furious. They usually run on weekends, Fri-Sun, and admission is usually less than $10. Here in Wichita, they charged us $8 for a two-day pass. So good luck, and I hope you have the same luck I did finding some movies you have always wanted on Blu-ray and wanted to save money at the same time.

dvdjunkie wrote: 6) Coal Black & da Sebben Dwaffs, the Warner Bros. send-up of the Disney classic film. This is the best copy I have ever seen of this great 'toon. And it has been restored beautifully. The sound is lacking a little, but much better than the DVD release.

Hope this answers your questions about why I am so enamored of this release. All I can tell you is read the newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch television closely because those commercials for the Computer and Electronics shows are fast and furious. They usually run on weekends, Fri-Sun, and admission is usually less than $10. Here in Wichita, they charged us $8 for a two-day pass. So good luck, and I hope you have the same luck I did finding some movies you have always wanted on Blu-ray and wanted to save money at the same time.

How is Disney able to publish a Warner Bros. short -- not to mention one that is politically incorrect.

I'm sorry to say that it is awfully suspicious that you found it at a trade show and no one has heard of a BD release for this film anywhere in the world. It sounds like a very well made bootleg.

GreatGreg wrote:I'm sorry to say that it is awfully suspicious that you found it at a trade show and no one has heard of a BD release for this film anywhere in the world. It sounds like a very well made bootleg.

It IS a bootleg, sunshine! And I want it more for Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs than for Song of the South ...

GreatGreg wrote:

How is Disney able to publish a Warner Bros. short -- not to mention one that is politically incorrect.

If you read the posts in front of mine you will understand that we ARE TALKING ABOUT BOOTLEGS!! Disney has nothing to do with this Blu-ray bootleg that I picked up at a traveling Electronics Show that came through Wichita a few weeks ago. I go to these shows to always see what interesting bootleg or regular issue DVD's and Blu-rays they might have. I happened to get lucky this time.

Please, Great Greg, and others, read more of the posts in a thread before commenting and making yourself look silly. Thank You.

Also on most of the Bootleg DVD copies of "Song of the South" that I have seen or owned, have the "Coal Black" short imbedded as a hidden Easter Egg.

dvdjunkie wrote: Everything looked like it was original, even the Blu-rays, as the came in the Blu Amaray style case. There were some very legitimate Disney and regular DVD titles available at the same tables. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to tell which is real and which boot, so I was very happy with the money I spent.

This is what makes the post confusing. It sounds like you think these blu-rays are legit.

Angeldude98 wrote: If Disney thinks it is though, they could just add a filmed disclaimer explaining the context of the film like they did for so many of the cartoons in the Walt Disney Treasures series when Leonard Maltin would introduce and explain certain cartoons that had sensitive content. I mean, there are tons of films that are available who are far more racist and offensive that this film will ever be. I hate that Disney is not giving us the option to decide on our own whether we want to purchase this film or not.

^ This so much

I mean South Of the South is a bit rough in places but it's no "Coal Black And the Sebben Dwarfs".

I would be very curious in that extra feature containing the uncensored scenes from Fantasia... as far as I know there was only ever one TV airing of that which was recorded and it looks really bad. Even with remastering you can tell it's a very old bootleg.

Man, I want that bootleg set now.