Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I dont blind buy, hence the Netflix membership.

Surely, you can take the word of the folks around here on North By Northwest. Or, is it not a quality question? Have you... ... never seen it?!

[garyrc]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I've been in love with the film since I saw it at the age of 15.

Understandable! I've been in love with it since I first saw it when I was 4 years old (1946). Fortunately my family guessed right in thinking i would not be too scared by it, and they were there for me in case I was. The version I saw then was probably monaural, and cut. Walt had said (re: RKO, when they demanded a shorter print) something like "I won't cut it, it's not a boy meets girl or a western .. let them cut it." I guess they did. I've heard that the charming "Introducing the soundtrack" sequence just after the intermission was missing then, perhaps more. Despite all of that, I attribute a lifelong love of classical music largely to Fantasia.

I was nervous going to see it in '64, because I was fairly sure that it wouldn't be as good as the film of my childhood that still haunted me, and that had invaded my dreams, repeatedly. It was better than I remembered it, partly due to the multi channel sound. I felt like standing and cheering. As we were filing out of the theater, a friend said, "Now that's the kind of thing that built Disney's empire!" Not literally true, at least during the first release, since it didn't make money right away, and only a few cities got Fantasound, but it did show the innovation, guts, humor and beauty that eventually built a following.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by garyrc

As we were filing out of the theater, a friend said, "Now that's the kind of thing that built Disney's empire!" Not literally true, at least during the first release, since it didn't make money right away, and only a few cities got Fantasound, but it did show the innovation, guts, humor and beauty that eventually built a following.

You know, Gary, every time I've seen Fantasia in a theater, audiences usually leave in stunned silence. I can't explain it - audiences leave the film as if they have witnessed something so profound, they can't talk. I think it is the twinning of "Ave Maria" and "Night on Bald Mountain" that creates a climax that dances on the spiritual. People leave and they leave as if they have attended Mass at St. Peter's.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Surely, you can take the word of the folks around here on North By Northwest. Or, is it not a quality question? Have you... ... never seen it?!

It's one of the very few "must see films" I've yet to see.

[Hep]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

It's one of the very few "must see films" I've yet to see.

I don't intend to influence a blind buy here Squid, but I watched it two nights ago for the first time and it was wonderful in all aspects .

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Hep

I don't intend to influence a blind buy here Squid, but I watched it two nights ago for the first time and it was wonderful in all aspects .

Thanks. I keep leaning that way because I have never seen a Hitchcock film I didnt like.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by garyrc

Understandable! I've been in love with it since I first saw it when I was 4 years old (1946). Fortunately my family guessed right in thinking i would not be too scared by it, and they were there for me in case I was.

Well, believe it or not I have a few memories of seeing Fantasia in Los Angeles in 1969...I was two.

It was quite scary to this two-year-old.

The mushrooms of Nutcracker Suite creeped me out. The Sorcerer's Apprentice scared me when Mickey was overwhelmed by the brooms and water...I thought the ocean was flooding the room! The Rite of Spring...Volcanoes & lava, then the T-Rex attack, and suddenly they were all dying in a desert. Night on Bald Mountain was flat-out terrifying and I thought it was never going to end...but I kept quiet. I was probably more scared of my Dad!

I also remember my folks complaining about an abrupt edit at the end of Ave Maria...

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

It's one of the very few "must see films" I've yet to see.

Wow. Squid, just buy it and if you don't like it, I'll eat it.

(and no pretending you didn't like it, just to see me eat it!)

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Well, believe it or not I have a few memories of seeing Fantasia in Los Angeles in 1969...I was two.

It was quite scary to this two-year-old.

The mushrooms of Nutcracker Suite creeped me out. The Sorcerer's Apprentice scared me when Mickey was overwhelmed by the brooms and water...I thought the ocean was flooding the room! The Rite of Spring...Volcanoes & lava, then the T-Rex attack, and suddenly they were all dying in a desert. Night on Bald Mountain was flat-out terrifying and I thought it was never going to end...but I kept quiet. I was probably more scared of my Dad!

I also remember my folks complaining about an abrupt edit at the end of Ave Maria...

Yeah, Fantasia doesn't end....it just stops.

I wish there was some way to make a random "mix" of sequences from Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Make Mine Music, Melody Time, Saludos Amigos, Three Caballeros, and the shorts like Destino, Grand Canyon, Lorenzo, Little Match Girl....maybe in 20 years.

[garyrc]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Yeah, Fantasia doesn't end....it just stops.

I wish there was some way to make a random "mix" of sequences from Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Make Mine Music, Melody Time, Saludos Amigos, Three Caballeros, and the shorts like Destino, Grand Canyon, Lorenzo, Little Match Girl....maybe in 20 years.

I'm not sure what his parents meant by "edit," but, in addition to ending rather abruptly (although less so when the sound is loud enough to make clear the full sound fade, and then the final swell), there is the actual small skip or shift as the multiplane moves forward. I heard that it was caused by an earthquake that occurred between cel changes, disrupting the alignment, and it was too difficult fix by the time of the oncoming New York premiere.,, and they just left it. This could probably be fixed with digital processing?

Is Destino available?

I assume you mean the Disney Grand Canyon that uses Grofe's music? Perhaps the studio would do a film like this. Excerpts from Disney's musical films would be impressive, especially the instrumental ones, with superb animation (or camera work, in the case of Grand Canyon) and couldn't hurt sales. Several of us would be happy to make one for them, given permission, restored elements, and the technology.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by garyrc

I'm not sure what his parents meant by "edit," but, in addition to ending rather abruptly (although less so when the sound is loud enough to make clear the full sound fade), there is the actual small skip or shift as the multiplane moves forward. I heard that it was caused by an earthquake that occurred between cel changes, disrupting the alignment, and it was too difficult fix by the time of the oncoming New York premiere.,, and they just left it. This could probably be fixed with digital processing?

Is Destino available?

I assume you mean the Disney Grand Canyon that uses Grofe's music? Perhaps the studio would do a film like this. Excerpts from Disney's instrumental musical films would be impressive, and couldn't hurt sales. Several of us would be happy to make one for them, given permission, restored elements, and the technology.

Never saw a visual gaffe in the Ave Maria - there was an earthquake during principal photgraphy using a horizontal multiplane setup, but this caused the unit to have to go back and start shooting the entire sequence all over, from scratch. And it wasn't the first time, because their first pass, someone placed the wrong lens on the camera, so you not only saw the panes of glass from the multiplane, you saw all the technicians zipping around. The Ave Maria you see in the finished film is the third pass, and they completed it, processed it, and raced the completed interpositive to New York, and then spliced it into the show 2 hrs before the premiere. True story.

Destino - I assume - will be part of the third Fantasia release, called Fantasia World. We are all assuming it will contain many experimental shorts made in the 90's and our last decade, shorts with a "Fantasia" bent, i.e. Destino, Lorenzo, The Little Match Girl, One By One...who knows, might even see John Henry show up. We'll see. Disney is being incredibly tight lipped about their Fantasia plans. It's driving many of us crazy.

Oh, by the by, those of you in Los Angeles can see Fantasia/2000 at the El Capitan in a few days, and the opening night has a filmmaker's panel prior to screening, and Destino will be included on the program. Damn shame Roy can't be there, but he'll be there in spirit.

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by garyrc

...

Is Destino available?

....

A DVD exists, but it is not publicly available. I have friends who collect Dali artwork and they somehow acquired the DVD, apparently from an art dealer. It is a Disney DVD with a lot of warnings prohibiting public distribution.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by wallendo

A DVD exists, but it is not publicly available. I have friends who collect Dali artwork and they somehow acquired the DVD, apparently from an art dealer. It is a Disney DVD with a lot of warnings prohibiting public distribution.

Probably the screener DVD.

[Pyoko]

I guess this means we can stop hoping for Japanese lossless on Ponyo. Thanks for nothing Disney.

I've read that the HK release might be 1080i, so I'll hold off and might still pick up the US release, but not until it's under $20. Cancelled my Amazon pre-order and stated reason, might also send an en e-mail to Disney.

[Jeff Kleist]

It's extremely unlikely that the hk release Is 1080i. All of the other Ivl releases of Ghibli have been the Japanese disc with Chinese added, as they are a subsidiary of Disney

[SquidPuppet]

Hi Jeff,

Preorders have popped up on Amazon UK and FR for The Road. Do you know who would be distributing those?

[svenge]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

It's extremely unlikely that the hk release Is 1080i. All of the other Ivl releases of Ghibli have been the Japanese disc with Chinese added, as they are a subsidiary of Disney

Well, according to a disc scan posted HERE the video is 1080i @ 25mbps.

[Jeff Kleist]

Confirmed, Ponyo is DD 640kbps Japanese only

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, according to a disc scan posted HERE the video is 1080i @ 25mbps.

It appears from some other data on the disc that the IVL version was done in HK, probably the usual screwups from those authoring houses there

On the Dali thing, Disney has a lot of internal stuff that never makes it out. That's where the Captain Eo bootleg came from

[Cplhicks]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Confirmed, Ponyo is DD 640kbps Japanese only

Well, this sucks. I hope you can still get an answer from Disney as to whether this was a screwup (standard templates) or was dictated by Japan/Ghibli. I'd like to know how this is going to effect future titles going forward...