Sleeping Beauty Movie

[PinkBudgie]

I have been wondering if Sleeping Beauty is worth it to buy on blu-ray. I already have some "deluxe" version from a few years ago. New movies on blu-ray are great, but I just can't imagine it would make that much difference since it is so old. Has anyone seen the blu-ray version? What did you think?

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Obviously I'm biased since we're talking about my favorite Disney film. However, the film has never looked better. It was originally filmed in Technirama 70, a format ratio different than the traditional widescreen (2003 version). Technirama 70 has seen tremendous success in hi-def conversion. For this release, Disney is using the original aspect ratio from the 1959 release.

I saw the film last August at the El Capitan. I never thought I would see it look so beautiful again. The only difference between the beauty of seeing it on the silver screen and in blu-ray was the size of my television.

Frankly, the bonus features on the blu-ray release are worth the price of the set alone. These bonus features are designed for fans of Disney animation and Dsiney history first. In fact those who want the usual "silly" games and bore an adult to tears features will be very disappointed in the almost complete lack of such features. And the film itself is absolutely beautiful in blu-ray.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Thanks, that is what I wanted to know. It is my favorite classic Disney movie. I have to check but I think my older one already has some of the same extras. I like the art work in this movie and the story. I believe this was the movie they had to invent a new kind of frame camera to make but I could be wrong. I just wasn't sure how different it could look with blu ray. I'm sure I'll end up getting it sometime.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Now that I know it's your favorite classic Disney movie, trust me when I say that you must get this edition. If you pass on it because you think you already have it, you will regret it when you see how beautiful it is on blu-ray.

In terms of bonus features alone that are new to this release:

All new audio commentary featuring Leonard Maltin(I think), Andreas Deja, and John Lasseter.

A new 45 minute long making of documentary.

A new documentary about Eyvind Earle and the his design for Sleeping Beauty.

Alternate openings and deleted scenes from before the decision was made to go with Tchaikovsky's music.

A documentary about the music in Sleeping Beauty(not the feature about Tchaikovsky on the first release, though it's also included here) exclusive to blu-ray.

A fun fact pop-up commentary (designed for both children and adults).

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough feature with both a walkthrough option and a how they created it option with Tony Baxter.

Note that I haven't even listed all the new bonus features here, just the ones that I found interesting.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Ok, I went and got my version. It is the Special Edition 2 disc set.

Fullscreen and Widescreen options

Disney art project- bleh

All new music video- bleh

Several games- bleh

Sing along- bleh

The Design, Lenord Maltin and others share their thoughts

Once upon a dream: the making of SB.

The Music- Mary Costa

Sounds like those last three may be the same thing on the blu ray. Not sure, but it sounds like there is enough extra stuff to be different. I've seen the new castle walk through and would love to hear more about that.

I think I know what I will be asking for on Mother's Day.

Thanks for all the good info!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Nope, they're different. The making of documentary on this edition is called Picture Perfect and it's much longer. The music featurette is more about some of the discoveries they made when they found the original master recordings and cleaned those up.

The 2003 release spent some time (too much in my opinion) talking about Sleeping Beauty's influence on Pocahantas. At times it seemed like they were trying to advertise Pocahantas. This time around they make sure that Sleeping Beauty the film is the sole star of the show. I also enjoyed seeing the thoughts from Pixar animators about the film.

The 2003 edition is certainly worth keeping because of the bonus features that were not included on 50th anniversary edition. I was on the fence about this release because I had the 2003 release until I learned about all the new features they had created for the 50th anniversary edition.

And yes, the artwork for the 50th anniversary edition looks like it actually came from the film as opposed to the mismatched colors and design on the 2003 release.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Ok, then. This sounds good. Glad they are different. I just hate it when it is the same documentary thing all over again. I think this is one movie I need to get again on blu ray. I'm so glad to find someone who knows the details of the blu ray version.

 

[wendylady36]

I absolutely love love love Sleeping Beauty on Blu Ray. Not for the special features, but for the picture quality. Every time I watch the Blu Ray version I have to get up close to my TV screen, the quality is amazing to me. I don't know what it is, I don't feel that way about my other Blu Ray movies.

 

[PinkBudgie]

That's good to hear! I just can't imagine how it could be that good when it is an old movie. But I'm gonna get it. I love the Pixar movies on blu ray. Cars was incredible!

BTW- we drive up to Lincoln to visit in laws and of course end up in Roseville often too.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Just had to update this. Today my boys got me Sleeping Beauty on blu-ray for Mother's Day. It is amazing!!! The detail and the colors are incredible! I don't know if the detail was always there but you couldn't see it or if they went back and did something to it. Maybe some of both. Sometimes you get older cartoons and they say "remastered" but you still see scratches and dirt. Not here, this is absolutely beautiful!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I absolutely love love love Sleeping Beauty on Blu Ray. Not for the special features, but for the picture quality. Every time I watch the Blu Ray version I have to get up close to my TV screen, the quality is amazing to me. I don't know what it is, I don't feel that way about my other Blu Ray movies.

I believe it has something to do with how Disney handled the blu-ray conversion since their blu-rays tend to look sharper than other companies. Another factor is the fact that Sleeping Beauty was filmed in Technirama 70. That format is wider than today's widescreen and has proved very successful in blu-ray conversion for a number of movies from that time period.

I think the detail was there originally, but was "lost" over the years. I wonder how many of the subsequent theatrical releases were shown in true Technirama 70 format. The 2003 DVD release was widescreen, but not Technirama 70. Widescreen movies can lose a lot of detail when reformatted to pan and scan and I believe a similar thing happened with Sleeping Beauty.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Well, I was impressed! I'm still watching it and haven't seen any extras yet either.

 

[daisy2jae]

buy the blu ray and sell the old one on ebay....so far all the disney dvds that came out on blu ray we bought and have loved everyone!

 

[PinkBudgie]

Yes, we are selling the older one on Amazon. We saw two versions of Bolt. The first we rented on blu ray and the detail was amazing. The second we watched the reg version with my inlaws on an older tv and I was surprised that the things you could not see that you could in the first one.