Song of the South/Splash Mountain

[seashoreCM]

If Song of the South is officially released in the U.S., be prepared for its being edited (read: butchered). There might be a break here and there for an old fashioned silent movie slide with text explaining racism, or there might be a scene edited out here and there.

I am actually not a fan of mixed live action and animation (Roger Rabbit, etc.) but I do have and enjoy Song of the South.

I have the laser disk (like a 12 inch DVD) and the picture is superb. These laser disks are originals released in Japan and have Japanese subtitles through the songs and monaural English and Japanese soundtracks during the rest of the movie. (A rarer LD without subtitles was released in Hong Kong). These are seen from time to time on eBay.

Excellent DVD's and also excellent VHS's can be made from LD's. In either case a good comb filter, either in the LD player or in the recorder or in an intermediate box is needed. A comb filter in a TV will not help. For VHS you will almost always need an S-VHS VCR for best quality even though you are recording in regular VHS since most regular VCR's don't accept comb filtered (S-video) input and also don't comb filter very well themselves.

Unfortunately it is illegal to sell a regular DVD or regular VHS tape made from the LD even if the two are sold and purchased together. Rather only the original may be sold and the buyer has to have the equipment to play it directly or seek out a video production house or wedding videographer to do the conversion.

Video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Praying Colonel]

We have a copy. It is not one bit worse than Gone with the Wind. In fact, GWTW is worse. Not releasing it is silly.

Sandra

I watched it last night--a friend bought a copy at a local flea market yesterday. My first thought after it was over was that it was no worse than GWTW.

 

[centurythree]

I watched it last night--a friend bought a copy at a local flea market yesterday. My first thought after it was over was that it was no worse than GWTW.

The problem is that Song of the South is a Disney movie, and at this point the Walt Disney Co. has a reputation that just doesn't allow for movies with reputations like this one.

If Song of the South had been made by any other company, it would be widely available right now. (Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will are both available, and both are intentionally and unabashedly racist.) Song of the South would have had to have been one of the best movies of all time for it to be worth Disney's while to release it at this point. It's just not.

 

[rt2dz]

It has been so long since I've seen the movie, I barely remember it. I know I like the movie, but I couldn't tell you why I would LOVE to have a copy, especially reading this thread. Well, I guess unless one falls in my lap I'll have to just check out the books.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Also, James BAscket(Uncle Remus) was the first African-American to receive an oscar.

Actually, that was Hattie McDaniel, who won best supporting actress in 1940 for her role in Gone With the Wind.

Incidentally, she's Aunt Tempy in Song of the South.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567408/

I believe he was the first African-American male to receive an Oscar.

 

[Praying Colonel]

The problem is that Song of the South is a Disney movie, and at this point the Walt Disney Co. has a reputation that just doesn't allow for movies with reputations like this one.

If Song of the South had been made by any other company, it would be widely available right now. (Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will are both available, and both are intentionally and unabashedly racist.) Song of the South would have had to have been one of the best movies of all time for it to be worth Disney's while to release it at this point. It's just not.

I agree--while it's no worse than GWTW, IMHO Disney just doesn't want to deal with the PR hit they'll take, so they choose not to release it. So folks who want it end up getting from other sources.

 

[goofyernmost]

The problem is that Song of the South is a Disney movie, and at this point the Walt Disney Co. has a reputation that just doesn't allow for movies with reputations like this one.

If Song of the South had been made by any other company, it would be widely available right now. (Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will are both available, and both are intentionally and unabashedly racist.) Song of the South would have had to have been one of the best movies of all time for it to be worth Disney's while to release it at this point. It's just not.

Wouldn't it be nice if we, as a people, could just grow up and stop interpreting everything for hidden meanings? Wouldn't it be nice to just enjoy something for what it is and what it's broader message might be instead of what we think others might see in it?

Don't think I'll be around long enough for us to get that mature!

 

[palavra]

I agree with other posters who have said that the film is a great piece of Disney history that also deals with real history. I live in Eatonton, Georgia-the birthplace of Joel Chandler Harris and the unfortunately unnamed slaves that told him the stories. Harris saw fit to preserve these stories for our history. There is a great little museum in our town that has lots of memorabilia, including several original cells from the Song of the Southmovie. Splash Mountain was our favorite ride at MK. Whle I like the Br'er Frog character, I think Uncle Remus would have been greatly loved in this ride.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Thanks to everyone for so much great information to help answer my question. I have learned so much already!

 

[PanamaMike]

Actually, that was Hattie McDaniel, who won best supporting actress in 1940 for her role in Gone With the Wind.

I believe he was the first African-American male to receive an Oscar.

You are correct, and the Oscar he received was honorary..."For his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world, in Walt Disney's Song of the South".

 

[centurythree]

Wouldn't it be nice if we, as a people, could just grow up and stop interpreting everything for hidden meanings?

I don't think that would be a good thing at all. A people who did that would be intellectually and creatively impoverished.

Wouldn't it be nice to just enjoy something for what it is and what it's broader message might be instead of what we think others might see in it?

In the case of Song of the South, it's not just a matter of people thinking that others might be offended. Some people were, are, and will be deeply offended by Song of the South. At the time the movie was released, those people fell into two camps: the people that felt that the movie went to far in portraying blacks in a positive light and in showing blacks and whites "mixing socially," and those that felt that the movie perpetuated negative stereotypes of blacks and promoted racial separation.

Now the ideological heirs of the first group see the movie as an homage to the "good old days" and what they insist is the "banning" of the movie as proof that they themselves are now an oppressed group. On the other hand, the number of people who find the movie offensive in its depiction of blacks has grown exponentially.

Do I, as a film buff, feel that the movie has historical value? Sure. Am I glad that I've seen it? Sort of. I think that the animated sequences were great but I find the live action components quite forgettable. Do I really want my kids watching this movie over and over as they grow up? Not really, no. There are too many other works available with less baggage that would teach them about history (and Native American and African trickster legends) for me to bother with this movie.

 

[emmabemmainc]

I bought the dvd off of ebay for VERY cheap--like 15.00 cheap. It did come from China and was definitely a copy, but it is still very easy to watch.
To the PP who wondered why people were saying that it is not available here, well--it's technically NOT. You can't go and buy it in a store. If you are going to buy it online, you'll get a copy or a dvd from another country.

What is so strange to me is that you can watch a few Shirley Temple movies that are FAR FAR worse when it comes to stereotypes than SOTS and yet, you can buy them in the store. I let my daughter watch SOTS and the Shirley Temple movies and we didn't really discuss either--she's 7 and she knows that things are not like that anymore--and that the stereotypes are way overboard. I don't think people give kids enough credit. She knows what is right and wrong.

 

[kakiegirl]

This is just my opinion and that and 1.00 will buy you a coke. There are movies that have been released that offend me. Look at the way Southerners of all races are portrayed in alot of movies even today. I just exercise my option not to watch movies that offend me. Story telling in the old South was an art form that is being lost today. To alot of people especially those who love the stories of Uncle Remus it is a classic movie. One of Disney's major attractions is built around this movie. I can't wait to ride Splash again now that DD and I have seen the movie. I think it is a shame because of political correctness it will not be enhanced and released on DVD. If people do not want to watch it the certainly don't have to. I could be wrong but I do belive back during the anniversary of the movie awhile back Disney announced it had no plans to rerelease the movie at this time due to the sensitivity of the issue.

 

[glitterkittyy]

This is something my DD asked as a gift for her 8th birthday. I couldn't find it for her. I'd love to have a copy of it.

If we do not remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

 

[Robo]

This is something my DD asked as a gift for her 8th birthday. I couldn't find it for her. I'd love to have a copy of it.

If we do not remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Click HERE.

Understand that if you purchase a DVD, it will likely be an illegal copy.

 

[glitterkittyy]

Click HERE.

Understand that if you purchase a DVD, it will likely be an illegal copy.

Oh I know you're right. I wanted a legal copy hence why I didn't get one...all I found were bootlegs. I would love to see it released....legally!

 

[Robo]

Oh I know you're right. I wanted a legal copy hence why I didn't get one...all I found were bootlegs. I would love to see it released....legally!

Yes.

I have a legal LD of the film.

It is one of my favorites.

 

[glitterkittyy]

Yes.

I have a legal LD of the film.

It is one of my favorites.

Now I'm jealous! I saw it in the theater when I was a teenager (re-release obviously). My kids watch snippets on youtube. I'd love to see the whole thing again. We'll keep hoping!

 

[Wildflowerz]

Why Disney decided to create the attraction when they did, I do not know. However, I think it is worth mentioning that the Brer stories are not Disney originals. They were stories told by slaves and written down in the late 1800's by Joel Chandler Harris. According to Wikepedia, Harris was a white man who was born to poor parents and left home at 13 to become apprentice to a newspaper publisher and plantation owner and it was on the plantation that he 1st heard the Brer stories. Boy, I didn't mean to sound so much like a teacher!

You went there just before I was about to. I went to school in Milledgeville, GA and have been to the JCH museum close to there.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

I would love to be able to see this film. It really saddens me that Disney will not rerelease it in the US. I understand the reasoning, Disney doesn't want to be associated with the negative connotations and preconceived notions surrounding the film. Even if the film isn't that bad compared to others, it doesn't matter, Disney will be lambasted by folks who probably haven't even seen the movie.

Like it or not racism is very real. I live in the "deep south" and people here still fly confederate flags (and not for historical reasons). In light of that, many Americans are incapable of being mature and viewing a movie in context. While I would love to see the film, I understand why Disney can't/won't release it.