|
The Story
"Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of
all?"
"Fame is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely
maid I see.
Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee...
Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as
snow."
For children who are new to this all-time classic, they
will be thoroughly entertained and enchanted by this delightful fairy
tale. And for us lucky parents who get to share this magic with our
children, it's like watching it for the first time all over again, through
our children's eyes. Snow White is as fair as ever, and the seven
dwarfs have never been funnier. (My young ones can't seem to stop laughing
during chapters 12-15.) The songs are unforgettable, "I'm Wishing",
"One Song", "With A Smile and A Song", and of course,
"Heigh-ho". "Ah-ah-ah-ah-Ahh!"
The animation quality is amazing for a 1937 vintage
film. The character movements and gestures are impeccable. And
look at the running brook in Chapter 8 (at time counter 12:47 and
14:46). The reflection off of the water surface dazzles and looks as
though it has been computer generated. But you know it's the original
animation. That's why Disney is synonymous with quality feature
animation! I could go on and on, but you know what they say,
"a picture is worth a thousand words", but I guess in this case
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" as a full-feature animation embodies wonderful emotions that words can't begin to describe.
Even Grumpy would agree.
The Extras
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" marks the debut of
Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Platinum Edition series, which will serve
as an exclusive showcase for some of Disney's greatest animated
full-length features. One Platinum Edition DVD will be released each
year, complete with a restoration process that promises to bring back the
original brilliance of the feature film. The next release will be
"Beauty and the Beast" in October 2002. See what other
titles are rumored for 2003 and 2004 in our Upcoming
Releases page.
This two-disc set promises collectors a
completely immersive experience, with in-depth bonus materials that will
transport you into the world of Snow White, from its ambitious beginning in
the 1937 era. Roy Disney and the animated Magic Mirror act as hosts during the journey through an amazing amount of bonus
materials that spans this two-disc set.
Disc 1:
-
Feature film
-
"Guided Tour" by Angela Lansbury. I think folks new to DVD will
appreciate this guided tour (i.e., hand holding) approach to navigating
through this jam packed DVD.
-
Barbra Streisand's new rendition of
"Some Day My Prince Will Come" in 5.1-channel surround sound,
complete with highlights from the film (follows the closing credits)
-
"Still The Fairest of Them All: The Making of Snow
White" (40-minute documentary)
-
"Heigh-Ho" Sing Along with the karaoke style
option. Children will sure love this.
-
"Dopey's Wild Mine Ride" Game is a thrilling
rescue adventure with newly created animation that blends in with clips
from the feature film. The viewer helps Dopey navigate through the
tunnels of the dwarfs' mine in a rickety mine car to gather the other
dwarfs to save Snow White from the Wicked Queen. The Magic Mirror
hosts you through the mine ride with his hilarious comments.
-
"The Goddess of Spring" is a Silly
Symphony short animation and was used to test for the character of
Snow White.
-
Audio Commentary gathered from rare archival
recordings of Walt Disney himself, hosted by film historian John
Canemaker.
Disc 2: a 3-D animated map displaying five lands
to explore and the Mirror reveals the contents of each land as you
select the land with your remote the first time. If you select
that option by pressing enter again, you'll enter the land with
subsequent choices. Or you can select the Apple Icon and see the
listing of the entire contents of Disc 2.
Then there's a 14-page booklet that serves as
production notes and a written guide for the novice and experts alike in
navigating through the rich set of bonus features. There are enough bonus materials here to keep
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" fans busy for hours on
end. Sing with us, "Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho. It's off
to watch the bonus features we go."
Video & Audio
The image quality of this DVD is exceptional,
"pristine" doesn't even begin to describe the results of the
magnificent restoration effort. The picture quality is essentially
perfect and the result of a careful restoration effort, using the 1993 digital
source which originated from the 1987 restoration effort on the nitrate negative. The colors are accurate and vibrant, and
pay tribute to the
original theatrical release. Which, by the way, is presented in its
original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Obviously, 1937 is well before the days
of widescreen cinema.
Though the original English mono soundtrack is available,
there is an all-new Dolby
Digital 5.1 re-mix, which is purposefully conservative to preserve the
artistic integrity of the original film's soundtrack. In this 5.1-channel mix, most
of the mono audio is re-mixed for better imaging through the front three
channels, reserving the surround channels only for ambient effects.
The sound quality is excellent, as a result of the noise clean-up processes
during the restoration and re-mix effort. Both the dialog and melodies came through
beautifully.
Be sure to listen to Barbra Streisand's new rendition of
"Some Day My Prince Will Come" after the closing credits, complete
with highlights from the film. The imaging of the Dolby Digital
5.1-channel performance is mesmerizing and holographic, serving as a
brilliant introduction to multi-channel music for many home theater fans.
Conclusion
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" Platinum
Edition DVD is a gem, worth its weight in gold (or in this case, I should I
say diamonds). Don't hold out. Don't deprive yourself.
This is a delightful Disney classic, brought back to life in a
better-than-pristine condition, thanks to an all-new digital restoration
process that results in a sparkling picture and crystal clear sound.
Add this DVD to your collection and you too will "live happily ever
after"... It comes highly recommended.
|
|
Visit the Snow White
DVD web
site, Disney DVD
web site or the Disney
DVD technical assistance web site (or call 1-800-723-4763). If you
have problems playing this Snow White DVD on a PC running Windows 2000 or
Windows XP, check out this Microsoft
link.
Did you find this DVD movie review helpful? Let us
know your thoughts, send an e-mail to us at Feedback@TimeForDVD.com.
Send this review to a friend: click
here and an e-mail will automatically be composed for you with the link
to this page. Just put your friends' e-mail address and click on the
"send" button.
Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
|
United We Stand
