Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968/MGM Blu-ray) + The Sound Of Music (1965/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: B+/B- Films: B-
Two of
the most commercially and critically successful movie musicals in the 1960s,
Ian Fleming wrote the original Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang book, while Rogers & Hammerstein created The Sound Of Music. It is no surprise then that they are two of
the first classic musicals to make it to Blu-ray. We have previously covered the deluxe DVD
versions at the following links, which will give you basic information on both
films for those unfamiliar to them:
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/535/Chitty+Chitty+Bang+Bang+(Special+Edi
The Sound Of Music
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2982/The+Sound+Of+Music+-+40th+Annive
The DVDs
were not bad, presented at their proper aspect ratios and the above DVDs are
included with the Blu-rays here, though MGM wisely dropped the obnoxious pan
& scan flipside of the Chitty
DVD. Both films are now presented in
1080p 2.20 X 1 AVC digital High Definition transfers (Chitty @ 20 MBPS, Sound @
22 MBPS) and they are the best looking transfers you will ever see outside of a
better 35mm or 70mm film print, with only a few reservations. Chitty
was shot in Super Panavision 70, while Sound
was Todd AO 70, two great formats with differences in lenses. Otherwise, they have a great look to them,
but both also have some soft edges here and there that show the age of the
original sources.
Also,
both were originally issued in 35mm three-strip Technicolor reduction prints
and I have seen such footage and stills at their best. The original 70mm versions have amazing depth
and detail as you would expect from large frame formats such as these,
including their own great color as color has a whole new realism and range in
large frame motion picture cinematography.
Color is good on both and better than their DVD counterparts, but not
always great or breathtaking. It seems
to lack some range, though color was a problem on the Chitty DVD seeming duller than it should and that has found its way
to here in some ways. Then there are
some great shots on each, showing the depth, detail and color at its best. Sound
was more of a location shoot and some of the mountain shots will surprise you,
while the famous flying car (it is the title character) from Chitty (when not featured in obvious
matte work) looks really brand new al the way.
Oddest of all, the race sequences look not unlike those in John
Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix (1966,
reviewed elsewhere on this site on DVD and the now-defunct HD-DVD format, due
soon on Blu-ray) also shot in Super Panavision 70.
But Prix looks better, as did the Fox
Blu-ray for the 1958 South Pacific when
we looked at that one and it is another Rogers & Hammerstein hit musical
film. It may seem like nit picking as it
were, but these transfers fall just a little bit short, but this will only
bother some fans. Everyone else should
be impressed and even amazed for the most part and I could not imagine them
looking much better than they do here.
In a
first for older 6-track magnetic stereo films, both Blu-rays have DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 7.1 upgrades over their previous DVD and other home video
releases, offering all-new sound for these Blu-ray releases. This is the first time this has been done
with films that used the old Todd AO 70mm sound configuration, which places
five of the six tracks behind the screen allowing traveling dialogue and
traveling sound effects. In both cases,
they are impressive upgrades, recreating the sensation that audiences must have
felt seeing the films in big 70mm movie houses, with soundfields that do not
sound lacking, choppy or inaccurate.
Being
musicals, there were more tracks to work with than there might have been
otherwise, but the lossless nature of the DTS-MA format shows more obviously how
the dialogue was often looped (recorded over again in post production) and how
the music (as was the case in musicals into the 1980s) has better recording and
playback quality than the dialogue, with sound effects left somewhere in
between. Purists might reject these
options (Chitty has Dolby Digital
4.0 option on both format versions, along with a 5.1 Dolby mix the new DTS
narrowly outdoes), but I have to admit that the differences in quality have a
smoothness in between them I was not expecting any more than that the 7.1 would
actually work. The result is that both
films sound better than anyone making them at the time could have ever imagined
and fans will be stunned. Audiophiles
who might have wanted 200 gram vinyl or Super Audio CDs of the soundtracks will
be shocked at how rich the sound is here.
I guess
we should expect this from more 6-track stereo 70mm films from the period to
the Dolby era since this worked so well, but it might not be for every
film. I still recommend all the studios
try it out for their upcoming Blu-rays of such material.
That
leaves the extras that include the same as their DVD counterparts, but Chitty has new interactive games on its
Blu-ray and Sound has new Blu-ray
features including BD Live interactive features with a new addition (Laura
Benanti on The Sound of Music), plus an all-new Your Favorite Things interactive way to get into the film, Musical Stages: Creating The Sound Of Music
featurette (in multiple parts), A City Of
Song virtual map of Salzburg, Austria and the filming locations and Rare
Treasures in multiple parts. It is a
nice upgrade all the Rogers & Hammerstein films should get on Blu-ray.
The
deluxe, collectible Sound Of Music Blu-ray
gift set includes a CD soundtrack, program reproduction, Salzburg cards, music box (!!!) and new book co-written
by Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall. Like
the Warner Blu-ray gift boxes of Gone
With The Wind and Wizard Of Oz,
this would be the preferred version for serious fans. Chitty
does not get this kind of set, but if it ever does, a special diecast version
of the car would be nice.
- Nicholas Sheffo
