Adventures
Of Ozzie & Harriet: Ultimate Christmas Collection 70th
Anniversary
DVD Set (2022/MPI)/E.T.:
The Extra-Terrestrial 4K: 40th Anniversary Edition (1982/Universal
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray DVD)/We
Baby Bears: The Magical Box
(2022/Warner DVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: C+/B/C+ Sound: C+/B+/C+
Extras: C+/B/D Main Programs: B-/A-/B-
There
have been some family releases for the holidays, but a bit fewer than
expected this season. Still, here are three of the better ones....
The
Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet: Ultimate Christmas Collection 70th
Anniversary
DVD Set (2022)
is the second of the new wave of releases of the classic hit TV show
in remasters with MPI, much longer than an older Christmas DVD we
covered eons ago and also for the benefit of fans and TV scholars,
the first look at choice remasters of episode from the third season
onward. You can read more about the show at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16149/Adventures+Of+Ozzie+&+Harriett:+The+Complete
You
get 12 half-hours, plus a bonus Day
After Thanksgiving
show, Rick Nelson singing The
Christmas Song
in 1964, Cast Christmas Spots and a very interesting 1984 Christmas
Special that combines old film clips with new (analog) color
videotaped segments and was part of a cycle (holiday and non-holiday)
for classic hit shows of the time. What makes this one hold up is
how thorough it is and the great interviews with various actors
throughout. The one especially interesting is longtime Lyle Talbot
(everything from drama to comedy to being the first big screen Lex
Luthor in the 1950s Superman
serial with Kirk Alyn and Mary Jane Kroft (who started in radio and
moved onto other huge hit comedies (I
Love Lucy,
Our
Miss Brooks,
The
Lucy Show)
having a particularly fun interview. This remains one of the best
such shows and I was glad to see it again.
The
1.33 X 1 black and white image on all the original shows, especially
the later ones, looks better than even I expected, even in this older
DVD format. Video Black and gray scale are solid, while the lossy
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono sounds pretty good for the format. Would be
more curious than before to see this in HD. The 1984 special is in
simple, lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
Sadly
as we were posted, David Nelson's wife on the show and for years in
real life, June Blair, passed away at age 90. Hope she got to see
these restorations.
Steven
Spielberg's E.T.:
The Extra-Terrestrial 4K
gets a second Ultra HD release for its 40th
Anniversary
that includes the new limited edition gift box set in the picture
above, a steelbook version, a version with a bendy figure and some
new extras. The picture and sound quality are the same (though why
do the models have more grain than I remembered in their shots?) and
you can read more about the film at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15053/Batman+and+Harley+Quinn+(2017/DC+Comics/W
Watching
the film again for the first time in a good while, without guns being
turned into walkie-talkies and a CGI E.T. that never worked for me,
the narrative economy of the film impresses, the cast is as great as
ever with chemistry all around and now more than ever, I can see
Spielberg knew exactly what he wanted and it is fair to say he had
the whole film in his heart and head when he came up with it, got the
script and directed it to the full.
Extras (per the press
release, but they're all good) include 40 YEARS OF E.T. THE
EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL: An all-new retrospective of the film and its
lasting legacy.
TCM
CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL: AN EVENING WITH STEVEN SPIELBERG: The
acclaimed director reflects on his career and the making of E.T. 40
years later.
THE
E.T. JOURNALS: Retrace the day-to-day experience of creating E.T.
from never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes footage shot by Academy
Award-winning cinematographer John Toll.
DELETED
SCENES
STEVEN
SPIELBERG & E.T.: Watch an interview with Steven Spielberg, as
he reflects back on the film and discusses his experience working
with the actors, as well as his overall and current perspective on
E.T.
A
LOOK BACK: A special insider's look into the making of E.T.
featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg, the cast, and others
intimately involved with the film.
THE
EVOLUTION AND CREATION OF E.T.
THE
E.T. REUNION: The cast and filmmaker reunite to discuss their
thoughts on the impact of the film.
THE
MUSIC OF E.T.: A DISCUSSION WITH JOHN WILLIAMS: Interviews and
footage focused on the long-standing relationship between John
Williams and Steven Spielberg.
THE
20TH ANNIVERSARY PREMIERE: Composer John Williams played the score
of E.T. live at the Shrine Auditorium for the re-release premiere of
E.T. This featurette gives us a behind the scenes look at this
presentation.
DESIGNS,
PHOTOGRAPHS, AND MARKETING
E.T.
Designs by Production Illustrator Ed Verreaux
E.T.
Designs by Carlo Rambaldi
Spaceship
Designs by Ralph McQuarrie
Designs
by Production Illustrator Ed Verreaux
Production
Photographs
Marketing
E.T.
THEATRICAL
TRAILER
and
a SPECIAL OLYMPICS TV SPOT
Last
but not least, We
Bear Bears
has been a hit for Cartoon Network, so going back to a trend that
especially hit in the 1980s and 1990s, they decided to make a spinoff
version with much younger variants of the hit characters. Panda,
Grizz and Ice Bears are here in in 20 episodes of the show, which run
229 minutes! That's plenty of show.
In
that, the series remains child-friendly and aimed at a very young
audience, they should be just fine with it. Older viewers might get
a little bored after a certain point, but there are no bad surprises
and that's that. Amusing and entertaining like its predecessor.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on all Bears
episodes have a good look and fine color like the original series,
while the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mixes sound fine, why no 5.1
mix? The combination is solid enough considering its in older format
on and older format and is as good as it can be here otherwise.
There
are no extras.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
