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Slow upload, please be patient
The Thief and the Cobbler - Recobbled Director's Cut - Revised Mark II, by ocpmovie
This is NOT a retail version. It's not any of the stomped-upon kiddie-only versions.
It is a painstaking visual & audio reconstruction of what was originally intended by famed
animator Richard Wiliams ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit").
With the workprint as a guide, many rare sources were used to give us the best (currently)
possible look at what SHOULD have been seen (and heard). Yes, parts of this look and sound
pretty rough, which is why we (and Williams) deserve to see this masterpiece properly
restored and completed.
Note - before burning:
The DVD-rom folder contains an Ifo & Bup fix, so that when the movie ends, you will be
taken to the "Special Features" menu (Courtesy of Doctor M). The original ifo/bup set
causes the disc to stop after the movie.
Running Time: 01:37:11
Stats: NTSC Anamorphic DVD-5
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Covers: Garrett Gilchrist, Mark Smith
Size: 4.38 GB (4,711,836,118 bytes)
Extras: Restoration Commentary, About, Deleted Characters, Image Galleries, Trailers
10% Pars. The rars have a recovery record. If you need more pars, reply to this nfo (limited time offer).
Md5 & Sha1 verification files included (see below).
http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=4256&STARTPAGE=1
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---This new version, Recobbled Cut Mark II, has been compiled after a
widescreen version of The Princess and the Cobbler surfaced shortly after
this version became widely available online. This was such a huge find that
Garrett felt compelled to recobble it once again, incorporating more of the
fully animated widescreen material that he just didn't have before.
The scenes which are most affected are the witch and war machine scenes,
which have been improved in quality. Also added - more "Deleted Characters"
footage of the Mullah Nasrudin and the Enchanted Ogre Prince.
From the three-time Academy Award winning animator of Who Framed Roger Rabbit ...
Restored version of Richard Williams' unfinished animated masterpiece, The Thief and the Cobbler.
Unofficial restoration by Garrett Gilchrist. This is not intended for profit,
just a fanmade research project and tribute to this classic film.
The film was worked on for 26 years, with a team of master animators like Ken Harris and Art Babbit.
This film inspired Disney's Aladdin.
Ruined versions of it were released as "The Princess and the Cobbler" and "Arabian Knight" (aka "The Thief and the Cobbler").
Trailer: http://rapidshare.de/files/13429755/ThiefRecobbledTrailer.avi.html
You can watch this entire restoration at Youtube, in low quality.
DVD cover art: http://www.orangecow.org/thief/cobbleramarayv3.jpg
Disc label: http://www.orangecow.org/thief/thiefdiscartv4.jpg
For the first time ever on video, enjoy the original version of this lost
animation classic, written and directed by three-time Academy Award winning
animator Richard Williams (animation director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit).
Nearly 30 years in the making, a labor of love by a team of animation greats,
this was to be the masterpiece of Williams career, perhaps the most ambitious
independent animated film ever conceived. The film was the inspiration for
Disneys film Aladdin, which proved to be its undoing. After over two decades of
work, the film was taken away from Williams when he couldnt meet his deadline.
It was eventually bought by Disney, recut and destroyed. It has never been seen
the way it was intended to be seen ... until now. Based on Williams' original
workprint, missing scenes have been restored using storyboards and unfinished
animation. Restored to its true form, this lost classic has finally been found -
for you at home.
Directed by Richard Williams
Screenplay by Richard Williams and Margaret French
Master animator Ken Harris
Produced by Imogen Sutton and Richard Williams
When Richard Williams was fired from his film The Thief and the Cobbler (after 26 years of work),
Fred Calvert was hired to finish it quickly and cheaply. He did an incredibly poor job.
His version was called The Princess and the Cobbler, later recut further by Miramax into
the nearly unwatchable Arabian Knight.
This "Recobbled Cut" uses footage from Williams' original 1991 workprint with higher quality footage
from Arabian Knight and Princess and the Cobbler ... this does include some lower quality Calvert
animation with the high quality Williams animation - it's easy to tell the difference.
The film has been carefully reedited to match Willliams' original 1991 workprint for the film,
and his original vision. Calvert footage has only been used if it conforms to Williams'
storyboards - in some cases footage has literally been reanimated frame by frame in Photoshop
to make it match Williams' scenes! The restoration in total took 4 months to complete.
Restoration from the editor/filmmaker who brought you Deleted Magic, SW Classic Edition, and
Gods of Los Angeles.
Story:
It is written among the limitless constellations of the celestial heavens, and
in the depths of the emerald seas, and upon every grain of sand in the vast
deserts, that the world which we see is an outward and visible dream, of an
inward and invisible reality ... Once upon a time there was a golden city. In
the centre of the golden city, atop the tallest minaret, were three golden
balls. The ancients had prophesied that if the three golden balls were ever
taken away, harmony would yield to discord, and the city would fall to
destruction and death. But... the mystics had also foretold that the city might
be saved by the simplest soul with the smallest and simplest of things. In the
city there dwelt a lowly shoemaker, who was known as Tack the Cobbler. Also in
the city... existed a Thief, who shall be ... nameless.
ANIMATION AMONG THE MOST GLORIOUS AND LIVELY
EVER CREATED! - The New York Times
Restoration and cover artwork by Garrett Gilchrist
Joeshrubbery writes: "Acclaimed master animator Richard Williams spent the
better part of three decades working on what was meant to be his masterpiece,
'The Thief and the Cobbler. After his success as animation director on
Who Framed Roger Rabbit' he was finally able to get studio financing to take
The Thief from a career spanning side project to full-blown production.
A stolid perfectionist, costs mounted and deadlines loomed with Williams
at the helm, and Warners eventually pulled out when Disney announced the
similarly themed Aladdin.
With funding gone, the film was taken from Williams by his creditors
and was completed by others (under the leadership of Fred Calvert),
cheaply and poorly while making massive changes to try to make it
more mainstream. This version only saw release in Australia and
South Africa, as The Princess and the Cobbler. Later Disney bought
it and heavily edited it again, in such a way as to make it appear a
cheap knockoff of Aladdin (instead of the film that's largely believed
to be the greatest inspiration behind Disney's film), while making it
almost unwatchable in the process. Released as Arabian Knight,
it was a travesty. This Recobbed Cut is a recent fan-created reconstruction
of the film as Williams wanted it, or as close to as possible. Based on a
workprint of the film from when Williams was nearing completion (shortly
before the film was taken away from him). Using the workprint, DVDs of
the two officially released cuts of the film, and other related elements
taken from various sources this Recobbed Cut reveals the masterpiece that
could have been.
[Snip]