Song Of The South - many projects, much info & discussion thread (Released) — Page 37

"SongS Of The South" 

Also, this project has nothing to do with "blackface".

SilverWook said:

Wow, RowMan! I don't think I've seen you around in a long time. Where have you been hiding? :)

Not hiding. Just life, wife, kids (2 now), and less free time than I used to have. I still follow a couple of projects here, though. Nice to know I'm remembered. (sniffle)

RowMan said:

SilverWook said:

Wow, RowMan! I don't think I've seen you around in a long time. Where have you been hiding? :)

Not hiding. Just life, wife, kids (2 now), and less free time than I used to have. I still follow a couple of projects here, though. Nice to know I'm remembered. (sniffle)

It is great to see you pop in here.  Glad to know this place is still on your radar with all you have going on.  I hope all is going well RowMan.

:)

There's a guy selling a 35MM print on 35mmforum:

Song of the South reel 4-IB tech. This seems long for a single reel of this film- may be part of reel 5 as well. About 2000' $100

Back when D23 was going on in August I attended a small panel about the restoration of disney films during which they showed a couple clips of a BEAUTIFUL scan of Song of the South intermingled in the presentation.  Of course very quickly everyone gasped at seeing it and got excited, at which point the guy explained that they aren't restoring it or releasing it, but that the studio wanted an archival scan.  This frustrated me to all hell because the couple clips they showed had very minimal damage and would be a very fast, easy cleanup and the colors were gorgeous.  The insistence of Disney to not release this film is baffling.  It would take maybe a couple of months to get it to a presentable point and would be easy profit for Disney and they STILL have no interest in a release because (to quote the presenter): "We don't make the decisions of what gets restored and released.  Corporate makes those decisions based on what they think people will buy.  Sad, and there are many things I would love to restore, but it is a business after all."

But for what purpose to fans if we will never get to see it. :( 

FrankT said:

Strange that they wouldn't want it released. What's stopping them?

They would have to explain some of the racial issues the film decides to completely avoid tackling.

Sometimes it's best not to, not many people other than a dedicated few are seriously crying out for Song of the South, hell a lot of people probably don't know it even exists. I've seen people refer to it as a 'lost film' but it got a VHS release.

Something I would love is if Disney decided to do some kind of Criterion style box set of the life's work of Walt Disney which included films like Song of the South where the general population may not have a huge interest in it, but it would be huge for collectors and film buffs.

Darth Lucas said:

Something I would love is if Disney decided to do some kind of Criterion style box set of the life's work of Walt Disney which included films like Song of the South where the general population may not have a huge interest in it, but it would be huge for collectors and film buffs.

 I would be interested in that, and I'd love it if it included all their disney classic animation films, unmolested from the rotoscoping/degraining restoration in their pure grainy form as they were presented at the theaters! (something that again most people wouldn't have interest in).

I would be extremely happy and moved if they looked like the new Land before time Bluray!

FrankT said:

It's a sacrilege that they'd withold it though - it inspired Splash Mountain, did it not!?

Heck, I'd go further and say withholding it propogates a racist narrative.  The film takes place in a post-slavery South, focuses on the damage bigotry causes on an individual level, and ends with a message of acceptance and healing.  I don't trust the motivations of anyone seeking to keep it from the public.

Cool! Thanks so much, poita!!

Those look great! Anyway, I think that the best way for Disney to release it would be to have the MPAA rerate it to something like PG and include some sort of video disclaimer.

That is one beautiful looking print! Hopefully at the least it could be used to patch some of the burned-in subs of the current copies, in terms of making a full presentation.

Holy crap, poita. That looks great!