Info: 'Captain Eo' - Laserdisc on Ebay; the movie or documentary? — Page 2

It's pretty fascinating that both a laserdisc and a 70mm print exists of Captain Eo.

The laserdisc had to be used for daily use in the park.  There is no way a 70mm print would have survived daily showings for years.  It would be fantastic if more of those laserdiscs were to leak out into the market.  How many could there be?

The 70mm print could have been used in the creation of the laserdisc.  So back in 1986 the film was transferred to 70mm and from there transferred to disc.  The ebay listing says the 70mm print was viewed at least once in New York.  Maybe some kind of industry screening for those on the East Coast.  If anything, that 70mm print is far rarer then the laserdisc.

It's also unfortunate that the MTV showing was full screen while the telecine was 2:35:1 or near it.  Also there are deleted scenes from Captain Eo we haven't seen.  In the Making of special it shows Angelica Houston Knighting Michael with a sword.  This doesn't exist in the final version.

SilverWook said:

Disney used to have to make a lot of prints. Don't forget Star Tours originally used 70mm as well, and rides like The Haunted Mansion once used 16mm film loops for many of the "live" ghosts. I used to know where to look on that ride to spot the film projectors, and they were replaced with video projection sometime in the mid 80's.

There was an abbreviated version of the making of that played in the ride queue on tv monitors. That's what I suspect the Laserdisc might be from.

They never would have used LD to project the movie in the actual attraction.

 Fascinating stuff, I wonder how many prints had to be replaced and if they were always 70mm for Star Tours and Captain Eo?  

i guess laserdisc would not have held up on that large a screen.  I was thinking the wear and tear of film use would have caused them to maybe use it.

Its too bad that laserdisc from ebay is now lost in someone's collection and not shared in some way like the EditDroid disc.

I don't know how often the prints had to be replaced. I have read forum posts from the early 2000s complaining about the print condition of Star Tours, but when I saw it in 2010 a couple months before it closed, I thought it still looked decent.

Captain EO had new prints struck for every park when it was brought back (though I would not be surprised to find out those prints are still the ones they're showing now).

I know when EO was brought back following Jackson's death there were articles touting the return of a 70mm print. Not sure how long that lasted though, since you'd assume by now they'd go digital but who knows.

I have a WDW Annual Pass and have seen the Captain EO Tribute show numerous times. There is usually an announcer who does a spiel before the film starts and from what I recall, I believe it is stated that an "Original 1986 70mm Print" is used to project the show. From the many times I've seen it in the last 3 years, the film maintains a fairly clean appearance with a few speckles here and there but nothing overly distracting.

Also, if I remember correctly didn't the main ride film for Back To The Future: The Ride surface on a Laserdisc as well? I'm pretty sure that earlier YouTube videos of the ride were sourced from one of those discs, prior to the ride footage being included as a feature on later DVD and Blu-Ray releases. I can't imagine what these laserdiscs were for but there is no way they would have held up to being projected on giant screens for the ride proper. Wasn't there also one for Star Tours as well, or did video rips of that film come from another source?

Has the LD been preserved? Thx.

So, now that disney is closing the attraction again, I wonder if it’ll finally see a home video release?

Who are we kidding, it’s Disney and the Michael Jackson estate. It’ll be shuttered again for ages.

woodsyallen said:

So, now that disney is closing the attraction again, I wonder if it’ll finally see a home video release?

Who are we kidding, it’s Disney and the Michael Jackson estate. It’ll be shuttered again for ages.

Wouldn’t surprise me, and who knows if or when that’ll come back at all.

I’ve heard rumblings that someone who has a 70mm print is looking to sell. How do we get our hands on it?

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