I don’t think it is the Japanese laserdisc. As seen in the TV capture in the same review, the colors are quite different from the LD. I have seen this review and from what I remember they did mention the LD, but they did not say that it was the video source used for the Blu-Ray.
This is odd. V2 is 1080p, so it can’t be just a laserdisc.
You may have downloaded the wrong version, the quality of V2 is great. V3 was supposed to be the same scan, but with further clean up and color correction.
Isn’t v2 the laserdisc? v3 or what it was going to be was from a film scan. Though not actually scanned by Notelu.
No V2 was from a 35mm scan as well.
If it is with no dirt removal or color correction, how does it differ from V2?
There were many fan made Blu Rays of Song of the South, some might be just a copy of V2. But the one that I am talking about is, as far as I know, a seperate restoration: https://www.songofthesouth.net/news/2020/11/12/song-of-the-south-turns-74-blu-rays-abound/
I’m looking on archive.org
There’s
[V2] Notelu’s Song Of The South Restoration
This is regarded as the best version out there. Added on there in 2018.
I also see
Song Of The South (4K Restoration)
Added in 2021. But honestly looks inferior to the V2 Notelu at least in terms of color. And may even be in upscale I don’t know.
Am I missing another better version?
The 4K restoration is an upscale, and I think it’s also out of sync, at least during “Zip a Dee Doo Dah”. There is also a fan made BluRay which was reviewed at songofthesouth.net and described as the best way to watch the film currently, but it didn’t make it to the internet as far as I know and I didn’t manage to get a copy.
I skimmed it and it seems like during the 2nd movement of The Pastoral Symphony, it goes completely out of sync. Has anyone else noticed that?
This is so touching… I was always glad to be a part of this, but never in my dreams did I think that it would have such a meaningful result! Please ask the PM sender to update when his grandfather has watched it.
Thanks for the nice words! The ending credits were created especially for the 1990 re-release.
Glad there’s interest in this! We also want to make a V2 of this project, but for this, we’re going to need some help. I want to clean up the dust and scratches, but I don’t have the tools and skills to do that. Anyone who can offer some help or guidance, please? would be very appreciated! (You will be credited.)
As stated in the main post, we used a 1956 print (which is not Thunderbean) as the main source for video. We could not use Thunderbean’s release because about a half of it has a severe color fading, but a very few scenes were replaced with it due to the lens switches the 1956 print has. Those scenes were color corrected to match the rest of the video and the fading was fixed.
TonyWDA has posted a great sample of how the lens switches look, and you’ll get immediately why we had to get rid of those:
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1512017/action/topic#1512017
That one hasn’t even been scanned yet, but it certainly will be some time after I get the 1969 release print digitized, and that should happen sometime over the next month or two if God permits.
Oh, then I may have referred to the wrong print. I remember you once told me (in PM) that the scanning facility sent you an email that a scan you waited a year for is ready, but you haven’t recieved the files yet. Maybe it was the 1969 print?
I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating that we’re moving slowly, but we are moving nevertheless. Once the 1969 print is scanned, it’ll be much easier to whip up what I consider the “Version 1” of the project. Version 2 is… ambitious. There’s a lot I would love to do for Version 2, particularly on the audio front, but I’m putting the cart before the horse as of this writing. I hope to share more about what’s planned for v2 after I’ve successfully put together the first one, and that’s pretty darn close to finally happening.
Sure, take as much time as needed… most of us prefer good results over quick progress, and even V1 itself sounds very ambitious, especially when considering that the only 35mm scan available online currently is Thunderbean’s release. Very exciting that V1 is near done!
Fantastic news! Do you, by any chance, plan to release this print regardless to the project? And have you already got the files of the 2nd IB tech print?
BTW, a few weeks ago, a member of this site was very kind to share with me a scan he had of this 1956 release. To celebrate Fantasia’s 82nd birthday, I’d like to post here a short sample:
https://mega.nz/file/aeYTiQxY#sYi6FDqxnUJFMWE47JFwLugPTGq4pspgzD64Q0Vx9rk
(I hope it’s fine, if it’s not please tell me and I’ll delete it)
Curious about the project as well!
Any news?
Joining the question. This restoration is so important, especially with Disney refusing to release this film in an official form. It may be controversial, but it’s also a very entertaining and historically important piece of art… the preview for V3 looks so great, and cleaner than V2. I really hope this project is still in progress.
Fantasia is public domain in Japan now, but this DVD was released in 2000. So I’m pretty sure it is an official copy.
They almost never use a laserdisc for a DVD or Blu-Ray except in rare cases. They are usually component or composite masters. Star Wars was D1 component for Gout. I have no idea if Fantasia is D2 composite or the former.
I don’t think you can even use a laserdisc for Blu Ray because laserdiscs are not HD.
Septet, welcome to the site! Great to see all Fantasia devoted fans gathering. I’m suprised there is no other way to find the other dubs than capturing from 35mm prints. I’m not a fan of the Kostal recording, but this version is worth to preserve so we can see the different Fantasia versions through the years. Tony, great work! I didn’t know you are planning an additional project - are you doing all this work, all alone?
Glad it works!
Have you tried watching V1? The only difference (audio-wise) between V2 and V2.2/1 is that the audio in V2 was mistakenly compressed to 384kbps, and the problem was fixed in V2.2.Now the audio format is WAV. But it shouldn’t change anything else in the audio. Very odd you can’t play it in surround.
Did anyone else notice that? I listened to both V2.2 and V1 (the LD restoration with the original soundtrack) and they were just the same on VLC. Even when I’m trying hard to find the difference I can’t.
This is weird. The audio was not changed (I even watched it till the end and didn’t notice anything wrong). Perhaps did you choose the mono soundtrack?
I didn’t like the Kostal recording too, but the 1982 version itself is worth to preserve. However, someone is already doing this:
https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Sleeping-Beauty-1959-and-Fantasia-Kostal-1982-35mm-Help-Needed-a-WIP/id/61828
Fascinating. I haven’t seen the Thunderbean 35mm release, and will look for it. But my memory of 1990 is more in line with this laserdisc presentation than the bluray visually. I fully acknowledge that may not be the most accurate color grading if a 35mm print suggests otherwise.
Interesting to hear, even though it might be a little tough to remember how it looked after more about 32 years. A lot of hard work went into the 1990 release, and if it wasn’t made, who knows if we had to live with that 1982 Kostal recording till this day. The thing that made me wonder is that the LD colors are seems to be darkened, and sometimes details are lost as a result (for instance, missing clouds during the toccata and fugue segment). In addition, Fantasia was a technicolor feature, and technicolor is known for its highly bright and saturated colors. But in any other aspect I have no doubts the LD is way more accurate than any other release, at least to the 1946 version.
Yeah I was talking about the video, audio wise the LD is absulutely way better than the blu ray. Video wise, the Blu Ray was retouched to not look filmy, which caused it to loose some details, so in many aspects the Blu Ray is really messed up. But color wise if you compare it to the recent Thunderbean 35mm release it looks surprisingly close to it, most of the time. This is why I asked. I know the laserdisc is better, especially because the audio in it is a recreation of the original Fantasound.