8mm Forum: Saving Mr. Banks Blu Ray

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on March 28, 2014, 06:42 PM:

Disney have just released the blu ray of Saving Mr. Banks and it is a stunner. Gorgeous colors and contrast, and pin sharp throughout. Just as Disney was the gold standard for super 8 prints, they are now the gold standard for blu ray releases (with the very notable exception of Mickey's Christmas Carol which is awful comparecd with the S8 print). Included is a very nice featurette about Walt and the Disney studio, including a moving 2013 interview with the composer of Mary Poppins, Richard Sherman.
What a great movie this is with perfect performances by Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, and loaded with nostalgia for the Disney Studio during the period of Walt's reign.
Will someone explain to me why this wonderful film was totally overlooked by The Academy, and that crappy CG movie Gravity, which has zero acting in it, scooped up a bunch of awards? [Frown]

Essential for any Disney film buff. 5 stars.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on March 28, 2014, 10:18 PM:

Paul,

I am of the opposite mind when it comes to Gravity, however I completely agree with you about Saving Mr. Banks. Emma Thompson is amazing and so deserving of an Oscar nomination. Tom Hanks is splendid. Colin Farrell, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman and Paul Giamatti shine in supporting roles.

What a wonderful film.

Hmmm....this is my three thousandth three hundred and thirty third post......Nice to see all those 3's lined up.

Doug

[ March 29, 2014, 09:03 AM: Message edited by: Douglas Meltzer ]

Posted by Jonathan Trevithick (Member # 3066) on March 28, 2014, 10:54 PM:

I left the movie theatre at the end of Saving Mr Banks feeling quite uplifted without having been fed too many spoonfuls of sugar. I would have been disappointed by the film's lack of awards if I didn't believe such ceremonies are a load of nonsense.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on April 25, 2014, 07:36 PM:

I finally got around to watching this the other evening having waited for it to become available on Blu Ray here in the UK.

As Mary Poppins was one of my favourite childhood films, I knew already that I would love the story, but the acting throughout far surpassed my expectations, from Walt himself (Tom Hanks) to PL Travers (Emma Thompson)to the Sherman Brothers and even The Chauffeur... Just brilliant.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film (or should I say movie nowadays), and was truly moved by the tragic childhood storyline running alongside present day life of PL Travers. It is no wonder it took Walt over 20 years to get Pamela to agree to the film (which it really was back then!),given that the story was so personal to her despite all of it's fantasy.. truly fascinating stuff for me.

Paul and I, it would seem, have very similar views and tastes on film and I can only echo his sentiments entirely.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on April 26, 2014, 01:50 AM:

I have to confess that I haven't any blu ray player, yet. My tv set is a HD ready one but as it not full hd, I wouldn't see any difference between dvd and blu ray. The only thing that could make me buy a new tv is to go for a 3D model. Otherwise, I will wait that my 6 year old Philipps shows signs of oldness before replacing it.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on April 26, 2014, 06:27 AM:

As Paul has already pointed out here, Walt Disney Studios appear to have set the benchmark on Blu Ray picture quality standards. I have nearly all the released Disney films on DVD and a quite a few now on Blu Ray (in many cases duplicated), but the Blu Ray editions when projected large with a decent HD PJ give off the very best home projected picture quality I have ever seen... just stunning!

Some of the very best include: The Lion King, Lady And The Tramp & Beauty & The Beast.

Posted by Ken Finch (Member # 2768) on April 27, 2014, 12:03 PM:

I agree with Paul as regard the "Oscar" awards. I have always found the BAFTA ones far more sensible. I also think the same about the Disney releases. They have always seemed to be of better quality than other producers even on VHS and standard DVD which I still use. I have not bothered to change up to bluray as I have collected a vast quantity of VHS and DVDs over the years and at my age it does not seem worthwhile to change unless my current players give up the ghost!! Ken Finch [Smile]

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 02, 2014, 03:18 PM:

I don't think the difference in picture quality is THAT noticeable between DVD and Blu-Ray when used in conjunction with modern HD flat paneled televisions up to say 46 inches, especially if the DVD player upscales.

For projection, the difference is chalk and cheese!
I used to think most DVDs looked ok on my 10ft diagonal screen, and they did...until of course Blu-Ray came along with full HD definition. It is unbelievably sharp and clear even on much bigger images than I project.

I can only imagine just how good 4k will look when the hardware and software becomes more affordable and readily available.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on May 02, 2014, 03:49 PM:

Andrew, I watched a film this afternoon in what was a cinema and had, once again, this thought that profesionnal digital projection is still not as good as 35 mm when there is a scenery on the screen. It looks not sharp. Am I idealizing 35 mm ? (difficult to compare as you cannot easily watch 35 mm projections anymore) Did I go in theaters were they have cheap or outdated equipment ? (the screen was dirty by the way where I went this afternoon) I noticed the lack of quality of the picture of some scenes of "films" in several places in Brussels and Paris. It seems sometimes that my tv set, though it is a hd ready one and not a full hd gives a better picture that what I get at the "cinema".

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 02, 2014, 04:01 PM:

It has been said on many recent home cinema digital projector reviews, that the image quality far surpasses that of the cinema.
It is probably due to the relatively small screen sizes when used in the home environment Dominique.
However, I have to say, that when I have blown up the image to the the full width of my living room(around 16ft), the image in the screen portion is still crystal clear from my full HD Panny.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on May 02, 2014, 06:40 PM:

I agree with everything that Andrew has said about digital projection. Just like him, I though that DVD projection was superb on my 10ft screen (and indeed it is most of the time). But Blu Ray projection raises home digital projection to a whole new level of clarity and beauty. Most Blu Rays are breathtaking to view on the home cinema screen, and in fact I honestly believe my blu ray projection from the Panny 4000 is better than anything digital that I have seen at my local cinema.
Flat panel TV'S leave me cold. There is something flat( [Big Grin]

) and unnatural about the Blu Ray picture on such displays. But Projected Blu Ray 10ft wide is simply superb.

Posted by John Hourigan (Member # 111) on May 03, 2014, 11:30 PM:

Agree with you, Dominique. There is really no need to go to the cinema anymore given home HD equipment produces far superior picture quality than what cinemas offer.

Posted by John Hourigan (Member # 111) on May 03, 2014, 11:31 PM:

Agree with you, Dominique. There is really no need to go to the cinema anymore given home HD equipment produces far superior picture quality than what cinemas offer.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on May 17, 2014, 06:44 PM:

Watched Saving Mr. Banks again at a local church social. It was very well received. Emma Thompson was brilliant, absolutely brilliant, and Hanks was superb as Disney. It is a travesty that this film received no Oscars, and specifically that Thompson did not get an Oscar for her stunning performance. Can anyone even remember who won best actress this year? [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Chris Fries (Member # 2719) on May 17, 2014, 09:52 PM:

Cate Blanchett won for "Blue Jasmine". I didn't see it. Emma Thompson was amazing in "Mr. Banks" and she wasn't even nominated for an Oscar! She was nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe but she lost to Cate Blanchett. Blanchett won 30 awards for "Blue Jasmine" so she must have been really good.

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