|
|
 |
Fantasia (Special 60th Anniversary Edition)
 |
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Find all by Walt Disney Video
Directed By: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford I. Beebe
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Theatrical Release: October 10, 2008
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
|
|
Starring: Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Walt Disney, Deems Taylor, Mickey Mouse
Groundbreaking on several counts, not the least of which was an innovative use of animation and stereophonic sound, this ambitious Disney feature has lost nothing to time since its release in 1940. Classical music was interpreted by Disney animators, resulting in surreal fantasy and playful escapism. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra provided the music for eight segments by the composers Tchaikovsky, Moussorgsky, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ponchielli, Bach, Dukas, and Schubert. Not all the sequences were created equally, but a few are simply glorious, such as "Night on Bald Mountain," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and "The Nutcracker Suite." The animation ranges from subtly delicate to fiercely bold. The screen bursts with color and action as creatures transmute and convention is thrust aside. The painstaking detail and saturated hues are unique to this film, unmatched even by more advanced technology. --Rochelle O'Gorman
User Submitted Fantasia (Special 60th Anniversary Edition) Reviews
September 30, 2008
Disney's Greatest Film
I have to admit, I'm an avid listener of classical music. So it's a small wonder why Disney's Fantasia is one of my favorite films. Every music sequence is pure gold (except maybe the Pastoral sequence).
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach = My second favorite sequence, it is a mixture of abstract colors & images, live action orchestral playing, and Stokowski's acclaimed orchestration of Bach's organ music.
Nutcracker Suite by Peter Illich Tchaikovsky = Although I'm not a fan of Tchaikovsky's ballet music, this one is very good and entertaining. The dancing of the fairies and flowers and mushrooms make for a heck of a good time for the whole family.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas = This is probably the most exciting rendition of Dukas's masterpiece I've ever heard (even though a few minutes of music has been cut out of it). Mickey the apprentice dreams of being a powerful sorcerer, so he dons the hat of his master, and lets loose his magic. But, of course, no one controls literally everything that is created . . .
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) by Igor Stravinsky = This is my 3rd favorite out of all of them for two reasons. One is that Stravinsky is one of my all-time favorite composers, and two, The Rite of Spring is one of my all-time favorite pieces. Too bad that a mere ten minutes has been cut in order to save time. Dinosaurs, volcanoes, and earthquakes do seem to fit Stravinsky's music a bit, that I can tell you.
Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral" by Ludwig van Beethoven = This is probably the weakest of all the sequences. It's too cartoony, too bombastic, too cheery, and to many minutes of music have been cut out sadly. The storm scene is a nice touch, though.
Dance of the Hours by Amilcare Ponchielli = Gorgeous and downright hilarious. If you don't think hippo and ostrich ballet dancers is funny, then something is wrong with you.
A Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky/Ave Maria by Franz Schubert = Ah yes. My No. 1 favorite out of all of them. This didn't scare me as a kid for some reason. Chernobog is as creepy as The Horned King from "The Black Cauldron", and the demonic and ghostly dancing was (and still is) way ahead of its time. The last five minutes is beautiful and ethereal = they don't make them like they used to.
Grade: A
September 22, 2008
Great DVD but Bad Price
This is a great dvd but the price is nothing I would pay again for a musical that old.
September 17, 2008
beachhut
I never received the CD of FANTASIA and cannot make a review on this item, but would like to say that I would to hear from Beachhut if they plan to send it or cancel it???? Waiting this long to hear anything is unsatisfactory.
September 13, 2008
first exposure to classical music
I think I have loved this film since I can remember, from my parent's old video tape to my current DVD. I'm a little sad that it never became truly the evolving work Disney dreamed, but this is still a wondrous collection of music and artwork--all done without the aid of computers. I think this was also my first dive into fantasy, what with the fairies and centaurs and all. Therefore, this is certainly a favorite I cannot do without, whether I'm truly studying it or just slipping it in to play in the background.
September 9, 2008
One of My Favorite Films
Film buffs frequently create lists of their 10 favorite movies. My answer changes from day to day, but there are three films always on the list: Fantasia, Koyannisqatsi, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. A a cartoon, a new age documentary, and a science-fiction drama; three completely different films.
Walt Disney's Fantasia is a groundbreaking film creating a painted ballet to accompany several pieces of well-known music. The only dialogue is short introductions to each piece by renowned musicologist Deems Taylor. He briefly comments on the composer, if the music tells a specific story, and whether Disney's animation follows that story. Music can evoke strong emotions in the listener with or without a story. Fantasia frequently creates new stories for the music, but the power of the music to arouse the listener remains. The mouse king is gone from the Nutcracker Suite, but a circle of dancing mushrooms, and bouquet of waltzing flowers is no less charming and whimsical. The primitive dances of the Rite of Spring have been changed to the struggles of prehistoric life, but the music is still powerfully thrilling. The rage and fury of demons in Night on Bald Mountain end at dawn as the serene beauty of Ave Maria accompanies the glory of a sunrise. Image and music again stir the viewer's soul.
Koyannisqatsi is the newest and least known of these three films. It is a 1982 documentary with ads that said "Until now, you've never really seen the world you live in.". Director Godfrey Reggio combines stock footage (rocket launches, landscape vistas, building demolitions, munitions tests) with spectacular new footage by cinematographer Ron Fricke (cityscapes, commuter crowds, clouds and waves, traffic jams, assembly lines). He creates a mosaic of life in the modern industrial world and how it has become disconnected from the natural world and is now a `life out of balance', which is a translation of the title. Although the film has no characters, dialogue or narration, the dramatic editing and stirring score by Philip Glass create a great emotional, and even physical impact. I once talked my mother into seeing it with me. While she liked it very much and still comments on it, at the end of one particularly frenetic sequence she said, with a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness that's over".
2001 is an imaginative look at how man's evolution might have been affected by outside influences. Much of the film has no dialogue whatever. The rest has occasional patches of dialogue, with most having nothing to do with the plot. There is the TV interview, a father's phone call on his daughter's birthday, proud parents radio message on their distant son's birthday, a computer's seeming random questions while working up the crew psychology report, the rambling song of a computer having its memory erased. None of this has anything to do with the search for the source of the strange artifact first found by prehistoric apes, then later by explorers on the moon and how it may affect man's future. More important than dialogue are the amazing visuals and music. The spaceship ballets, technical hardware, and the ending star gate dance of lights, combined with magnificent music evoke the sense of wonder and awe that the vastness of space and the possibilities of the future should inspire.
A a cartoon, a new age documentary, and a science-fiction drama; three completely different films thematically that each show the power of image and music to reach the viewer emotionally.
August 7, 2008
magical
very satisfied with this purchase; I guess that if you pay a few extra $ you can probably get a better package (if you really want to), but apart from that everything is good in terms of quality of video/sound.
June 18, 2008
Fantasia
I can not rewiew Eantasia because I have a real problem with it. This problem is that I never received it and already I paid for it. really I don not know what is happeneing with my Fantasia.
May 25, 2008
My fave
Watched this movie after my parents got it for me on video for the 60th anniversary edition. It has always been my favorite Disney movie and now I share it with my nieces. I was probably 3 when I first saw it so ignore those people who say kids won't like it I loved it. Probably shouldn't let kids see the last one til they're older though as it is rather scary. My nieces love the fairies and unicorns.
May 12, 2008
good movie...bad copy
Love the movie but I belive the copy I got is not origional. The bonus stuff was not on the DVD, the case did not include any of the documentation. The last two pieces were not viewable due to defects in the DVD. I guess when they release it again I'll have to buy another, but then I'm going to the source, not through Amazon.
March 15, 2008
Wow! The First Music Videos and For Classical Music Too!
This movie was clearly way ahead of its time when it was released in the early 1940s and I'm not surprised that it was a box-office flop at that time as it struck me while watching this that this must be the "Sgt. Pepper's" of animation at that time. Another major reason for the lack of success was that the logistics of the times were not up to scratch as few theatres were equiped with stereophonic sound and probably fewer audiences still were able to stand what amounts to more than 2 hours of a collection of music videos and yet it's unmistakeable that this is simply a work of art and this movie alone convinced me that Walt Disney was a genius.
Some of the scenes were like Mickey on an acid trip and this movie was clearly targeted at an adult audience more so than say a "Snow White" was clearly targeted at kids. I thoroughly enjoyed these classical music MTVs except for Bach's "Toccata and Fugue In D Minor" which was arranged for orchestra by Stokowski instead of in the original solo pipe organ arrangement which would have been better and the "Meet the Soundtrack" segment both of which should have been left off and would not have been missed.
The rest of the videos though were excellent and I found myself better appreciating the original compositions when listened together with the brilliant animation that although is almost 70 years old now still looks very impressive to me although I'm sure the brilliant digital restoration had a large part to play in it as well. My favourite was the Beethoven 6th Symphony video with Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" coming in a close second. Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" video was charming too and Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" was just hilarious! The "Night On Bald Mountain" video was chilling and would give any death metal video ala the band Death a good run for its money in terms of scare value too.
What I really liked the best about this DVD though is the brilliant sound quality with Dolby Digital, DTS Surround Sound in 5.0 channels with THX quality which makes it better for me to listen to the classical music tracks off the DVD than off my cds on my high end stereo! The picture quality has been restored very well too and so the minor imperfections were few and far between and you really had to look real hard to find them.
The special features were a real treat too with the featurette "The Making of Fantasia" the standout item there. Great picture and sound quality and brilliant content make this my best and favourite music video DVD and to think this was decades before MTV and much, much better too.
Highly recommended!
|
|
