Customer Reviews

Annie(Special Anniversary Edition) [VHS]

5 star:		(204)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(59)

 

 

Well, I think this is a really swell movie. Albert Finney and Carol Burnett crack me up, Aileen Quinn is exactly what Annie should be, and Sandy is perfect.

But WHY OH WHY is this not being offered in a widescreen format? I have yet to see all of "It's a Hard Knock Life" and I know those girls are knocking themselves out offscreen. I've seen this movie on three different media. All were pan and scan, and all three showed different parts of the picture! The worst was a VHS release. (...)

I don't know which is more frustrating about this anniversary dvd, the fact that it doesn't offer widescreen, or the fact that the dvd menu and the special features show the movie clips in widescreen, teasing me with those brief glimpses.

There is no reason that dvd manufacturers shouldn't at least OFFER a widescreen version. Let's get with the 21st century already!

You cannot beat the cast in this movie. It has some of the greats, like Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Tim Curry. That is part of the reason why the Disney version could never compare to this one. Also, Aileen Quinn makes such a great Annie. She really looks spunky. She can look really sweet, but also tomboyish. She can look threatening, like all the times she raises her fists. The girl in the Disney "Annie" looks too sweet. She isn't as convincing when she tries to fight. If you want to watch Annie, this is the version to get.

I can't help but wonder if ALL the widescreen prints of this movie were destroyed in a warehouse fire. Why would you bother to master another "Special Anniversary Edition" with a new DTS soundtrack and not include a Wide screen version? Especially with more and more widescreen TVs on the market. It is going to look pretty silly in a few years showing this pan and scanned musical on your widescreen TV. While not my favorite movie musical, I would still buy it if they ever have the sense to release it in it's original format! Until then...forget it!

Growing up, Annie was one of my all-time favorite movies. I sang all the songs, played runaway orphan with my friends, and watched the movie over and over on Betamax (for those of you born a bit later, that's like a VHS tape, only smaller).

I was tempted to buy Annie as soon as it came out on DVD, but chose to wait for a version with some decent special features. Lo, it is here, but there is one thing that I'm really surprised is missing.... where's the behind-the-scenes feature, "Lights, Camera, Annie!" which aired on TV back in 1982. It included auditions for the role of Annie, dance rehearsals, cast/crew interviews, choerography and blocking of "It's a Hard Knock Life", a screen test of Aileen Quinn and Albert Finney and vocal rehearsals of "Easy Street" with Peters, Curry and Burnett. That's the kind of thing that should be on a Special Edition DVD, so I'm surprised that since the footage exists (I still have my Beta tape, and surely it exists elsewhere), that they didn't use it.

As much as I appreciate that there is a new version, it seems to be primarily catering to kids. It would appear they neglected the adults who grew up with the movie and still think of it fondly, and would have appreciated more special features of the behind-the-scenes, as opposed to contemporary interpretations of songs and sing-alongs.

Incidentally, why is this being presented as an "Anniversary Edition"? Annie came out in 1982, so it's the...22nd Year Anniversary?

I still love the movie, but just can't give this version a full 5 stars given my disappointment in the special features.

Everyone else has already said it, what more can I add? How could you even think about remixing this wonderful soundtrack in 5.1 Dolby AND DTS and then pan & scan it??? Why not just mix it down to mono for pairing with 1.33:1. I have the laserdisc and I guess it's gonna stay that way. Sorry Columbia, you lost my $20 and a lot of others. Well, I guess you'll make up for it with all the mothers of 10 year olds.

This movie is one that you can truly say has everything.
The dialogue is fabulous. It defines the era well, makes the characters believable, and will keep you rolling with laughter. The songs are pleasant and fun and have become standards and the choreography is wonderful. The story is as exciting as it is heart warming. There's a pleasant mix of suspense, adventure, humor, and sentiment.
Even with so much already going for it, the highlight of the movie is the characters, and the actors who portray them. Carol Burnett is hilarious as Miss Hannigan. She delivers a very memorable performance, and makes one of the most loveable movie villains ever. Albert Finney does a perfect job with Daddy Warbucks, and its great fun to watch him tranform from a stern business man to a father with a heart of gold. There's also a strong supporting cast that all add to the flavor of the movie.
This movie is good fun for all ages, and no matter how many times I've watched it, I've never gotten sick of it... in fact I've only found more things to appreciate about it over the years.

"Annie" is the original movie based on the highly successful Broadway musical, based on the highly popular comic strip character - little orphan Annie. I'm going to refrain from reiterating the story herein, because I have already reviewed the previously issued DVD. Herein, I am taking the opportunity to lambast Columbia Home Video.
TRANSFER: IT'S NOT WIDESCREEN. Enough said! You can't squeeze a 2:35:1 aspect ratio image into a 1:33:1 t.v. screen so you get what film buffs, such as myself, have been screaming about for years - a chopped up version of the movie (affectionately known as pan and scan)that in no way captures either the scope of the image or the director's original intent. This short coming alone leads me to fail this DVD on all accounts. That the cropped image is quite often blurry, at times hopelessly out of focus, and truly a weak transfer for its color balancing, contrast and black levels, is inexcusable. I'd really like to know why Columbia decided to re-release this movie on DVD. Certainly, no updates to the image quality have been made and worse still - the film is missing 50% of its picture. Misguided doesn't even begin to sum up Columbia's blunders on this disc. Also, the audio remains the same strident mix as before. No audio clean up or noise reduction leads to dialogue sounding way too forward and unnatural, while the songs screech, rather than sing, across your speakers.
EXTRAS: Some, but not enough to make you forget that "Annie" is just about the most miserable looking DVD experience you've seen in a long while.
BOTTOM LINE: To Columbia executives: get a clue! Get a 'really big' clue. To the consumer - save your money!

I was all set to purchase this disc Tuesday. I'm glad I checked this site because there is no way I'm buying a pan & scan-only version in the year 2004. I thought the reviewers must by mistaken, there is no way that this would be released full screen--one reason is that it's a musical with dancing! But every site I check lists this as full screen.

I wouldn't have bought it full screen when I only had a 4x3 TV and I certainly won't buy it now that I have a 16x9. I'm sure the great majority of TV owners still have 4x3's and I bet this won't really turnaround until the end of the decade, but this is no excuse for the format of this release.

Really small on the back cover you'll find your purchased an all new anniversary FULL SCREEN version of this movie. Only released this way apparently. Wasn't until I popped it in that I found this out. If I could return it I would and go buy the original release which apparently has both full and wide.

This film was in Panavision. Where does Columbia get off giving us a "pan and scan" print of this film, and calling it an anniversary print? SAVE YOUR MONEY, WAIT FOR THEM TO "LETTERBOX" IT! Bad call, Columbia!