Customer Reviews

In Search of the Castaways [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I concur that this account is based on the Jules Verne story titled "CAPTAIN GRANT'S CHILDREN". It is a beautiful mix of suspense, fantasy and charm that only Walt Disney himself could bring to the big screen. With majestic and divine photography, we can only hope that Disney Studios will not "Black Beard" the release and produce a cleaned and digitally restored DVD with the Original Aspect Ratio preserved.

UPDATE!

A reviewer from Amazon.com UK reports that this film IS being presented in it's original aspect ratio at 1.33:1. This film was MADE in fullscreen and theatrical widescreen prints were made by cropping the picture as was done with Darby O'Gill. So in actual fact it is the widescreen version that is missing part of the picture and NOT the fullscreen version. This film is too new for Disney to try to pull this kind of stunt. Still another says not only is the framing much too close to allow this, but even a couple of the opening credits disappear off the sides of the screen. The film should be in 1.75:1 ratio, instead of the 1.33:1 full screen version here.

Is Disney just unable to tell us media savy buyers the technical details on these beloved films? I guess this DVD is a keeper but if anyone can validate these facts , I'd love to know.

Disney within a space of a few months has gone from one extreme to the other.
On the one hand they release a two disc version of one of their all time classics Mary Poppins,both sound and picture having been fully restored and cleaned close to perfection.A fitting compliment to both the film,its' stars and Disney itself.
Then comes the first time release onto DVD of this little Disney gem and it absolutely stuns you as you shake your head and check the box to make sure it really is a Disney product and not some kind of cruel joke.
Don't get me wrong the product(i.e.movie)is worth about a four star rating on its' own merits.It has a wonderful story line which takes our lead characters on an adventure in many far and distant lands and is a natural for older children to excite their imaginations.The special effects are pure Disney and of that era but were always done with great flare and still hold up fairly
well now.
Strangly enough the last review I wrote was about the abominable assassination of the Laurel and Hardy product being released by the "wonderful folks" at Hallmark.Never did I dream that I would run across another such product and especially a Disney one.But nevertheless here it is for all to see.
Bottomline is this.The aspect ratio is simply WRONG.It has been cleaned up yes through the usual digital means but it cannot hide the fact that this is the same cropped and pan and scan version we've seen on TV and on home video in years gone by.Everything from scenary,to animals to the actors themselves get cut off the screen.Furthermore,and I have felt this from the first time I saw it in such a state on TV and then later in its' video format that this movie was one of the worst victims of pan and scan that I'd ever seen.And viewing it once more in a clearer but absolute same state I'm convinced more than ever I was right all along.Also what "extras" there are,are for a release such as this pitifully few.It is a rip off,wrong and totally UNACCEPTABLE by any standards.
We as consumers must not just accept this sub standard product as the norm or let it go as is.I have said it before,I will say it again and keep saying it until every manufacturer and distributor of entertainment products in the audio and visual medium start treating consumers as something other than a cave dweller from the dark side of the moon.
Your credo's should be that ANY product that you release is done so with full knowledge(on both sides)that it was made with the utmost care and attention and all source elements used to create said products were of the highest quality available anywhere.And if any defects are found by the consumer then an exchange or refund to said consumer should be forthcoming immediately no questions asked.
Now THAT is the kind of relationship/understanding we as consumers should have had with the audio/visual industry since the beginning and we would have if the industry as a whole worked together and had any kind of confidence in their products.
In conclusion DO NOT BUY this product.It is an obvious cheap(for Disney) re-release of a film that deserves a far better fate than the one they have relegated to it.Let's see if we can get this abomination recalled and/or re-released in its' proper theatrical widescreen format so we can see it as it should be seen.

Based on a Jules Verne story, "In Search of the Castaways" is a fine Disney adventure which is suitable for the entire family. Overall, the film has a similar feel to "Swiss Family Robinson", only "Castaways" is more action-based.

The basic premise of the movie takes youngsters Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere on a wild adventure through South America while searching for their missing father. Among the obstacles faced along the way are a perilous earthquake, a furious flood, wild animals and a thrilling ride down a mountainside --which is arguably the film's crowning moment.

As other reviewers have mentioned, some of the special effects seem a bit quaint by today's standards. Regardless, this 40-year-old movie still manages to be highly entertaining.

However, as a DVD, "Castaways" simply misses the mark. The picture presentation itself is decent. However, there are apparent signs of the film's age and, overall, it's not as clean as recent Disney restorations such as "Mary Poppins" or "Swiss Family Robinson." The worst offense, undoubtedly, was Disney's decision to release this larger-than-life globe-trotting adventure in a chopped-up "full-frame" presentation. With 16x9 televisions steadily infiltrating the marketplace, pan & scan releases will soon be obsolete. Viewers deserve to see the entire film in it's original widescreen aspect ratio. Guess we'll have to wait.

I like the others agree...this movie xfered to dvd is a big disappointment. Apparently nothing was done to film print...same quality as the vhs version...sound is o.k. but still mono...no Haley Mills particpation like on her other Disney films. Maybe now that Disney is to have new management, this kind of stuff will stop and all Disney releases on dvd will be of quality and the best they can do to it. Other than that the film is a good entertainment for the family and colors are really good. However, sound should have been at least a surround. So you may want to wait, maybe Disney will put out a special edition with better pic and sound with Haley Mills particapation.

I haven't watched this DVD, and I sure won't. To answer previous reviewers' questions and to make a long story short, if the film is shown in 1.33:1 fullscreen, it is P&S (like 'Blackbeard's Ghost', 'ThatDarn Cat!, and for that matter cartoons like 'Jungle Book' or 'Aristocats'). Ever since matted widescreen appeared in the mid-50's (1.85:1 in the US, 1.66 in France, and 1.75 in UK and Italy), and leaving aside the CinemaScope or Technirama features, Disney's movies were made, for some unclear reason, with an intended theatrical aspect ratio of 1.75 (they turned to 1.85 only recently).

Technically yes, these movies could be shown unmatted in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, with useless empty space on top and bottom of the picture (for ex. Warner's releases of Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'Eyes Wide Shut'), but chances are this is not the case here, because it is unlikely that in the now-accepted widescreen era, they would make a brand new fullscreen transfer.

Nope, what we have here is clearly a new rehash of the same old same VHS pan & scan transfer.

Thanks for nothing once more, Disney.

I was really looking forward to the release of this movie, but I will not buy a movie in 1:33 ratio when it has been cropped. After reading the other reviews, what I feared seems to be true. The movie was not filmed in 1:33; yet Disney did not seem to think it was worth the trouble to put out a great DVD in the original aspect. They did this with "That Darn Cat" as well; another great movie I won't be purchasing because of the inferior quality of the DVD. They did this before when they first put out "The Absent-Minded Professor". Thankfully they put out another edition several months later that was in the original aspect, 1:66. I'm hoping they will do the same with "Castaways" & "That Darn Cat" as soon as possible! I will wait to purchase them when that happens.

This has been one of my favorite movies of childhood. Great for children and adults. If you like action, adventure, laughter you will love this movie. Just all good clean fun.

If you're a Hayley Mills fan and a child of the 60s and 70s, then you will love this movie. It has great action, comedy, and sweet romance.

This movie made a powerful impression on me and my sister as children. For years we kept asking our mother, "What was the name of that movie where they were sliding down a mountain through ice caves?" The whole ambience of snow-covered mountains of pine forests (think Matterhorn Bobsleds and Christmas trees), sleeping in the branches of a huge tree (think Swiss Family Treehouse), alligators lurking underneath (think Jungle Cruise and every kid's fear of alligators underneath the bed), being chased by angry natives, reuniting with a long-lost father (think "The Little Princess"), and escaping from a jail with a rope of human hair that took years to make is classic material consisting of powerful imagery that sticks in kids' minds. Although the story is thin and the coincidence of still meeting their father after going to the wrong country is outrageously implausible, the visual and emotional impact of the film is enormous, and helped coalesce some of my earliest tastes in nature and sense of atmosphere. Years later I read that there is indeed a large tree called an ombu' that grows in South America, but what the film didn't mention is that at night that species emits a horrible stench as a defense mechanism against insects. Imagine spending the night in such a tree! Anyway, this is a video that you'll want to watch repeatedly. I can't part with my copy, despite trying to thin out my video collection.

I loved these Hayley Mills' movies when I was young, so I bought five for my young teenage niece. She loved them all but this is her favorite.