Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The charge of the "knight" brigade!, January 22, 2005
Ever since I was a child, this magical Disney classic has always captured my imagination. The fabulous songs by the Sherman brothers, the amazing mixture of live-action and animation, and the magical special effects make this timeless film entertaining to viewers of all ages. The casting was great, especially David Tomlinson, who was also terrific in "Mary Poppins" and "The Love Bug". My two favorite scenes in this are the hilarious soccar match and the "battle" at the end between the knights and the German soldiers. By the way, the scene where the "flying" dress lands on Roddy McDowall is the only scene (that I know of) where you can clearly see the wires attached to a flying object or person in the movie. This is easily one of Angela Lansbury's best performances, and it's one of the best films directed by the great Robert Stevenson (Disney's greatest director ever in my humble opinion). I was a little disappointed by the "special edition" dvd. It claims to have a featurette on the making of the film, but the featurette focuses only on the film's music. I was hoping for a documentary explaining the actual making of the film, especially the extraordinary special effects. At least the movie has been wonderfully restored and is very well-priced. This great film is highly recommended for Disney fans.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite Disney DVDs., October 16, 2005
In 1971, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, a film many call a Mary Poppins rip-off, premiered at Radio City Music Hall, but in a version in which nearly half an hour of footage, including full songs, was removed. For its 25th Anniversary in 1996, Disney re-inserted all of the deleted footage except for one musical number in which the picture was lost. The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences screened this in 1996, but it didn't get a theatrical release, and for years, the only way Americans could get it was either by the 1997 laserdisc release, an import of a European video, or by catching it on occasion on the Disney Channel.
Finally, in 2001, for the film's 30th Anniversary, Disney released a DVD with this extended version of the film. Restored and remastered, the film now has a clearer plot, extended musical numbers, and songs previously deleted. The brilliant "Portobello Road" number is now restored to its original running time, as well as Miss Price's response verses, titled "Don't Let Me Down" during Mr. Browne's song "Eglantine," and the previously entirely deleted songs "With A Flair" and "Nobody's Problems" are restored to the film.
The DVD is a mixed bag. The transfer is quite nice, but Lowry Digital, who did the recent Mary Poppins, Bambi, and Cinderella DVD restorations, could punch it up a little, as on occasion, I saw a bit of grain, and the occasional film artifact, especially during the closing credits and Walt Disney Pictures logo. However, this film has still never looked better on home video, so it's fine with me.
The extras could have been better. An actual making-of on the film would have been nice, including footage used in the Music Magic featurette. While that featurette does give some nice insight on the restoration, there's nothing behind-the-scenes about it except for the creation of the music score. Nothing about the effects, actors, nothing. But it's worth a look for info on the film's 1996 restoration. A larger gallery would have been nice. I do like the inclusion of the two cartoons. And of course, I'm happy to see that they have included theatrical trailers.
The best supplement, however, is the deleted song A Step In The Right Direction. That song was the catalyst that jump started this restoration project to begin with, so there's a bit of irony here in the fact that they couldn't find the footage of the song. So the supplement on the DVD, which is ported over from the 1997 laserdisc and was shown after the movie when the Disney Channel aired the restored version, is reconstructed using still photos of the scene and the original soundtrack. Hopefully one day, the footage will be found and they will be able to reinstate the number into the film, or at least they'll decide to include the photo reconstruction a la the restored version of A Star Is Born with Judy Garland.
Some have complained that there isn't an option to watch the original, shorter version due to its length and/or the poor dubbing of the voices in deleted scenes. (For much of the non-musical deleted footage, original dialogue soundtracks could not be found, so many of the deleted scenes had to be re-dubbed.) While I prefer the restored version despite the dubbing flaws, I think it would be wise of Disney to release both versions on DVD. Next year is the 35th Anniversary - maybe Disney will make a 2-disc DVD featuring both editions, with bonuses spread out on each disc, to appease all fans. Or better yet, a 3-Disc Collector's Edition, with discs 1 and 2 containing both cuts of the film and disc 3 with all the supplements. While neither edition is likely, the 2-Disc is a more likely option.
In conclusion, I can heartily recommend this DVD. The film has been lovingly restored and remastered, featuring almost all of the footage left on the cutting room floor in 1971, and features a nice handful of bonuses.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Movie!, March 27, 2001
This is the story of Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Landsbury), a proper English spinster who believes that her mail-order course in witchcraft will allow her to greatly help her country in its struggle with Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, Miss Price is not a very good witch. When she finds three young evacuees from London are housed with her, her secret is discovered, and she is forced to buy their silence with an enchanted bed knob that will allow them to travel anywhere on their bed.Disaster strikes when the mail-order course in cancelled, and Miss Price must use the magic bed to find the teacher of the course, Dr. Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson). Finding that he is a charlatan, she, the children and Dr. Browne set off to find the spell that she needs; this being in the hands of a group of intelligent (cartoon) animals that live on their own island. Returning to her home, Miss Price's talents are required when a Nazi raiding party storms ashore. [Color, created in 1971, with a running time of 1 hour, 57 minutes, rated G.] This is one of my favorite Disney movies ever. The movie is quite eclectic, with wonderful scenes of dancing soldiers from across the Empire, a hilarious soccer game involving the animal kingdom, and a fantastic battle between the German soldiers and magically animated armor. This is a wonderful movie, with something for all ages. [Please consider reading the wonderful book Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton. Though Disney maintained the title, virtually the entire story was changed in the making of the movie.]
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