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By
NICK ZEGARAC
At a hefty cost of six
million dollars and six years in production, Walt
Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" promised to be the most
ambitious animated feature ever produced. However,
changing public tastes resulted in a majestic
glossy-looking effort that, despite its technical
innovations, failed to become the blockbuster the
studio had hoped for. The story, slightly changed
from its Grimm's origins, charts the birth of
Princess Aurora (vocal by Mary Costa). The young
Princess is cursed by the evil Maleficent, a
horned sorceress, visually realized by animator
Mark Davis, that has to rank among the all time
great Disney villainesses.
Before her sixteenth birthday, Aurora will prick
her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and
die. But three good fairies believe otherwise.
They usher off the baby Aurora into the woods and
raise her as their own. But Aurora meets up with
her future when she comes across the brooding
Prince Philip (vocal by Bill Shirley). He
instantly succumbs to her charms, not realizing
that she is the princess he is supposed to marry
in any case. But when Maleficent discovers their
romance, she is determined to see that tomorrow
never comes for the couple.
The magnificently staged final showdown between
Prince Philip and Maleficent is chillingly good
entertainment on every level and the story is as
fresh and appealing to seniors as it is for the
younger set.
"Sleeping Beauty" was shot in Technirama -- a
Cinemascope-style 2:35:1 aspect ratio that in the
past has suffered on 1:33:1 television displays.
On disc one of this two-disc set we get both the
Technirama transfer and a full frame copy -- to
satisfy those who have yet to realize that full
frame means fifty percent of the image is missing
from their television screens. The review herein
will concentrate on the widescreen version of the
film that, in a word, is beautiful! Colors are
rich, vibrant, bold, and have been carefully
rebalanced to provide a very smooth and crisp
looking transfer. Black and contrast levels are
fully realized.
However, there are a few problems: minor digital
noise and a halo effect during portions of the
forest sequence that flashes so quickly you almost
have to stop and think, "Did I just see that?" And
the audio, remixed to 5.1 is strident, strangely
lacking in bass -- I say, strangely because
"Sleeping Beauty" was recorded in stereo that
whileit should sound be dated by today's
standards, usually has a strong sonic bass
characteristic that is curiously absent here.
Extras are something of a disappointment: We get
the "Once Upon a Dream" featurette -- billed as a
"new" documentary on the making of the film.
Created for the previously issued laserdisc and
VHS copies this featurette is too short -- not
covering the scope of production. Next, there's
the Peter Tchaikovsky Story -- a badly acted and
largely fictional account of the man who was
inspired to write, among other things, the
"Sleeping Beauty" ballet. The transfer here is
terribly faded, suffers from chips and scratches
and digital noise, edge enhancement and shimmering
fine details. We also get the "Grand Canyon"
featurette that accompanied "Sleeping Beauty" on
its original theatrical engagement, but again, as
with the Tchaikovsky Story, all the same criteria
apply and -- this time -- the Technirama image has
not been enhanced for 16:9 television displays!
There's a really, really awful music video, some
benign child's play and a few short featurettes
that, among other topics, explain how the film was
shot, the techniques used in the animation and the
restoration process employed for this new DVD.
Over all, I could have done without these studio
junkets, especially since none of them was even
moderately cleaned up for inclusion into this
special edition. Still, for its stunning art of
animation and a near pristine anamorphic transfer
of the film -- once upon a dream no more! |
