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Bedknobs and Broomsticks (30th Anniversary Edition)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (30th Anniversary Edition)

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Never thought I would say this about a Disney film.
Review: This film has a wonderful animation sequence directed by one of the premiere animation team of Disney Ward Kimble. The film also has great songs and quality but....I've never been prompted to do this before but I must for the discerning individual the new lip sync, if I can call it that is bad, David Tomlinson's impersonator and the lack of sync is truly irritating, frankly I'm shocked that the likes of Disney would let this film out in such uncompleted shape. That's it to those of you out there for whom this stuff is important when it comes to buy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best, and now it's restored!!!!
Review: From the men who brought you "Mary Poppins". From some of the same men who were also involved in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". From the director who brought you "The Absent Minded Professor", "The Love Bug" and several others. Comes the story of a trio of orphns, a huckster of hucksters, and an apprentice witch. It's "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and it's one of the most treasured DVDs in my collection. Join Eglantine Price and Professor Emelius Brown as they search for the spell that causes substitutiary locomotion, and may very well help in the war effort. Come along on a romp through Portibello Road and a journey to the Island of Naboomboo. You'll enjoy every minute of this. This DVD contains 19 minutes of restored footage that was cut from the original release. There is also a 20 minute suppliment featuring interviews with Angela Lansbury, the Sherman BRothers, and many others who were involved in creating thismarvelous film. You MUST own this disc, it is one of the FINEST ever made. It's too bad that "Mary Poppins" wasn't given this treatment when it came to DVD. Buy this now, you won't regret it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Ahh, the old days...
Review: "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is quite the piece of nostalgia for me, and this DVD is a pretty good package to explore that nostalgia with. Unfortunately, like all movies one loved as a child, this one just doesn't hold up as well.

And part of that problem may be that this is he complete version, oddly enough. I had never seen the full version of this film until now, and the result is a very long, almost taxing viewing experience -- not to mention some really poor tries at restoration here and there. Some dialogue has been re-dubbed by completely different actors and without a lot of care given to the lip-synching; scenes with the dubbing are maddening to watch.

That being said, the picture quality is mostly spectacular, and the documentary with the Sherman Bros. (who, surprisingly, are still alive and well) is informative and intriguing.

What remains is a very entertaining children's movie that, much to my dismay, would probably not be enjoyed by today's kids, especially at its new, 140-minute running time. Sure, it's great that the film is finally presented complete, but maybe they were right to make some cuts the first time around.

That being said, it's still a very charming film, mostly thanks to the songs ("Portobello Road" being the highlight) and David Tomlinson's wonderful screen presence.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Worth The Wait
Review: Disney has at last released one of its Classics.I enjoyed this movie as a child at the moviehouse. And it took me a long time as an adult to locate the video....all be it with the video editors cuts !!. But this dvd version restores the complete movie. As with dvd , the photography is truly excellent. And the sound track with the restored songs just great.The Portobello Rd scene sticks out in this respect. A movie I look forward to sitting down with my Kids to watch

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This DVD is a must buy!
Review: This is an absolutely fantastic movie and if you enjoy it, there simply is no question about it, you must purchase this DVD. The picture quality is outstanding. But more importantly, the movie has been restored to its (almost) original length. These scenes have been missing for years and they help to round out the story nicely. The song Ms. Price sings in the kitchen is the best example, I think, of the scenes inserted that help to fill the plot and expand the characters. I had watched the movie several times as a child and it still delights me as an adult.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The DVD Offers the Original Theatrical Version
Review: Although "Bedknobs" tries too hard to imitate "Mary Poppins" (same director, songwriting team, co-star Tomlinson, many plot similarities) it remains good fun and Disney has done a very fine job with the DVD. The only negative is that the high resolution on the DVD makes the wires in the "Substitutiary Locomotion" sequence all too visible.

Contrary to comments made by an earlier reviewer, the DVD offers the 139 minute original cut of the film that was shown at the world premiere in London in the fall of 1971. As mentioned in the short documentary on the DVD, "Bedknobs" was edited down to about 2 hours for U.S. distribution later that year. The original U.S. theatrical cut was used as the basis for all earlier home video versions, except for a special edition laserdisc that was released a few years ago. The documentary doesn't mention that an even shorter version exists---when "Bedknobs" was re-released to theaters in the late 1970s the running time was reduced to about 90 minutes, or almost an hour less than the original 1971 U.K. running time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An excellent remastering of a true Disney Classic!
Review: I can't begin to say how pleased I was with the remastering of Bedknobs and Broomsticks into the DVD format! The additional footage restored into the film makes the story flow much better and clears up many of the questions left unanswered in the original version. The bonus material including interviews with Angela Lansbury, 'making-of' sequences, and snippets on the restoration process make this a DVD a true must for the Disney collector. I initially vowed only to buy the animated classics but I'm greatly pleased I made this an addition to my collection as well!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very charming and pure fun
Review: Finally the version that I remember from when I was a child. I thought maybe I had made up a lot of the scenes since the re-release, video and TV airings were hacked to pieces. This is a wonderful DVD with great sound and absolutely beautiful picture. Angela is enchanting and magical. But what a shame that "A Step in the Right Direction" is missing. At least we still have the music. And I personally think the story and music are better than Mary Poppins. Great family entertainment.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: don't buy
Review: Please do NOT buy this DVD. This 30th anniversary DVD is NOT the LONG version (139 min.), but is the original SHORT version (117 min.). Don't ask me why Disney released the long anniversary version on VHS and a short anniversary version on DVD, but we have to teach them a lesson and ....... this DVD and force them to issue the LONG version on DVD as well. I'm sure they have some greedy reason for it(a future "special edition" DVD to rake in more money from the.......... who bought this version).DONT BUY IT.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: 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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