The Wonderful World Of the Brothers Grimm (1962) Warner Archive Blu-ray Review
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- #Cinerama #BrothersGrimm #Bluray #WarnerArchive
This is my video review of Warner Archive and Cinerama’s majestic Blu-ray special edition of the only other narrative Cinerama feature film THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM (1962). One of only two narrative films made in the original three panel Cinerama process, BROTHERS GRIMM was thought beyond saving for decades due to element damage. In fact its only major video release was a early 1990s Laserdisc which was forced to use the severely compromised single film printdown version. This master has very rarely played on TCM and the film never received a DVD release.
The restoration took many years of research and could not take place until the advent of modern digital tools and techniques that were previously used by the restoration team on the other Cinerama releases. Still it was a mammoth undertaking that continued even during the pandemic lockdowns. The end result is a release that we could only dream of before this point. It is the most spectacular Cinerama restoration to date and stands as one of the finest Blu-rays ever produced. It is in all probability the disc of the year.
I have included matching screencaps of both the Letterbox and Smilebox presentations.
00:00 Introduction, Cinerama and Restoration discussion
10:27 Warner Archive Blu-ray release
16:36 Audio Quality
20:20 Picture Quality
24:06 Packaging, Art and Extras
29:20 Film Discussion
33:23 Closing Thoughts - Фільми й анімація
After watching your review and seeing how passionately you talk about the film and its restoration, I went ahead and purchased a copy of Brothers Grimm. I had never even heard of the film before watching your video and after watching the film in the smilebox version I thought it was great and a very enchanting film. Warner and by extension Warner Archive should be thanking you for my purchases as I would have never done so without your video.
Thank you so much! That’s the entire reason why I make review videos so it’s wonderful to hear!
I'm lucky enough to have seen This is Cinerama in true Cinerama at the Cinerama Dome.
This release was absolutely mind blowing! I couldn’t believe my eyes when viewing it for the first time. Between GRIMM and the wonderful work done on 33’s WAX MUSEUM, Warner Archive might be doing the greatest studio restorations on physical media today. Great episode!
It is indeed stunning. I hope I’m able to convey to people just how amazing this release is.
3 Years ago we visited Rothenburg au Tauber in Germany.
There was a plaque in the town saying: "Photographed in this Beautiful Town - The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm - A George Pal Metro Goldwyn Mayer Cinerama Production 1961"
I always intended to see the film but could never find it, I'm so glad I just found your review!
I've ordered my copy and can't wait to see it - Rothenburg is still a beautiful town and hardly changed since the scenes I saw in your review.
I noticed that Neuschwanstein Castle is also used in the film, also still the same but the bridge you look at it from has been upgraded!
PS If you want a scan of the plaque in the town let me know!
Wow saw this movie on VHS years ago. Just blown my mind the new version. The quality, the depth of field, the audio. I'm lost for words.
It’s absolutely a new experience. One of the biggest night and day differences in restoration there is.
Excellent video I hope we get a similar release of "Krakatoa East of Java"
Great Job! Hearing things like this made it all worth the effort.
Wow! Thank you so much! You guys did such an amazing job that I couldn’t help absolutely gushing over it. Your attention to detail even with the giant workload has brought the film back to life without question.
I really enjoyed your enthusiastic review of "Grimm." I thought I would never see it again except in the TCM abomination. I saw all five of the original three-panel Cinerama travelogues at the Melba theatre in Dallas as well as the two "narrative" features. I was thirteen years old when Cinerama came to Dallas, and although I lived in Tyler, Texas -- 100 miles east of Dallas -- my parents (God bless 'em!) indulged a young film nerd and took me to Dallas to see these wonders as well as other Roadshow films -- Ben Hur, West Side Story, South Pacific, 2001, et al. Yes, I'm now 81, but I still remain a Cinerama fan.
Wow, I can't imagine seeing Cinerama original runs and then being forced to look at only compromised versions for years. I hope the new Blu-ray presentation lives up to your memories of the original screening!!!
This might sound inappropriate, but looking at how good this restoration is along with the amount of hard work put into it, it made me move my head back and moan. Its that good.
You’re not alone there! My jaw certainly hit the floor and while watching it there were certainly a lot of exclamations and “holy moly” and “How in the world did they pull this off?!”
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusaderSpeaking of which, how in the world is Raintree County still not available in High Def? Granted, the movie wasn't a masterpiece, but it's still a big Sprawling epic done on MGM Camera 65, it seems foolish not to give it any sort of High Quality release as it's not had a DVD or Blu-Ray of any sort. It'd be some perfect fodder for the Warner Archive guys to go and resurrect another forgotten treasure like this
@@newmedia2862 that has been answered on episodes of the old Warner archive podcast and also the new podcast called The Extras. Basically due to the format and the shape of the elements in terms of condition it’s going to be an extraordinarily expensive and painstaking process to try and restore the film and it’s not something they can get in terms of budget. They keep trying though which is nice to hear, but it would be great if there could at least be a solid archive DVD made of the old letterbox laserdisc master or maybe a scan of a 35 mm source or alternate source that is still in usable shape just to get some new source out there like what was recently done for The Hallelujah Trail.
I have seen the original 3 projector on the 89 foot curved Cinerama screen at the Cinerama theater on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood 3 times. They do not have a louvered screen ,just a regular cinema screen surface and there definitely is no light "bleed". Of course modern day projectors with their Xenon lamps have a more directional beam than the old fashion arc light systems. The Cinerama Dome has been closed since Covid and hopefully will reopen in 2024 with a screening of this film in Cinerama.
I saw this movie and How the West was Won in a cinema in Glasgow, Scotland, funnily enough called the Cinerama, when I was a teenager. The original name was the Coliseum. It had been significantly modified to show this type of three screen movie. You can find more about this on the Internet. Even then the join lines were visible there was a small color difference between the three screens. However that did not decrease the enjoyment and amazement of both these movies. I have been waiting for this movie since home cinema became a thing. I have just ordered it and have not watched it yet but from what I have seen on UA-cam I think the best way is going to be in the Smilebox format. Hopefully your video on UA-cam encourages more people to watch one of my all time favorite movies.
Parallax distortion. Shown "flat" it is obvious, which a noticeable and distracting bending of the image, especially through the gigolo join lines...SmileBox significantly reduces parallax distortion. If only HTWWW didn't have a VC-1 encode at low bit rate. I have several of the Cinerama films on Blu Ray and the 7-channel sound is astounding...I forget now which one has the funeral scene in New Orleans...which reminds me of "Live and Let Die"...where the marching funeral goers pass the camera...and the microphone array can be seen in shadow form...and go around the watcher to the rear left and right. It's amazing. Even the old MGM LD and DVD have amazing moments in sounds; near the end the choir in the surrounds raises the hairs. "This is Cinerama" has discrete surrounds and it's similar but even more effective near the end with the flyover of the U.S.
Thanks for your great detailed review and history of the Cinerama process. I have "This is Cinerama ", "HTWWW" and "Windjammer " on bluray. Love the Smilebox version on HTWWW. Never saw the Brother's Grimm, but will definitely purchase after your review. The few screenshots look sensational. The restored HTWWW is also fantastic. Thanks from Australia!
Great Video, having just viewed the Cinerama version on Blu-ray here in UK and watching the documentary immediately afterwards I would have to say it's the greatest restoration of a movie I have ever seen and that includes the many silent movie releases I own. It's absolutely beautiful to look at throughout.👌
Indeed they’ve brought the film back from the dead. Absolutely incredible we can see this stuff on disc at home like this.
I agree with you 100% - an absolute must-have release!
Great Video and Very well explained about that Cinerama Restoration. I saw this film on TV some years ago and it was awful about the flat-screen and fazed colors. Thanks to 4k restorations , old films now look splendid. Keep on posting new Videos and Greetings from Spain.. You've got a new subscriber to your Channel 👍
Excellent video and review. I will certainly be purchasing this here in the U.K. I love the "smilebox" format, really hope WB will do more converting 70mm epic titles to Smilebox.
I just went ahead and ordered this one. I love watching the Blu ray of This Is Cinerama on my projector, so I look forward to this as well.
Prepare to be blown away!!
Cinerama is basically the precursor to IMAX
The way Cinerama is done is nuts
The dome theater needs three or so people to project a single film on screens (as notably referred to as) Alpha (far left panel), Baker (center/mid panel) and Charlie (far right panel) [yes really!]
and the camera for the cinerama process has 6 reels, 2 for alpha, 2 for baker and 2 for charlie
It is crazy that IMAX uses an aspect ratio of 1.90 (or less) when the Cinema standard of 95 percent of films is 2.39. Their deceitful advertising has conned a big part of the general public to believe that they are missing part of the picture in regular cinemas.
I was and am a huge fan of George Pal's films, (The Time Machine 1960) way before I even knew who he was as a five-year-old when my mother took me to see the movie in the theatre in 1959. I was five and my mom just passed at 100 January 2023. Anyway, I missed this wonderful film as a child but discovered it some years ago and have become a fan of Leigh (7 faces of Dr. Lao) Harline's music.
If you haven't seen the 1972 British production (thankfully) of Alice in Wonderland, music by the immortal John Barry, please see it.
Under-rated even with Peter Sellers, Sir Ralph Richardson and Dudley Moore as well as Flora Robson. Ethereal music by the man who brought us the music to Goldfinger, etc.
GRIMM definitely slipped through the cracks for a long while due to its unavailability.
I need to revisit the 70’s and 1940’s film versions of Alice in Wonderland.
yes this is a must own. so glad i have a copy.
Holy Cinerama!
Okay, I had to order it. Not just because of your excellent review, but those screenshots looked incredible! Here's to hoping they revisit How the West Was Won.
I’m glad! Admittedly I spent way too much time taking screenshots and then matching ones on the other disc but it was worth it for this release! I didn’t mind splurging on more than I would normally do to better convey how impressive this release is.
I may have more to say on HTWWW soon.
Lucky me seeing it in Cinerama in Toronto and great screen and sound.
Hello-
the Warner Archive Collection release of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm on blu-ray disc is the first
Warner Archive release to have a booklet. the only previous home video release of the film was a vhs tape made
from the 35MM print used in neighborhood theaters.
Yes the old video master was from the compromised single film conversion. It was the only other video version previously available and turned up on infrequent TCM broadcasts and the letterboxed laserdisc. I suppose they made a vhs version as well.
Getting a booklet from WAC is major. I was so happy to see them do one.
Shockingly, I still have not seen The Wonderful World Of the Brothers Grimm, but it is on my list of movies to watch.
Not so shocking since the availability has been slim to none outside of the LD and few TCM airings. Be glad you’ll see the restoration first as the compromised version was a dramatically inferior presentation and an old video master to boot.
My local public library has some Blu-Ray copies of The Wonderful World Of the Brothers Grimm on order, I already went ahead and placed a hold on one!
I am looking forward to finally checking it out.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader, my hold for the Blu-Ray of The Wonderful World Of the Brothers Grimm came in at my public library and I checked it out earlier today. I am going to spin it up later this week.
Which version do you think is superior? The Letterbox version or the "Smilebox" version?
@@Riddler95 go for the Smilebox version first as the letterbox version has the panels flat which reveals more of the inherent distortion meant to be covered up by the curved screen.
I will do that.
Thanks so much for the info. I really appreciate it. If I like the movie I will definitely buy a copy of it.
DamnFoolIdealisticSuperSaiyanCrusader achieved
I'm not familiar with the film but I definitely think I'll be getting this at some point. It looks like it has some beautiful cinematography, only highlighted by the new restoration. The booklet makes the release all the more exciting.
Absolutely. Going in without any knowledge of the film with this restoration will win you over immediately. Normally I’m not one for fantasy films but it has such scale and heart to it that you can’t help but love it.
You’ll find yourself whistling or humming the main theme for the next week after seeing it.
Also the 45 minute restoration documentary plus being able to compare the two presentations is worth the cost of admission. And if that wasn’t enough the audio presentation is fantastic.
The fact that this is still at a normal list price and dips under $20 is astounding.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader Your review and response has only peaked my interest in the movie. It will probably be the next film I receive from Warner Archive.
@@filmbuster2619 I’m glad! As one of their deluxe special editions it’s worth even more than its usual price point too.
This reference quality release can easily rival some of the best native 4K discs, thanks to it being restored in 4K (3840 x 2160) master files from 6K files of original Cinerama camera negatives.
It would be amazing to see this someday get a bump to UHD just for the uptick in resolution but this is still revelatory.
Thanks!
I have this blu-ray and it is AWESOME. Do you think that someday we could see a proper restoration of "Around the World in 80 Days". I saw it at the Cinerama Santa Lucía here in Santiago de Chile and was -until these day- one of my most incredible movie experiences of my life. And men, my Dad (God rest his soul) saw ALL the Cinerama movies in that place and.... THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL RELEASE OF "KING KONG" 1933.... UNCUT. That is the reason why I am a fan of movies and specially of these 3 panel format.
There’s nothing like the grand roadshow films and the Cinerama features are themselves truly unique. It’s amazing to think you can run them in your home like this.
Around the World in 80 Days needs some overhauling for sure. A Blu-ray release with new work and both 24 and 30 fps version needs to happen as each version has unique takes. What is great about the dvd special edition is the work they put in. The 5.1 mix does an exceptional job at preserving the original Todd-AO configuration.
I can’t imagine what Kong was like on the original run for audiences. It must have bowled people over.
I wish you could have worked up a tad more enthusiasm for this flick, Spencer...(just kidding!). No, I completely agree, but then I'm a total Cinerama nerd. I not only have your OOP HOW THE WEST WAS WON Smilebox digibook, but all of the Flicker Alley travelogue restorations as well--not to mention Cinerama wannabe oddities like WINDJAMMER, HOLIDAY IN SPAIN and THE GOLDEN HEAD (featuring the rollicking comedy hijinks of Buddy Hackett and George Sanders). Although maybe not in the league of BROTHERS GRIMM damage, most of the travelogues were in pretty rough shape as well before being restored. David Strohmaier is an unsung genius IMHO.
I need to catch up on all the other travelogues. I’ve seen where they’ve talked about how bad off Windjammer was.
Haha maybe I can cram more enthusiasm in next time….
I have a region 2 dvd copy of The Brothers Grimm. It’s from Italy if my memory is correct, and it maybe a bootleg. The transfer is awful!
I’m wondering if MGM might have another look at the roadshow version of The Alamo which apparently the negative is in bad shape. But who knows after being bought by Amazon.
My guess would be they used the LD master or copied the disc itself. Or they had a reduction print and did a crummy transfer.
The Alamo needs a another look but I don’t see it happening. If someone would do a similar release to the Koch Blu-ray in other territories it might work.
I saw "2001" in 1968 in a theater as cinerama.
Lucky! I’ve often wondered what seeing it on the curved screen was like. Even though it wasn’t designed for it, I’ll bet it had an enormous impact!
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader As far as I know it was designed for cinerama.
@@jnagarya519 by that time most Cinerama theaters were showing 70mm films via a single projector on the curved screen. In the case of 2001 the film wasn’t designed for the curved screen and they had to go through it shot by shot at the end of production to make sure nothing would be compromised by the deep screen curvature.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader Interesting. There was no distortion, so however it was done technically it was immersive.
Saw many times on a Cinerama screen in Toronto where it played 127 weeks! Looked great and still the BEST movie ever made! (July 2022)
Pls torrent this
Big screen does not guarantee good film.