Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection on Blu-ray in April!

[Gorlois]

Blu-ray box set with Carousel, The King and I, Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and State Fair coming out on April 29th!




Blu-ray link here!

[EricMontreal22]

Sweet! Somehow the only one I had on regular DVD was King and I so I'll have to pick this up... PLEASE tell me it has the State Fair remake with Ann Margaret's great production number

[CarlosAlberto]

Eric you read my mind....I love the 62 State Fair because of that production number.....and Pamela Tiffin....I have a soft spot for Miss Tiffin.

[EricMontreal22]

Not surprised--we seem to mostly agree on things

That amazon link won't work for me. All I could find was an announcement for a UK set http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7765 which sadly doesn't mention the State Fair remake, but surely they could squeeze it on there :P

[Eris0303]

The 62 State Fair is w/ the original in the R&H box set that I have. It didn't have its own box - it was inside the regular State Fair box. Hopefully they'll do the same thing.

[Gorlois]

I'm not sure why the link isn't working, I'll try it again. I can't edit the first post for some reason.

Btw, the description on Amazon for the American set only mentions the original State Fair, in case the link *still* doesn't work.


Preorder

[Gorlois]

Okay, here's where I got the news. From Blu-ray.com, they have a link to the preorder.
Blu-ray.com Link

[Eris0303]

The 62 State Fair is probably considered an "extra feature".

And, the link doesn't work. It doesn't even come up when you search Amazon.

[Gorlois]

Try the link I posted in the above message. It'll take you to Blu-ray.com where you can click on the Amazon link. Also updated the original post with this change.

[bwayto]

So excited for this!

[EricMontreal22]

Gorlois--thanks for going through all that trouble. The design is like the previous box set so maybe they'll port over all the features including the remake (or keep some of them in standard DVD? Do major BR discs still do that--for a while they often did with bonus features.)

[best12bars]

Very excited about this, but because I own the DVD set, I will probably wait for a sale.

I hope they've done a lot of work on Oklahoma! That was the weakest title, as far as video quality goes, in the DVD box set. They have two versions of the film, one from the 70mm presentation, and the other from the Cinemascope presentation (35mm anamorphic). I can't remember which issue was with which version, but one was very soft, almost out of focus (I could barely watch it), and the other was in need of serious color-timing help. It was all washed out with brownish tints. At least it was in focus.

I have already seen an HD presentation of The King and I, and it was dazzling. The fine details in those sets and costumes are jaw-dropping. I think it will probably rate the best-looking among the new Blu-ray releases.

I'm glad they're doing this set. I already own The Sound of Music, but that will be the only BD "double dip" for me.

[CarlosAlberto]

I'm a stickler for graphics and design. The import version's box has a better design. I wish Fox in the U.S. would have done a re-design instead of re-hashing the old artwork. Still, I am excited for this release. I already have THE SOUND OF MUSIC on blu and I have a 1080p HD Digital download of THE KING & I which is stunning.

I had the original DVD box set but sold it when I moved back up north.

[Mildred Plotka]

The Blu Ray will have both versions of Oklahoma! and both State Fair movies. Also, the titles are going to be sold separately (ala the Marilyn Blu Box Set). I'm torn, as I already have Sound of Music and South Pacific on Blu and the dvd box set, so hoping the individual titles follow the box set pretty quickly or the box set price drops significantly. April 29th per Amazon, too! Fox tends to do a great job with their blu-ray transfers. The South Pacific blu actually made me enjoy the movie more.

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=233190

[Mildred Plotka]

The cover art for the US version is much cleaner Carlos. I think amazon uk has been using that graphic for some time, when the box set was originally announced (and delayed) a few years ago. So wouldn't be surprised if that's the actual uk artwork.

[best12bars]

One thing they mention wasn't included in the DVD box set (it may be on the single Blu-ray already available).

"South Pacific" is presented with both the wide release and roadshow versions of the film. This may be just a matter of "seamlessly branching" additional material where you get an overture, entr'acte and exit music. I don't know.

[Mildred Plotka]

There is some added footage for the road show version but because it was pieced together with the surviving lost prints the quality is weaker than the rest of the film on blu. It doesn't make for a seamless experience, but was interesting to watch once. Here's the review that goes into detail about it:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/South-Pacific-Blu-ray/3438/#Review

[best12bars]

Cool, thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing that.

Any word on whether or not they have improved the (seriously bad) image for Oklahoma? Neither version looked good on DVD.

[Mildred Plotka]

I guess Oklahoma! was recently screened at some festival and looked great per what I've read. Since they're including both prints of the film, I'd hope at least 1 of them would be a significant upgrade. If their work on South Pacific and Sound of Music in any indication, I think we're in for a treat.

[best12bars]

I just Googled it, and yes, there have been recent screenings of a new restoration for Oklahoma!

I can only hope that's the one going into this set. Yay!

[best12bars]

"The 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival will open April 10 with the world premiere of the new restoration of "Oklahoma!" Fred Zinnemann's 1955 classic based on the groundbreaking Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical.

Restoration presented in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox and Fotokem. The original 6-track soundtrack has been also restored and re-mastered at Twentieth Century Fox, in collaboration with End Point Audio and Chase Audio by Deluxe.

This unique 4K presentation, painstakingly restored from 65mm Todd-AO elements by Twentieth Century Fox and Fotokem, will be screened at 30 frames per second—the same frame rate as when the film was originally released in 1955. The original 6-track soundtrack has been also restored and re-mastered at Twentieth Century Fox, in collaboration with End Point Audio and Chase Audio by Deluxe.

Shirley Jones will be in attendance at the screening in the TCL Chinese Theater IMAX in Hollywood. The film will be introduced by TCM host Robert Osborne."


Link

[Mildred Plotka]

I think they've had this done for quite some time, as it was announced a few years back and been delayed. Since the release date is so soon after the announcement, I'm assuming it was a rights issue or something of that nature.


It's a shame Fox doesn't own Flower Drum Song. The DVD is pretty good, but would love for it to be included here.

I'm going to be watching the Amazon price like a hawk, as I really can't see paying that much for a set that has 2 films I already own on blu.

[best12bars]

I can hold out for a Black Friday sale, but I will keep my eye out for something earlier.

Next year is the 60th anniversary of Oklahoma!, but I guess they didn't want to wait that long for the box set. I'm glad they didn't.

[Mildred Plotka]

I'm hoping the packaging is better than the Marilyn collection, too. A disc falls to the floor every time I go to open it. The single disc Marilyn movies followed the box set pretty quickly, hopefully that will be the case here.

[EricMontreal22]

UK DVDs often have more interesting artwork, I find.

I am pretty sure it was the ToddAO print of Oklahoma! that looked so rough (which is too bad as I prefer it.) The gossip long was that OK's BR was being held up due to wanting to finally try to get a proper restoration.

Always forget that there were cut scenes from SP--will be cool to see. And yes, I wish there was some way they could have licensed Flower Drum to be included.

[best12bars]

I've seen Flower Drum Song in HD, and it looks great! It's ready to go, too.

I'm surprised they didn't try to work out a deal. The recent Marilyn BD box set had licenses from multiple studios, as did the Hitchcock BD collection. So why not?