Editorial Review:Amazon.com:Disney's 1959 animated effort was the studio's most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney's
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent's castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur.
--David Kronke
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Disney's 50th Anniversary of Sleeping Beauty in Stunning Blu-ray!
Walt Disney released his greatest artistic masterpiece "Sleeping Beauty" in February of 1959. After spending 6 million dollars and 8 years in the making of this masterpiece, Sleeping Beauty managed to gross 5.3 million at the box office, certainly not enough for Disney to break even on his greatest artistic achievement in animation. Disney spared no expense on Sleeping Beauty, as he used Technicolor and Technirama 70. Technirama 70 was a special system of film running through the camera horizontally, exposing two 35mm frames simultaneously. This unusual film is then printed normally on standard 35mm film and shown with an anamorphic lens for the widescreen, extra dimension effect. Unlike Disney's earlier box office successful films of "Snow White" and "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty" lacked the music and characters that younger children love. There are no fun songs like "Heigh Ho" or "Cinderelly" and no adorable little mice like Jacques and Gus. This movie is definitely for a little older audience that appreciates the greatest art ever created for a full length animated movie. To say it is Disney's artistic masterpiece is an understatement! I saw Sleeping Beauty when it premiered in the winter of 1959, and even though I was a small child, it was then and is still now my absolute favorite Disney movie of all time!
This new blu-ray version of "Sleeping Beauty" made me feel as though I was seeing it again in 1959! This is the widest version I have ever seen and when you add hi-def 1080p and the all new digital restoration to it, it's like seeing it for the first time ever! Everything is so colorful, super wide, sharper, brighter than you can imagine! You can see every crack in every brick and stone! I am keeping my fingers crossed, that they treat more of the other great old Disney films with this same blu-ray restoration, as it's like seeing the film like you've never seen it before!
"Sleeping Beauty" may not be known for it's songs, like in "Snow White" or it's cute characters in "Cinderella", but it is known for the most fantastic hand drawn art that will never be surpassed by anyone ever again. Every scene is pure art in it's highest form due to the fantastic work of the best Disney artists of the time. This blu-ray dvd has a Bonus Feature disc that features many of the artists that contributed to this masterpiece. Seeing Eyvind Earle, who was given complete control of every artistic aspect of the film, along with other artists Marc Davis, Mary Blair, Ken Anderson and others is a real treat!
This bonus disc also features the beautiful Mary Costa, whose looks and gorgeous voice made Princess Aurora come to life. We also get to see Bill Shirley, the voice of Prince Phillip, Eleanor Audley, the voice of Maleficent as well as the wicked stepmother in Cinderella (She is the best villainess voice of any in animation!) and of course the three good fairies Verna Felton the voice of Flora, Barbara Jo Allen the voice of Fauna and Barbara Luddy the voice of Merryweather. This is so great as Disney shows how the people whose voices played the characters look so much like the characters! Of course they show how the film looks like Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty music seems to have been written for this Disney masterpiece, instead of the other way around!
More Bonus features include a Maleficent game, learning to waltz, an all new dragon encounter and a never before seen alternate opening. The best bonus feature for me is the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. This is unbelievable, to be able to take a digitally re-created 3-D tour of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, just as it was in 1957 and 1958 (two years before the movie premiered)in Disneyland in California! What a treat! If you don't have a blu-ray player, now is the time to get one to enjoy the most breathtaking Disney masterpiece ever created! Sleeping Beauty is pure art in every way one can imagine from it's Tchaikovsky music to it's fairy tale of how good always conquers evil, but mainly for the opulent, gorgeous art dominated by the talents of Eyvind Earle's scenery and Marc Davis' characters- it's a rare treat for the senses and one you don't want to miss!
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Beyond belief! Go Blu-ray!
I was skeptical about buying an animated movie in blu-ray. I can't even express how amazing this movie looks! The color is outstanding, the scenery better than I would have ever thought possible. All the dotty looks of the old-style Disney movies has been completely erased with this enhancement and yet, you lose none of the nostalgic feel. The story is one of the best, as always and the characters are wonderful. The sound is fabulous AND you get a bonus regular dvd with this purchase which I think is wonderful (Yay portible DVD player for trips!). If you are on the rail about buying animated blu-ray like I was, don't be with this one! I bought mine on sale, but I would have paid full-price for how amazing this looks. I would recommend this to anyone.
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Blu-ray specific review
This movie is a classic. Many reviews here describe why this movie is just that and I won't dwell on that aspect of the movie. I will say this though.
This is my absolute favorite of the Disney classics. The art direction is simply superb, many scenes present themselves as multi-layered moving story books. It not only is an interesting direction but is entirely complimentary to midieval fairy tale setting of the movie.
The story is wonderfully and efficiently written, and includes Disney's most memorable villian. This movie truly is a stylistic classic, a giant among it's peers.
Per this blu-ray speicfically, this movie looks like it could have been produced yesterday. The absolute crispness of the backgrounds, especially forgrounds during closeups is stunning. I will say I did notice some softness of character in mid-ground shots, but what could you expect of a movie of this vintage. Even the live action shots of the story book opening is extrodinarily detailed.
And it sounds great, 7.1 surround sound in hi-def DTS-HD MA audio. For a movie that was originally recorded in mono, the surround effects and "presence" and superb. Another masterful job by Disney.
Bonus features:
This 2 disc set includes an exhaustive set of bonus features, in line with high profile Disney releases. These include, numerous making of and historical bits, the standard interactive game and next-gen features such as BD-live and Picture-in-Picture "Cine-explore". Additionally included is a limited time pack-in of a standard DVD disc. Personally, I find the BD-live features are of limited value but many might find the opportunity to send piture mail to friends over the Disney BD-live system fun. I do think the limited time DVD pack-in is a great bonus for those that have portable regular DVD players such as in-car models. Why buy 2 discs if you have kids and are interested in making sure your movie purchases work with mobile needs.
All, in all, this edition including the extensive bonus features make this movie a nobrainer as a first purchase or an upgrade from VHS and a highly recommend for people upgrading from DVD.
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True Love's Kiss Breaks the Spell
"Sleeping Beauty" is a magnificent adventure now in widescreen with sumptuous detail. The backgrounds have a lush intricate medieval design while the characters seem to float through each scene effortlessly. I found the movie to be especially calming and filled with luminous beauty. Each scene is exquisite, like a painting in motion. The handmade animation has been restored to a new level of brilliance. The colors are gorgeous and keep your attention even more than the storyline, which is a bit slow in places.
The basic story revolves around three good fairies who protect princess Aurora for sixteen years. Nothing too interesting happens until Maleficent (an evil fairy) transforms herself into a dragon and then the story finally has a formidable villain, which makes it a bit more exciting. However, prince Phillip seems unable to slay Maleficent until he is helped by the three good fairies. They keep the story alive and fresh with all their magic. It is fun to watch them triumph over evil. Still, the fairies are not able to undo Maleficent's curse on the princess Aurora who falls into a deep sleep after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel's spindle created by the evil fairy. The only way she can awaken is to receive a kiss from her true love. Maleficent tries to make this an impossibility, but somehow good overcomes evil in the end.
Since this was my first time to see Sleeping Beauty I had never realized it was a story about an arranged marriage. Fortunately princess aurora meets prince Phillip in the forest before the wedding takes place. To me, princess Aurora looked twenty not sixteen. The only other difference from the story I heard as a child was that Princess Aurora doesn't sleep for a hundred years. Everything else was exactly as I imagined it to be. This movie has a perfection that is rare and beautiful and it is definitely a movie worth collecting.
~The Rebecca Review
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A True Masterpiece
For all of the thirty two years I've been on this planet, "Sleeping Beauty" was one of the few Disney films that I never viewed. My wife and daughter have watched it numerous times on VHS, but I either wasn't home at the time or I was interested in something else. My wife considers this film to be her favorite Disney movie. Having watched it for the first time tonight, I understand why.
The Disney version of this fairy tale is inspired by Tchaikovsky's ballet. With the wonderful "Once Upon A Dream" waltz, a cast of likeable characters including the fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather and a classic Disney villain in Maleficent, "Sleeping Beauty" is two parts love story and one part action yarn. Humor is provided by the fathers of Aurora and Prince Philip, as well as the fairies.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Maleficent casts a spell on the infant Aurora. On her sixteenth birthday, she is to fall into a deadly sleep. Luckily the kind fairy Merryweather had not yet given Aurora a gift. In order to save her life, Merryweather casts a protective spell that prevents Aurora from passing away but puts her into a deep sleep. This slumber can only be broken by her true love's kiss. From there, the story has magic, a dragon, and an ending that's both beautiful and funny.
The 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition of Walt Disney's classic is a masterpiece. The film looks beautiful. It is set in a widescreen format and has been digitally restored to a colorful and eye-popping presentation. The sound is also excellent and the music is simply wonderful.
The DVD is loaded with special features. It includes an alternate opening sequence, a game in which you can learn a waltz, a look into the life of Tchaikovsky, the musical "Grand Canyon Suite" and much, much more. Heck, even the standard Disney Channel television star music video is good. This time around it's Emily Osment's popped-up version of "Once Upon A Dream."
I can honestly say that "Sleeping Beauty" has worked her way into my top ten list of Disney films. It's a wonderful film for the whole family and deserves a spot on everybody's DVD (or Blu-ray) shelf.