rushmore223

Okay, I did a search and cannot find anything to answer this question.

I wanted to know if the scene where Beast is revealed (stepping out of the shadows) to Belle was corrected from the previous DVD release?

In the DVD release, they seemed to have turned the brightness way up making Beast easy to see even when he was standing in the shadows. This detracts from the drama of him stepping into the light, revealing himself to Belle. This "alteration" irked me so much that I could not stand to watch the DVD anymore and will not buy the Blu-ray if the transfer has not been correctly restored.

So, please, anybody with this new BD version, please let me know.

Spottedfeather

Go to ultimatedisney.com and look at the review of it. You can't really tell from the pictures they show, but it says that it's a lot better.

Jay G.

Direct link to the review:
http://www.dvdizzy.com/beautyandthebeast.html

The scene is a little darker, but the Beast still seems very visible. The review mentions that the basis for comparison is the VHS, and I'm wondering if the theatrical release was really as dark as the VHS, or since the darkness of the VHS works so well for that particular scene, we just assume it was supposed to be that dark.

rushmore223

Well, I never owned the VHS copy of Beauty and the Beast, so I have no idea what that looks like. I did however see it in theaters and owned the laserdisc. I cannot compare the scene since my LD player no longer works, but my best memory and gut instinct tell me that the Beast should not be visible until he steps into the light.

It really is a shame when (I'm looking at you, George Lucas) Directors, Producers or even guys in suits decide to go and futz with the original aesthetic of great films. That scene was powerful the way it was, and just seems to have lost it's impact the way it was "restored".

By the way, thanks for the article. I never knew that the problem I had with the transfer was echoed by so many other fans of the original. I have to honestly say, that after reading it, I feel more like getting my Laserdisc player fixed than buying the Blu-ray. What a shame, guess I'll have to wait another 7 years or so. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Jay G.

If the laserdisc was P&S, then it was probably the same master as the VHS. If it was letterboxed, it was probably this transfer:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l6hfMGAO9Mg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l6hfMGAO9Mg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6hfMGAO9Mg

Note that this clip is from someone who disliked the 2002 DVD version:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sniAbH4XF3g?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sniAbH4XF3g?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sniAbH4XF3g

I remember it more as his eyes and teeth being visible, with a shadowy silhouette. However, looking at that LD clip, I'm wondering if I remember it that way because it's the way the scene plays to Belle (due to the lines she says and her reaction), so we remember it that way.

To be fair, the 2002 restoration doesn't seem to have been the result of creative hubris on anyone's part, but a good-faith effort to transfer the film according to the way it was originally intended to be seen. That the new transfer is slightly darker seems to indicate that the 2002 transfer may have been a bit too bright, but that appears to have been an unintentional mistake.

Comparing the LD clip from youtube and the BD screencaps from the review, it looks like the BD and LD have about the same brightness levels. The Beast might still be slightly more visible due to the increased color depth on Blu-ray, and better display on HDTVs compared to old SD TVs.

Jay G.

I know I had that reaction when I first watched the 2002 DVD. This old thread shows others had the same reaction:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-reviews...w-dvdfile.html

rushmore223

The DVD was way too bright though, and one thing I have to say about the new transfer for Blu-ray, even though the colors pop and are vibrant, it goes against what I felt they were trying to originally convey. The original gave you the feeling of the Beasts castle being neglected and having seen better days. The dim lighting gave it more atmosphere and mood, where the new transfer just seems to want you to say "wow, look at how bright and crisp the images are now". To me, it is not really an improvement, but that is my opinion.

Anyway, thank you for your in-depth input on this matter. You obviously took time and care in presenting me with information and I appreciate that.

EDIT ~ Ooops I managed to incorporate my text within your quoted text.

Jay G.

Yeah, my way of quoting posts can be tricky. I sometimes mess it up myself.

Just make sure each of the individual quotes are wrapped by the [ quote ] and [ /quote ] tags (without spaces of course).

Well, it's hard to judge the entire transfer just based on one or two screenshots. However, earlier in the Blu-ray review there's a screencap of the Beast confronting Belle's father, and it looks appropriately dark.

Also, the review mentions that due to the additional music number "human again," where the castle's inhabitants clean up the castle, the IMAX version of the film polished up the castle backgrounds after that point. So maybe what you're seeing is a result of that creative decision, and not the fault of the transfer necessarily.

http://www.dvdizzy.com/beautyandthebeast.html

nando820

Hey this is something i mentioned a few weeks ago on the Disney BD Plans thread

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/10421898-post495.html

I use to have a region 4 VHS copy of "Beauty & the Beast" and the Beast was indeed darker in several scenes including the part when he captures the dad. It was only after he lets himself be seen to Belle that all his features are shown prominently. The blu-ray looks really good and allows to see more detail from the artists but with the other hand the cinema look is gone. Because now everything is bright and so delineated to a point where it simply looks like a made-for-Tv cartoon a well done one of course.

Jay G.

Just found out about this:

GM Toons, Thailand's version of Asylum Studios, has created a CGI shot-for-shot remake of Disney's Beauty and the Beast:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JIhE7e5-YOI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JIhE7e5-YOI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIhE7e5-YOI

The Beast is too visible in this version as well.