larry bender

I am tired of listening to dvd reviewers who complain all the time about certain dvds [SOUND OF MUSIC] because they look "too soft"and should be remastered again. These critics need to know that it was the directors choice in collaboration with the cinematographer to give the film its "soft look". The SOUND OF MUSIC dvd is an excellent transfer and if these critics disagree they need to go to film school.

Mr. Salty

Really? Robert Harris, who's probably the world's foremost expert in film restoration, thinks "The Sound of Music" doesn't look anywhere near as good as it should.

And I doubt that a director and cinematographer who go to the trouble to shoot their film in a format like 65 mm Todd-AO would go out of their way to make their film look soft.

But I guess you know something we don't. Have you spoken to Mr. Wise lately?

larry bender

What makes you think a director would not go out of his way for a softer effect in his film? Norman Jewison had his director of cinematography Oswald Morris use a thin sheet of material over the lens to soften the effect. And by the way, he won an oscar for cinematography that year for FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. How do you know Robert Wise did not soften up the image? you have not talked to him yourself. Robert Wise if you are watching please reply.

chipmac

I think I read somewhere when the SOM DVD was released that the film elements were in such poor condition that part of the reason for the softness was due to the filters used to clean it up. Now there may very well be scenes that were intended to be soft by the director but I'm sure the entire film should not look that way. The restoration was also poor in the fact that the color shifts noticably within the same scenes. Grass goes from bright green to yellow and back. The captain's grey suit goes from grey to blue to green and back again. This restoration to me seemed rushed and poorly done and you don't need to be in the know to see that something is just not right in the result.