The Sound Of Music turns 60 this year – and Disney has happily opted to celebrate the occasion by remastering the film in 4K resolution and high dynamic range for a worldwide re-release at the cinema and on 4K Blu-ray disc.
The 4K HDR remaster is the latest production from the seemingly relentlessly busy The Walt Disney Film Restoration team, which labored over this restoration for a period of nine months. During which time it oversaw the digital scanning of preserved film footage, expertly cleaned up issues caused by dirt, w
The Sound Of Music is 60 years old – an occasion Disney is celebrating by releasing the film in cinemas and on 4K Blu-ray in a new 4K master.
Photo: The Sound Of Music 4K Blu-ray
arping and other old film “nasties” and presented the final results in Dolby Vision high dynamic range pictures and Dolby Atmos sound for the very first time.
“This enhanced version of The Sound Of Music is a testament to the enduring power of this iconic masterpiece,” says Imogen Lloyd Webber, who oversees the Rodgers & Hammerstein brand as EVP Marketing and Communications for Concord Theatricals and Originals. “As we enter the 60th year, the restoration will safeguard our beloved classic for generations to come.”
Given the effort that appears to have gone into the restoration, it’s pleasing to have Disney confirm to me that the film is going to appear on a 100GB 4K Blu-ray disc rather than one of the 66GB discs the studio uses for the vast majority of its 4K Blu-ray releases. The film’s unusually long running time of 174 minutes would likely have required its images to be pretty heavily compressed to fit them onto a 66GB disc, but 100GB will hopefully give the remaster room to breathe.
The image will be presented in a 2.20:1 aspect ratio, and the soundtrack, including all the film’s immortal songs, will appear in Dolby Atmos surround sound for the first time (by comparison, the HD Blu-ray included alongside the 4K Blu-ray only carries a 7.1 DTS HDMA mix.)
This is how the Sound Of Music disc packaging will look without the outer sleeve.
Photo: Disney
The 4K Blu-ray release of The Sound Of Music will be accompanied by many hours of bonus features for the film’s legions of films to enjoy. In fact, despite both the 4K and HD Blu-ray discs in the package already containing a feature-length commentary track by Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer Charmian Carr, Dee Dee Wood and Johannes von Trapp, a secondary commentary track by Robert Wise and a Sing-Along version of the film, the 4K Blu-ray release will also ship with a third disc dedicated solely to further bonus features. On this disc you will find:
- The Sound of a City Documentary – Julie Andrews returns to Salzburg, Austria
- A City of Song – Filming Locations in Salzburg, Austria
- Music Stages – The songs, the show and the family
- Vintage Programs – The Sound Of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein, location interviews and audio interviews.
- Rare Treasures – Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall: The Pratt Family Singers, The Julie Andrews hour: Julie Andrews and Maria Von Trapp, Screen Tests, 40th Anniversary DVD introduction by Julie Andrews, and Galleries
- Publicity – Fox Movietone News – Academy Awards, trailers and teasers, TV spots and Radio spots.
The Sound Of Music’s new 4K restoration will play in more than 1,000 cinemas across more than 30 countries, with the U.S. run taking place from September 12-17 and the international run starting on September 20. The 4K Blu-ray release will debut on September 23.
Given how many fans the film has, it’s perhaps a relief to find that The Sound Of Music’s 4K Blu-ray release appears to be a ‘regular’ one rather than a Limited Edition release of the sort we’ve seen recently with a number of other Disney catalogue film releases. Though the downside to this is that while the 4K Blu-ray packaging is attractive enough, it doesn’t appear that there will be a Steelbook version for collectors to seek out.
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