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The Fox And The Hound (DVD)
by Wee_Jackie_163
"The Fox and The Hound" is a Disney film made in 1981. I purchased the "25th Anniversary Edition" of the DVD from www.play.com a few months ago and paid around £8 for my copy.
This edition of the DVD has a few bonus features such as some "Bonus Shorts" which are basically short cartoons. I only ... watched one of these which is called "Lambert The Sheepish Lion" and it was quite humorous and enjoyable, I must confess. Other bonus features include "The Fox and The Hound Art Gallery" and "Forest Friendship Game" but I didn't investigate these, so cannot comment on what they are like.
There is also a "Sing Along Song" feature on the DVD and a "DVD Storybook" feature but again, I have not watched these features so cannot comment, and I would have thought they would have perhaps been better suited to younger audiences. I admit that I was impressed with the range of bonus features that appear on this Disney DVD which are far superior to other Disney DVDs that I own that contain perhaps only one bonus feature. The features on this edition of The Fox and The Hound would add to the overall viewing experience for youngsters, in my opinion.
As @ the time of writing (November 2012) this disc is available to buy from www.play.com for £8.71 with free delivery for a new copy. Used copies are a few pounds less, but I believe postage costs apply. Prices on Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) are significantly more expensive, with a new copy of the DVD costing around the £14 mark.
* THE PLOT *
A baby fox cub is found by an elderly widow, who immediately falls in love with the beautiful baby. Adopting the cub to care for him, she names him Tod and the two live in harmony for a short while.
One day whilst out playing, Tod ventures into the field adjoining his, and makes friends with Copper, a young pup who lives on the farm next door. Copper and Tod become firm friends, playing together and having fun on their outings.
One day, Copper's owner decides to go on a hunting trip, and he packs up his truck to leave for the winter. Copper climbs onto the wagon as instructed, and as it sets off and leaves the property, Tod watches it fade into the distance, able to see his friend Copper sitting atop the wagon as it turns the corner and disappears from sight. Tod is sad at his friend's departure for the coming months, but he knows he will return in the spring, and then they can pick up their friendship from where it left off........ Or can they?
Tod knows that the duo made a pact that they will "Always be friends...Forever" but will this be possible once Copper returns?
* MY OPINION *
I'm a huge fan of anything Disney-related so I had seen this film countless times during my youth, not least because the main cast is predominantly made up of animals! I do love Disney films where the plot surrounds animals, and with The Jungle Book, Finding Nemo and, of course, The Lion King being some of my favourites, I had forgotten somewhat about The Fox And The Hound, which is rather less well-known and certainly less popular than some of the bigger Disney films that I have in my collection. I came across the DVD whilst shopping for another Disney film online a few months ago and I immediately decided to purchase it, as I had such fond memories of watching the film when I was young.
There are a few differences between The Fox and The Hound (TFATH) when compared to other Disney films. For starters, it's story line is quite 'dark' and although it could be argued that other Disney films have a dark 'vein' running through them, such as The Lion King, perhaps, TFATH takes it one step further as the actual main plotline and story itself is quite dark, with very little in the way of more 'light-hearted' padding around it that offers the viewer a little respite from these dark plots. There is actually some rather sinister viewing to be found in the film, which may come as a surprise for some viewers who have not watched it before, and certainly I would have thought that VERY young children might find a few scenes are rather upsetting, so please do bear that in mind.
The film cleverly explores many themes, some of which are rather less noticeable than others. The main themes are unmistakeable, however, and these range from abandonment and trust to the main theme that reveals itself over and over throughout the film at a variety of stages...... Friendship.
It is impossible to notice this theme as it is played out easily on our screens in the first part of the film, and then again, and again......... and again, during several stages of the film until the final scenes where it is presented again in all of its glory, with the whole POINT of this repetition being impossible to miss.
The 'friendship' scenes throughout the film are some of the most heart-warming, in my opinion, and I did feel a gentle tug on my 'heart-strings' during the first part of the film when watching the on-screen friendship between Tod and Copper develop when they were both youngsters....... absolutely divine, and the usual Disney magic was probably most prominent during this part of the film, when all was at its most 'rosy.' Later on in the film we are reminded of this once-rosy friendship that now is under threat, on more than one occasion, in fact, and this was done beautifully to ensure the viewer felt certain emotions at these times. At these points in the film, the tug on my 'heart-strings' was tightened more and more, the gentle pull that was present originally long gone.
There is one other huge difference between The Fox and The Hound when compared to other Disney films, and that can be found as the final scenes appear on-screen. Where other films have the main characters walking off into the sunset - actual, or hypothetical - TFATH cleverly omits this heart-warming climax, and it does so on purpose, so that the viewer is left feeling slightly whimsical about friendship and the difficulties we must sometimes face in overcoming prejudices and difficulties to remain friends, even when barriers from the outside are in place. This is actually rather a 'dark' message to be portrayed by a Disney film, but it could be argued that it is quite an important message, nevertheless.....
The 'Happy Ending Culture' of Disney films is one thing that makes them so enjoyable, and such a pleasure for the whole family to watch......... BUT that is not to say that The Fox And The Hound is missing anything, or has any vital ingredient omitted, just because this ending does not follow this much-loved formula. Instead, I found that all the film's loose ends were tied up neatly - and rather beautifully - as you would expect. There WAS a satisfying conclusion to be found, with all four of our main characters - two human, one fox and, (of course!) one hound - having their own circumstances and 'present lives' portrayed to the audience so that any questions were neatly answered, and we were left in no doubt as to where each character was placed now, and, really, where - and why! - they would remain, now and in the future.... Wonderful.
In summary, I would whole-heartedly recommend giving Disney's "The Fox And The Hound" a watch. It is a heart-warming film following two unlikely friends, following them through life's journey, as it were, and allowing us to witness some of the difficulties that must be overcome when you are friends with someone who is not destined to be 'Your Average Friend'...... Loyalty, trust and prejudice are all explored in this film beautifully, which gives it a much more 'grown up' feel than most other Disney films, in my opinion.
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Somewhere In Time (DVD)
by rolandrat
---Why I Bought This---
I am not a movie buff but this film has always held a special place in my heart.
It is a bit of a tear-jerker really, possibly not so much for the story itself but for the wonderful musical score written by John Barry.
When I first saw the film on TV I thought it was great, this was way back ... in the 80s. I thought the music then was mesmerising, and I always made a point of watching it if it was on TV.
Move on a few years and having a DVD player I decided to buy myself a copy of the film (I had already bought a CD of the music).
I have often watched this movie, and it always brings tears to my eyes.
---The Product---
PG DVD, 99 minutes running time and produced by Anchor Bay Entertainment UK Ltd.
---The Story---
This film is based on the 1970s book 'Bid Time Return' by Richard Matheson.
Richard Matheson also wrote the screenplay.
The story centres around an attractive playwright Richard Collier (played by the dashing Christopher Reeve), who is visited by an old lady at the start of the film who presents him with an old watch and the entreaty to 'come back to me'.
A few years later Richard decides to have a vacation and on the spur of the moment turns into a hotel (actually the Grand Hotel Mackinac Island, Michigan) - while waiting for the restaurant to open he browses the hotel's small museum and is mesmerised by a large photograph of a very beautiful woman.
Richard discovers that the image is of a famous actress, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), who was at the hotel in 1912.
To cut the story short Richard finds out that the old lady at the start of the movie was actually Elise Mc Kenna. Richard managed to time travel back to 1912 by self hypnosis.
There he meets up with Elise, they spend a day and night together, but Richard is hurtled back to the present day by finding a present day coin in his waistcoat pocket.
All efforts on his part fails to send him back to 1912 ad he stays in his hotel room and fades away - finaly dying - only to be reunited with the lovely Elise.
---The Music---
For me the movie would be nothing without the marvellous musical score composed by the famous John Barry. Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini also plays throughout the movie.
The CD has he following tunes form the movie:
1. Somewhere In Time John Barry
2. The Old Woman John Barry
3. The Journey Back In Time John Barry
4. A Day Together John Barry
5. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini
6. Is He The One John Barry
7. The Man Of My Dreams John Barry
8. Return To The Present John Barry
9. Theme From Somewhere In Time
---Cost---
£2.99 at both Play and Amazon at present.
---My Opinion---
I enjoy time travel stories - but it is not that which endears me to this film. I believe the choice of the two main characters, Reeve and Seymour, helped the film no end as they are both attractive individuals.
If you just read a synopsis of the story it would seem rather bland, but that is before you factor in John Barry's music. It is the superb orchestral score that evokes the emotions, also the Rachmaninoff music, which I did not know originally.
Apparently the film did not receive very good reviews when released in 1980 due to a strike that prevented the actors form promoting it. Like many other movies this one should have then died a death, but something in it must have touched people as it has endured the test of time and still has a fan club website and they have reunions at The Grand Hotel, which featured large in the film.
Even today the music can make me feel emotional. John Barry was a master composer, and it was only later that I learnt that he also wrote the theme to The Persuaders, another of my favourites. John Barry also wrote music for the Bond films and also Dances with Wolves, another one I really like.
One evocative part is when Elise is on stage and Richard is in the audience, she ad-libs a speech direct to him:
'The man of my dreams has almost faded now
The one I have created in my mind
The sort of man each woman dreams of in the deepest and most secret reaches of her heart.
I can almost see him now before me,
What would I say to him if he were really here?
Forgive me, I've never known this feeling
I've lived without it all my life
Is it any wonder then I failed to recognise you?
You've brought it to me for the first time
Is there any way that I can tell you how my life has changed?
Anyway at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me
There is so much to say, I, I cannot find the words
Except for these 'I love you'.
And such would I say to him, if he were really here'.
The film is a gentle romance, they spend a few snatched hours together and ride off in a horse drawn carriage.
The scene where Richard returns to the present and Elize is left wailing out 'Richard....' is very well done with a sort of telescopic filming.
The ending where Richard Collier dies and his spirit leaves through the window to be reunited with Elise is very moving - again supported by John Barry's music. In fact as you may have gathered I love all the music in this film. and have used snatches of it when doing Youtube movies of local villages.
---Star Rating---
5 Stars.
---Would I Recommend?---
Yes definitely - super music and a great romance.
---Website---
Fan club site - www.somewhereintime.tv/
Anchor Bay website - www.anchorbay.co.uk
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