It's a delightful movie filled with delightful characters, delightful scenery, and delightful special effects.
Fickle are the fortunes of fate: While Connery went on to fame and glory, his costar, Ms. Munro, made only a few more pictures for Disney and then, as the result of several divorces, several miscarriages, and severe alcoholism, died prematurely in 1972. Happy endings are not always found in real life.
Video:
Here's an oddity. "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" was shown theatrically in a 1.75:1 widescreen ratio, but on the keep case the Disney people tell us they are issuing it on DVD "as originally filmed in 1959--fullscreen (1.33:1)." I can only presume that the original camera negative was, indeed, 1.33:1 and that it was later matted top and bottom for widescreen theatrical showing. In any case, the presentation we get on disc does not appear to be a pan-and-scan rendering, so we'll have to take Disney's word for our getting more for our money than theatergoers did so long ago.
The Technicolor shows up well, with rich realistic colors the order of the day. As always, Disney engineers found an excellent print in their vaults, with only occasional minor age flecks here and there. There is also some very light, very soft grain present, which does little to distract one's attention from the otherwise fine picture.
Audio:
The sound is ordinary in the extreme. By 1959 stereo was available to filmmakers, but it wasn't often used due to budget constraints and the fact that not too many theaters were as yet equipped to play it back. Therefore, Disney chose to go with ordinary monaural for "Darby." Reproduced on disc via Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, the signals are accompanied by a small degree of noise, hiss. The soundtrack is limited in dynamics and frequency range, and voices show a slight tendency toward seeming hard and pinched. In spite of all this, voices are clearly intelligible, and the songs go down easily.
Extras:
Three featurettes make up the bulk of the extras. The first is "Mr. Connery Goes to Hollywood," eight minutes long, providing some background on Connery's entrance into the big world of pictures. The second featurette is the most interesting, "Little People, Big Effects," because it takes us backstage on the special effects with the movie's supervisor of effects, Peter Ellenshaw. He explains and illustrates the two major techniques used in the film--matte painting and forced perspective. Then, there's the longest of the featurettes, "I Captured the King of the Leprechauns," forty-eight minutes, a segment of the old "Disneyland" TV show in black-and-white from 1959 promoting "Darby O'Gill." Walt Disney himself narrates the thing and takes us on an excursion to the land of fairies and leprechauns. The extras conclude with a typically measly selection of only twelve scenes from Disney; English and French spoken languages; and French and Spanish subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
Disney waited a long time to produce "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," but when he did, it paid off. The movie is still fondly remembered by adults of a certain age today. And because it's been available on tape for some time, it is fondly thought of by any number of young people, too. It's DVD incarnation is the best we've yet had for the home, and while I would rather have seen it in its original theatrical aspect ratio, I had little trouble adjusting to its so-called "fullscreen." It's a delightful movie filled with delightful characters, delightful scenery, and delightful special effects. Yes, I'd say the film continues to delight.
Video:
Here's an oddity. "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" was shown theatrically in a 1.75:1 widescreen ratio, but on the keep case the Disney people tell us they are issuing it on DVD "as originally filmed in 1959--fullscreen (1.33:1)." I can only presume that the original camera negative was, indeed, 1.33:1 and that it was later matted top and bottom for widescreen theatrical showing. In any case, the presentation we get on disc does not appear to be a pan-and-scan rendering, so we'll have to take Disney's word for our getting more for our money than theatergoers did so long ago.
The Technicolor shows up well, with rich realistic colors the order of the day. As always, Disney engineers found an excellent print in their vaults, with only occasional minor age flecks here and there. There is also some very light, very soft grain present, which does little to distract one's attention from the otherwise fine picture.
Audio:
The sound is ordinary in the extreme. By 1959 stereo was available to filmmakers, but it wasn't often used due to budget constraints and the fact that not too many theaters were as yet equipped to play it back. Therefore, Disney chose to go with ordinary monaural for "Darby." Reproduced on disc via Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, the signals are accompanied by a small degree of noise, hiss. The soundtrack is limited in dynamics and frequency range, and voices show a slight tendency toward seeming hard and pinched. In spite of all this, voices are clearly intelligible, and the songs go down easily.
Extras:
Three featurettes make up the bulk of the extras. The first is "Mr. Connery Goes to Hollywood," eight minutes long, providing some background on Connery's entrance into the big world of pictures. The second featurette is the most interesting, "Little People, Big Effects," because it takes us backstage on the special effects with the movie's supervisor of effects, Peter Ellenshaw. He explains and illustrates the two major techniques used in the film--matte painting and forced perspective. Then, there's the longest of the featurettes, "I Captured the King of the Leprechauns," forty-eight minutes, a segment of the old "Disneyland" TV show in black-and-white from 1959 promoting "Darby O'Gill." Walt Disney himself narrates the thing and takes us on an excursion to the land of fairies and leprechauns. The extras conclude with a typically measly selection of only twelve scenes from Disney; English and French spoken languages; and French and Spanish subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
Disney waited a long time to produce "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," but when he did, it paid off. The movie is still fondly remembered by adults of a certain age today. And because it's been available on tape for some time, it is fondly thought of by any number of young people, too. It's DVD incarnation is the best we've yet had for the home, and while I would rather have seen it in its original theatrical aspect ratio, I had little trouble adjusting to its so-called "fullscreen." It's a delightful movie filled with delightful characters, delightful scenery, and delightful special effects. Yes, I'd say the film continues to delight.
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