The Pied Piper Blu-ray - Donald Pleasance

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin')

Directed by Jacques Demy
UK / USA 1972

Though ostensibly marketed to family audiences with a G rating, The Pied Piper is an uncharacteristically grim and brutal offering from Goodtimes Enterprises, a UK-based production company during the 1970s whose films like Performance, Lisztomania, and That’ll Be the Day were largely conceived as star vehicles for music performers. The big name in this particular film is Donovan, a Scottish folk-pop singer best known for 1960s standards like “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” “Atlantis,” and “Sunshine Superman.” His presence in the film is something of a sticking point for many modern viewers, but in fact the small numbers of spare, haunting ditties he performs in the film work well with the period setting, and while he’ll never be confused with a master thespian, he acquits himself well enough with his one-dimensional role. The real acting demands rest with the British pros like Pleasence, Hurt, and Hordern, who chew into their meaty roles with gusto.

Excerpt from TCM located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: May 25th, 1972

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Legend Films - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Legend - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Legend Films - Region 1 - NTSC	Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:29:57	1:30:05.400
Video	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.65 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Disc Size: 18,792,952,058 bytes Feature Size: 18,260,932,608 bytes Total Bitrate: 23.95 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1556 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1556 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Legend Films Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: July 1st, 2008 Keep Case Chapters: 16	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.78:1 Disc Size: 18,792,952,058 bytes Feature Size: 18,260,932,608 bytes Total Bitrate: 23.95 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 Video Edition Details: • Trailers for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (2:23), Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother (2:53) and After the Fox (2:49) Blu-ray Release Date: April 25th, 2017 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters:8

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray April 17': The new 1080P looks quite unremarkable - even beside the modest SD. It's opened-up a shade in the, bastardized, 1.78:1 aspect ratio. It looks clearer in-motion than the SD, but the resulting HD, single-layered, transfer is far from exemplary although may be accurate. Nice, at least, to get the Donavan music in lossless (DTS-HD Master) although 16-bit and there are optional English subtitles on the region 'A'-locked disc. No extras save three unrelated trailers. I've kind of grown into enjoying the film a bit more over time - it's fairly cute. I would only recommended this Blu-ray, though, to Demy completists, or if you have children you think might like the story.

***

ON THE DVD: Legend Films brings us this obscure Demy film in a lackluster bare-bones edition on a single-layered disc at a reasonable price. The weak image quality is offset with the fact it is both anamorphic and progressive. Colors are faded. It's really not too bad - with a bit of noise and a fairly clean image.

Audio gives us a consistent 2.0 channel track in the original English, but there are no optional subtitles available and no supplements. I admit I was intrigued to see Demy's retelling of this classic children's tale but I didn't find it particularly engaging although both my kids seemed interested. It's a good price if you are keen to see or for Demy completists.