The Anne: Restoration release has been an interesting to review, as well as disappointing. There are many pros to the release, but there are also many cons.
The Restoration Release has been advertised as being a "hi-def digital restoration" making the series "as never before seen." Well, the first three movies have once again been digitally restored and the 'as never before seen' is true as well, but unfortunately isn't necessarily a good thing.
My biggest complaint about this release is that it has been labeled as hi-def. Now, it would make more sense if the hi-def referred to the digital restoration. After viewing portions of all three movies hi-definition is not the term that comes to mind. I have not found the release to be a better quality than the 20th 'Anne'versary release. In fact, often times I have found the 20th release to be just as good as, if not better, than the Restoration release.
While trying to restore the original color and lighting is a good idea, it can be overdone. Fans of Anne of Green Gables have been viewing Anne for over twenty years and drastically changing the color and lighting of a scene is not going to be easily accepted.
Anne of Green Gables
Of the first three movies, I have found the restoration of the first movie to be the worst. The focus seems to be continually soft and the redone color has given people a browner look as well as has given the overall sceen a warmer, darker look.
I can very easily recommend sticking with earlier dvd releases of this movie.
If you would like a more in-depth look at comparing the 20th edition release to the Restoration release I highly recommend that you visit this page. I have compared screen caps from the 20th release and the Restoration release so that people can form their own opinion as to which release they think is better.
The Sequel
The hi-def release of The Sequel had me curious as after watching the a video on the releases I learned that the original film was so badly damaged that the producers took different outtakes of scenes and put them togehter. Honestly, I really haven't noticed that much of a difference between the original release and the newly spliced released.
The overall quality of the 20th release and the Restoration release seems to be about the same. I've tested the dvds using a blu-ray player as well as two different tvs. The one tv is a 32" Samsung 780p and the other tv is a 42" Panasonic 1080p plasma. Using the Samsung the Restoration release looked quite a bit better than the 20th release. Using the Panasonic tv both releases seemed to be about the same quality, but I would give a slight edge to the restoration release.
While the overall picture is somewhat better, the overall lighting is worse. I realize that the producers were trying to make the scenes look as they would have looked when filmed, but after having such a bright picture for over twenty years it is very difficult to adjust to a darker picture. The proposal scene on the bridge (after Fred and Dian's clam bake) has been made quite a bit darker- it now looks like it really is dusk. On the computer- which was used for taking screen caps- the image is exceedingly dark, so dark to the point that I go slightly cross-eyed, trying to depict the scene. However, on the tv, while the scene is darker than what we're used to, it's not nearly so dark as it appears on the computer. There are other scenes as well that have become darker, such as the gazebo scene in the second half of the movie where Gilbert runs in to Anne. While the darker proposal scene adds an interesting effect, the darker gazebo scene is not nearly as intriguing.
I can very easily recommend sticking with earlier dvd releases of this movie.
If you would like a more in-depth look at comparing the 20th edition release to the Restoration release I highly recommend that you visit this page. I have compared screen caps from the 20th release and the Restoration release so that people can form their own opinion as to which release they think is better. Please keep in mind that the dark scenes are not as dark on the tv as they are on the computer.
Overall, I would still choose to watch the 20th edition release, but only for the fact of the darker scenes. The Restoration release of The Sequel has been nicely done. The image sharpness is consistent with previous releases. The enhanced coloring is slightly overdone, but not so much it isn't tolerable.
The Continuing Story
The Restoration release of The Continuing Story is most definitely better than the 20th Edition release. On the whole the sharpness seems to be about the same, but the enhanced coloring is overall a great improvement, though there are a few scenes where the coloring has been overdone. The only scene where I have a major issue with the coloring is the reunion scene of Anne and Gilbert. The scene has a green tinge to it, making the faces look green. Again, this is more noticeable on the computer than it is on the tv.
My biggest complaint is that so much film has been cut off the top and bottom that heads sometimes end at the eyebrows. Quite disturbing. (I'm guessing that so much more was cut because Anne3 was filmed with 35mm whereas Anne1 and Anne2 were filmed with 16mm, but don't quote me on that!)
If this were to be released as a fullscreen I would definitely purchase it. Overall, I still prefer the 20th edition release, but only due to heads ending with eyebrows.
If you would like to compare screen captures from the Restoration release and the 20th edition release check out this page.
A New Beginning
The Anne4 disc on the Restoration set is exactly the same as the Anne4 single release. The menu is the same as well as the features on the disc.
The packaging of the set is beautifully done. The first three movies are spread onto two discs with the remaining two discs being Anne4 and extras.
Extras
Between the 'Anne'versary set (20th ed.) and the single Anne4 release all but three of the extras have been previously released. Those three extras have been featured on Sullivan's Insiders as well as youtube.
I would also recommend reading this blog by Sullivan Entertainment as it talks about the steps that were made to restore the movies. I would also recommend watching this movie as it too explains the process that was taken when restoring the movies.
Overall, I think that the restoration team did a good job with restoring movies. Having been a fan of the movies for many, many years it's very difficult to adjust to the new colors as well as darker lighting. Both the 20th Edition release and the Restoration Release have their pros and cons.
In my opinion, the Restoration of Anne1 leaves a bit to be desired. The images are consistently soft and darker and the color does not seem authentic.
Anne2 is pretty close. While I still prefer the 20th Edition release, I think that the majority of fans would be satisfied with the result. (I tend to be pretty fussy, but I think a lot of that is because I'm a photographer and expect perfection from my work.)
Anne3 is definitely better with color and sharpness. If you can life with the few scenes where heads end at eyebrows, then go for it! Again, the photographer in me does not like heads ending at eyebrows. If it's a close-up, it's completely fine, but I'm not complaining about close-ups.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
1.14.12