DVD : The Complete Superman Cartoons - Diamond Anniversary Edition

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Highest quality here!
My sentiments about these cartoons are the same as the other reviews, but I will add this: This is the highest quality disc representing the original cartoons out there today. The Superman Lost Episodes disc is just ok. The colors aren't as perfect as the Diamond Anniversary Complete Superman set. Spend your money on the complete series and save yourself from getting any poor quality disc. This is THE best~!

Rating:

- Bosko Does Justice to the Man of Steel
Produced during 1941-42, the classic Superman cartoons of Max and Dave Fleischer remain among the finest works in animation history. Unfortunately, their public-domain status has resulted in several DVD compilations of variable quality. Bosko's "Diamond Anniversary Edition" is the best Superman disc available. All 17 cartoons are uncut and presented in the order of their original theatrical release. However, it should be noted that the Fleischers were responsible for the first 10 Superman cartoons (including "Japoteurs"), with the remaining shorts produced by Famous Studios during 1942-43. Despite a few memorable efforts, such as "Jungle Drums" and "The Underground World," the Famous animators were unable to duplicate the Fleischer magic. Since the cartoons were expensive to produce, it was no surprise that Paramount and DC Comics agreed to end the series after two years. Still, the best Superman shorts - "The Mechanical Monsters" (1941) and "The Bulleteers" (1942) - are mini-masterpieces that evoke the comic-book spirit better than any live-action film. The print quality of Bosko's Superman disc is excellent, even though a first-generation master of "Terror on the Midway" has yet to surface.

Rating:

- Complete Superman Cartoons: Diamond Anniversary Edition
Nice item with neat animation. A must for any Superman fan. My only problem was the fact the dates when each cartoon was released is superimposed at [the] beginning of each feature for a few seconds. That did not seem to be necessary since that info is printed on the box. Otherwise nice DVD.

Rating:

- Classis Superman in Classic presentation
(...) This presentation is not in "pan and scan" because most movies were not shot in widescreen until the 50's. This was a move to compete with TV. Also, most movies (if not all, but don't quote me) were made in mono audio. Stereo was not developed until later, and certainly wasn't put into use for an animated short. (...) I think an appreciation of the era in which these were created is in order before the presentation is criticized.
This is the real deal, and animation fans, Superman fans and film aficionados alike should enjoy the ASTOUNDING work done by the Fleischers at the time. These shorts are still considered to be a benchmark for other animators (ie Bruce Timm) to stand up to.

Rating:

- They got it half right, at least
So many of the VHS releases credit the entire SUPERMAN series to Fleischer Studios, when acutally they did only the first nine, which this edition attempts to present. I am always amazed that people seem unable to see the difference between "A Max Fleischer Cartoon" and "A Famous Studios Production" as displayed in the credits. For those not already familiar with the story, Paramount acquired the Fleischer Studios operations
in 1942 and continued all of their cartoon productions from that point under their management company, Famous Studios. It was Famous who produced the remaining eight shorts until 1944, most of which dealt with World War II themes, and others that did not.

As any true student of film history should know and understand,
the letterbox format that approximates the wide screen format pertains to films produced after 1952 when formats at at 2:1 or 1.85:1 ratio (the measurement of picture width to height) such as Cinemascope, Technirama, VistaVision, and Panavision came into being. Previous to this, the screen proportion was 1:33:1 as is the current television screen, not including the new HDTV screens. Therefore, it is impossible to offer the SUPERMAN cartoons in a format such as letterbox when the widescreen format did not exist at the time the cartoons were produced. And any attempt to present them in a letterbox format risks cropping the top and bottom of the full screen image. At the same time, there has been a VHS release with very sharp images that has transferred at less than full screen proportion, leaving a black boarder around the frame, and calling it letterboxing. This is not letterboxing, and actually is cheating the viewer of about 3-5% of the full picture area. So in the name of historical accuracy, expect to see the full TV screen area filled to truly represent what the producers wanted audiences to see.

Finally regarding the soundtracks, I do not understand why this company continues to tamper with the sound. Why bother to retain the integrety of the picture and alter the tracks, and actaully make them worse? Allowing for the limitations of optical recording 60 years ago, the dynamic range was still incredibly good, and nearly as good as what we have today, if good elements are available and the transfers are done by qualitied technicians who know how to get the best out of those soundtracks. So if such great pains are taken to present the picture, why not for the sake to total historical integrety give the same attention to the soundtracts as they were originally produced?

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