In Search of the Castaways | 
| Director: Robert Stevenson
Actors: Maurice Chevalier, Hayley Mills, George Sanders, Wilfrid Hyde-white, Michael Anderson Jr.
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $4.82
You Save: $10.17 (68%)
New (44) Used (13) from $4.82
Rating:  48 reviews
Sales Rank: 4495
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: DISD29151D
UPC: 786936208368
EAN: 0786936208368
ASIN: B00005JLJC
Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 1962
Release Date: May 3, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
In Search of the Castaways was Hayley Mills's third feature for Disney, an agreeable adventure--loosely based on a Jules Verne story--with enough derring-do to make kids happy and with the right touch of self-conscious silliness to keep adults smiling. Mills plays Mary Grant, a missing freighter captain's daughter convinced her father is still alive somewhere in Earth's southern hemisphere. With the help of her brother (Keith Hamshire) and a veteran seaman (an extremely unlikely if charming Maurice Chevalier), Mary convinces a shipping magnate, Lord Glenarvan (Wilfrid Hyde-White), to set sail and find the missing Captain Grant. The team survives freezing weather, avalanches, a menacing condor, an active volcano, Maori captors, and a plot by a slick George Sanders to steal a ship. Meanwhile, Mary and Glenarvan's rakish son, John (Michael Anderson Jr.), engage in flirtatious feuding. The many memorable action sequences are wildly improbable (all the more so watching the nonchalant Chevalier have a go at Indiana Jones-like heroics) and liberally employ old-fashioned process shots, mattes, paintings, and other pre-digital special effects. The incomparable Hyde-White looks as if he's having fun alternately harrumphing and encouraging good old British resolve, while Sanders effortlessly portrays, for the umpteenth time, his brand of enchanting villainy. Directed by Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins). In Search of the Castaways is presented here in its original, full-screen format. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
THE GRANT CHILDREN KNOW THEIR SHIPWRECKED FATHER MUST STILL BE ALIVE. DIDN'T HE SEND THEM A MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE? THEY SEARCH, THROUGH EARTHQUAKE, FIRE, FLOOD, AND CANNIBAL TRIBE.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 43 more reviews...
 A Walt Disney/Jules Verne Story Worthy of any Collection August 30, 2003
Glenn M. Schoditsch (Richmond, Virginia USA)
60 out of 63 found this review helpful
I concur that this account is based on the Jules Verne story titled "CAPTAIN GRANT'S CHILDREN". It is a beautiful mix of suspense, fantasy and charm that only Walt Disney himself could bring to the big screen. With majestic and divine photography, we can only hope that Disney Studios will not "Black Beard" the release and produce a cleaned and digitally restored DVD with the Original Aspect Ratio preserved.
UPDATE!
A reviewer from Amazon.com UK reports that this film IS being presented in it's original aspect ratio at 1.33:1. This film was MADE in fullscreen and theatrical widescreen prints were made by cropping the picture as was done with Darby O'Gill. So in actual fact it is the widescreen version that is missing part of the picture and NOT the fullscreen version. This film is too new for Disney to try to pull this kind of stunt. Still another says not only is the framing much too close to allow this, but even a couple of the opening credits disappear off the sides of the screen. The film should be in 1.75:1 ratio, instead of the 1.33:1 full screen version here.
Is Disney just unable to tell us media savy buyers the technical details on these beloved films? I guess this DVD is a keeper but if anyone can validate these facts , I'd love to know.
 Shocked at Disneys' glaring lapse of judgement! May 7, 2005
Robert Badgley (London,Ontario,Canada)
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
Disney within a space of a few months has gone from one extreme to the other.
On the one hand they release a two disc version of one of their all time classics Mary Poppins,both sound and picture having been fully restored and cleaned close to perfection.A fitting compliment to both the film,its' stars and Disney itself.
Then comes the first time release onto DVD of this little Disney gem and it absolutely stuns you as you shake your head and check the box to make sure it really is a Disney product and not some kind of cruel joke.
Don't get me wrong the product(i.e.movie)is worth about a four star rating on its' own merits.It has a wonderful story line which takes our lead characters on an adventure in many far and distant lands and is a natural for older children to excite their imaginations.The special effects are pure Disney and of that era but were always done with great flare and still hold up fairly
well now.
Strangly enough the last review I wrote was about the abominable assassination of the Laurel and Hardy product being released by the "wonderful folks" at Hallmark.Never did I dream that I would run across another such product and especially a Disney one.But nevertheless here it is for all to see.
Bottomline is this.The aspect ratio is simply WRONG.It has been cleaned up yes through the usual digital means but it cannot hide the fact that this is the same cropped and pan and scan version we've seen on TV and on home video in years gone by.Everything from scenary,to animals to the actors themselves get cut off the screen.Furthermore,and I have felt this from the first time I saw it in such a state on TV and then later in its' video format that this movie was one of the worst victims of pan and scan that I'd ever seen.And viewing it once more in a clearer but absolute same state I'm convinced more than ever I was right all along.Also what "extras" there are,are for a release such as this pitifully few.It is a rip off,wrong and totally UNACCEPTABLE by any standards.
We as consumers must not just accept this sub standard product as the norm or let it go as is.I have said it before,I will say it again and keep saying it until every manufacturer and distributor of entertainment products in the audio and visual medium start treating consumers as something other than a cave dweller from the dark side of the moon.
Your credo's should be that ANY product that you release is done so with full knowledge(on both sides)that it was made with the utmost care and attention and all source elements used to create said products were of the highest quality available anywhere.And if any defects are found by the consumer then an exchange or refund to said consumer should be forthcoming immediately no questions asked.
Now THAT is the kind of relationship/understanding we as consumers should have had with the audio/visual industry since the beginning and we would have if the industry as a whole worked together and had any kind of confidence in their products.
In conclusion DO NOT BUY this product.It is an obvious cheap(for Disney) re-release of a film that deserves a far better fate than the one they have relegated to it.Let's see if we can get this abomination recalled and/or re-released in its' proper theatrical widescreen format so we can see it as it should be seen.
Good Film -- Poor Full-Frame Presentation May 10, 2005
paperbackriter (USA)
45 out of 50 found this review helpful
Based on a Jules Verne story, "In Search of the Castaways" is a fine Disney adventure which is suitable for the entire family. Overall, the film has a similar feel to "Swiss Family Robinson", only "Castaways" is more action-based.
The basic premise of the movie takes youngsters Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere on a wild adventure through South America while searching for their missing father. Among the obstacles faced along the way are a perilous earthquake, a furious flood, wild animals and a thrilling ride down a mountainside --which is arguably the film's crowning moment.
As other reviewers have mentioned, some of the special effects seem a bit quaint by today's standards. Regardless, this 40-year-old movie still manages to be highly entertaining.
However, as a DVD, "Castaways" simply misses the mark. The picture presentation itself is decent. However, there are apparent signs of the film's age and, overall, it's not as clean as recent Disney restorations such as "Mary Poppins" or "Swiss Family Robinson." The worst offense, undoubtedly, was Disney's decision to release this larger-than-life globe-trotting adventure in a chopped-up "full-frame" presentation. With 16x9 televisions steadily infiltrating the marketplace, pan & scan releases will soon be obsolete. Viewers deserve to see the entire film in it's original widescreen aspect ratio. Guess we'll have to wait.
 Disney's mistakes on dvd May 12, 2005
robert pounders (astoria, oregon United States)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I like the others agree...this movie xfered to dvd is a big disappointment. Apparently nothing was done to film print...same quality as the vhs version...sound is o.k. but still mono...no Haley Mills particpation like on her other Disney films. Maybe now that Disney is to have new management, this kind of stuff will stop and all Disney releases on dvd will be of quality and the best they can do to it. Other than that the film is a good entertainment for the family and colors are really good. However, sound should have been at least a surround. So you may want to wait, maybe Disney will put out a special edition with better pic and sound with Haley Mills particapation.
You bet it's pan & scan ! May 9, 2005
Serial Movie Buff (Paris, France)
29 out of 32 found this review helpful
I haven't watched this DVD, and I sure won't. To answer previous reviewers' questions and to make a long story short, if the film is shown in 1.33:1 fullscreen, it is P&S (like 'Blackbeard's Ghost', 'ThatDarn Cat!, and for that matter cartoons like 'Jungle Book' or 'Aristocats'). Ever since matted widescreen appeared in the mid-50's (1.85:1 in the US, 1.66 in France, and 1.75 in UK and Italy), and leaving aside the CinemaScope or Technirama features, Disney's movies were made, for some unclear reason, with an intended theatrical aspect ratio of 1.75 (they turned to 1.85 only recently).
Technically yes, these movies could be shown unmatted in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, with useless empty space on top and bottom of the picture (for ex. Warner's releases of Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'Eyes Wide Shut'), but chances are this is not the case here, because it is unlikely that in the now-accepted widescreen era, they would make a brand new fullscreen transfer.
Nope, what we have here is clearly a new rehash of the same old same VHS pan & scan transfer.
Thanks for nothing once more, Disney.
|
|
|
