WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

My Fair Lady
Genre:Musical

Reviewed In Issue 12 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfred Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Theodore Bikel, Mona Washbourne, Isobel Elsom, John Holland

WSR Review Scores
Picture Rating: 4
Sound Rating: 3
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score:
Internet Links

Supplementals

DVD General Information
(Studio/Distributor): 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number): 8167-85
(MPAA Rating): G
(Retail Price): $$129.98
(Running Time In Minutes): 172
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Theatrical Release): 1964
(LD Release Date): 11/1/94
(THX® Digitally Mastered): Yes

Credits Information
(Director): George Cukor
(Screenplay/Written By): Alan Jay Lerner
(Story): NA
(Music): Frederick Loewe
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer): Cecil Beaton
(Visual Effects): NA
(Costume Designer): Cecil Beaton
(Editor): William Ziegler
(Supervising Sound Editors): NA
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers): NA
(Co-Producers): NA
(Producers): Jack L. Warner

DVD Picture Information
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 2.35:1
(Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 2.21:1

DVD Sound Information
(DVD Soundtrack): Dolby Surround
(Theatrical Sound): Mag Stereo
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(Remastered Dolby Digital):
(Remastered DTS Digital Surround):
(Additional Languages):

WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
Legendary for its costumes and Academy Award®-winning music, My Fair Lady features Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, a scruffy flower girl who is transformed into a well-spoken, gentile and stunning “duchess” with the idea of fooling Britain’s upper-crust by the pushy, yet charming Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison).

LaserDisc Picture:
The picture on the laserdisc release is unique in that you see virtually the entire 65 mm restoration negative element, one line below the splice line and just inboard of the camera refraction—the most image that has ever been seen—the area that would be covered by the soundtrack magnetic stripes on normal 70mm projection. The aspect ratio is 2.21:1. You can measure this yourself with the six trial picture frames from an actual print (without soundtrack) struck from the original camera negative that comes in a display sleeve. Noteworthy is that each set has no two frame sequences that are alike and thus add to the collector value of this special edition.

LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The original 70mm six-channel discrete soundtrack provided for five full range screen channels and one surround channel. Dialogue was mixed and fashioned to be directionalized in road show features from the early ’50s to the mid-’60s. Such was the case with My Fair Lady. Modern dialogue tracking is not directionalized, except in rare cases, because relatively few theatres have five screen channels, much less five full range screen channels. (The SDDS digital system supports directionalized dialogue with eight full range channels on the print and some SDDS presentations have been mixed with five channel dialogue.) When the Dolby A-encoded six-track restoration mag printmaster was made from the surviving first generation dubbed six-track mag printmaster element used to sound the 70mm prints in 1964 (the original six-track music and effects as well as the composite dialogue, music and effects were lost or destroyed), the five channel dialogue mix was de-directionalized and re-mixed. The far left and far right dialogue was steered inboard to a phantom position closer to tracks two and four, which in the restored 70-mm mix and modern theatre sound systems are designed for low frequency content only. Thus, dialogue on the Dolby Surround® matrix LaserDisc soundtrack, which was derived from the Dolby A six-track restoration mag, does not have the dramatic directionalized quality that it had during the original first-run engagements, but does suggest the filmmakers intent and in fact, is effective. The sound had to be re-equalized as well, particularly Rex Harrison’s dialogue which was extremely brittle sounding because he was wearing a microphone and singing his songs live. Surround envelopment is extremely subdued and does not attain the standard of the 70mm release. Without discrete 5.1 capability, the wonderful directionalized surround effect of the horse race at Ascot scene is erased.
(Surround Bass Below 50Hz):
(Aggressive System Surround):
(Intense 25Hz Bass):
(Deep Bass Challenging):
(Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
(Holosonic Soundfield):
(Aggressive Split Surround):
(Center Back Surround Imaging):
(Directionalized Dialogue):
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
Superb Color Fidelity:
Superb Cinematography:
Reference LaserDisc:
Collector Edition: