This set of DVD's contains all five of the Davy Crockett episodes from the TV show Disneyland as they originally aired. This includes the opening show animation, Walt's intros and outros, and promos for next week's episode. They are presented here unedited and in their original order. Leonard Maltin introduces each episode and hosts the interviews on the second disc. Of those, the one about the Davy Crockett craze is ok, but hearing Fess Parker's memories is interesting, especially to a Disney fan like me. The picture and sound quality is great for something from the 50's, although I did notice that the picture does go to black and white once per episode.
Watching these for the first time over the weekend, I was captivated by the movies. The scenery is beautiful and the acting is good. There are a couple spots where a couple stories seem to drag, but they never last long. My favorites are the two on the second disc, particularly the keel boat race. Still, I plan to rewatch all the episodes on these DVDs many more times.
Any Disney fan will be pleased to have these in their collection. They are a fun trip to yesteryear for every generation to enjoy.
The DVD quality here is both great and not so great.
1) First of all, [...it] indicates there is a hidden "Easter Egg", THE BALLAD OF DAVY CROCKETT sung by Fess Parker. I finally found it! "Right click" on the second selection on disc 2, which highlights Davy's cap. Then press ENTER.2) The color on the DVD is superb, the sharpness is OK but the cleanliness of the films is less than I expected. I would have thought that every frame would have been digitally remastered, but no...some frames show spots, dirt and lines running down the screen.3) Each show has multiple chapters as one would expect, BUT THE CHAPTERS ARE NOT LISTED ON THE MENU. Nor is there a detailed listing of the chapters and what they are about. I thought that was very strange.(With the less than perfect frames and the lack of menu chapters, probably the Disney folks rushed to get this out before Christmas.)4) In an earlier [...] customer review, someone indicated that there really was no George Russel. That's not true! He wasn't around all the time like Disney's Georgie, but he was indeed a friend of Davy's and written in Crockett's memoirs.
Now that Disney has given us Crockett fans what we wanted, we must force them to publish SONG OF THE SOUTH. The movie is no more politically incorrect than CABIN IN THE SKY or GREEN PASTURES, which are both currently in print. Michael Eisner ... what do you say?
I was disappointed in the Fess Parker interview. Perhaps Fess was not up to it the day he talked.
I did enjoy the talk about the Crockett Craze, as I found it fascinating. I did feel it was too short, however.
I also don't understand how come 2 discs were necessary; 1 disc should have held all 5 episodes plus the additional commentaries.
Still, a wonderful DVD.
Now, if only they will releaee "Follow Me Boys" on DVD.
While some reviewers didn't care for Leonard Maltin's commentary on the DVD's, I found it provided insight into the tone and characteristics of the 2 different "runs" of the show that I might not otherwise have known. The Fess Parker interview was also a nice addition. Sure I could look up this information and read about these from another source, but it fits in nicely with this format. For those who grew up with the Disney parks it's fun to see the connections to the early Frontierland.
Over all a great presentation.
