The Disney studio's first THX laser disc was 'The Three Musketeers'. Though not exceptional by THX standards, this is, none the less, an excellent disc. I saw TTM in the theater (a poor one) and in comparison to this disc, am struck by how completely unremarkable the theatrical presentation was. The colors here are excellent, with only a very minor oversaturation in some reds in dark scenes. Generally, the colors are solid, clear and accurate. Contrast and brightness are also much better than I remember from the theater. There are a number of scenes that use light and shadow to dramatic effect that, in the theater, were simply dark and muddy. On this disc, you can see what the cinematographer wanted you to see. The sharpness of the image is near perfect, just soft enough to keep some video artifacts to a minimum while maintaining great clarity and detail. The framing on the transfer is about 2.25:1. The credits indicate "lenses and Panaflex camera by Panavision" instead of "filmed in Panavision" but I believe the film was shot in anamorphic Panavision. Certainly the theatrical prints were scope.
The audio on this disc is excellent. The Dolby mix is exceptional, with very clear, natural sounding dialog in proper balance with the music and effects. Again, the laser presentation totally eclipses the theatrical.
The film runs 105 minutes and contains 19 chapter markers. One minor quibble would be that Disney put a label on the jacket stating 'features the #1 hit single "All for Love"'. This might lead some to believe that the music video is included. It's not. The song is used over the end credits. Also, the inner sleeve is one of those cheap plastic half-moon pieces of crap that you have to replace (ok, that's two minor quibbles).
The list price is $39.95. I feel this presentation is superior to what I saw in the theater and is, of course, highly recommended.
"All for one and one for all!"
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