Originally Posted By Susie R My sister and I have spent a fair amount of money trying to get a copy of Song of the South for my mom who LOVES the film. People on eBay have the DVD's for sale (I've bought one and it only played once then wouldn't work again and the seller was booted). Does anyone know a reliable source for a copy of this movie? It's so silly that Disney won't release it here- it's part of our heritage! Any help is appreciated! Susie
Originally Posted By Dznygrl Rumor has it that Song of the South is going to be released in the US in November 2006.
Originally Posted By patrickegan Google it (Mr. Bluebird). I think they are afraid of a shakedown as one can easily find reviews by “community leaders†who think that what is portrayed in the movie makes slavery look like fun. They are rightly concerned that with all of the singing, story telling and sitting by the fire folks might come away from the movie experience with a screwed vision of slavery as an institution.
Originally Posted By SFH Oooh... oooh... lemme be the first to say it... "It is set after slavery. These aren't enslaved people." SFH
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy ^^^Thank you! And "Gone With the Wind" was set *in* slavery. And it's one of the most beloved films of all time. Go figure.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I have a reliable source. A friend of mine's grandpa has a copy of the VHS from the 80's. Needless to say, about every other week I beg her to see if I can borrow it. She just forgets a lot. But I want to see it sooooo badly!
Originally Posted By patrickegan Unfortunately I could not buy a good copy so I had to watch a bootleg copy. <a href="http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/sots.htm" target="_blank">http://www.snopes.com/disney/f ilms/sots.htm</a>
Originally Posted By Susie R Here's an e-mail I just got from Disney: Susie, Thank you for your e-mail regarding Song of the South. We appreciate your interest. Thank you for expressing your interest in purchasing Song of the South. It has never been released on VHS/DVD. At this time, Walt Disney Home Entertainment has not established a release date for this title. We will forward your request to our Marketing Department for their reference. Again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. Regards, WDHE Consumer Relations US and Canada
Originally Posted By FerretAfros If it has never been released on VHS, then how was it released on VHS in the 80's. I know a lot of weird stuff happened in that decade, but that actually did happen.
Originally Posted By Rebekah Disney's decision regarding Song of the South is also tied up in the ongoing controversy about its author. Joel Chandler Harris the author of these tales is considered by some to be a "genteel racist" while others see him as a liberal attempting to get out a positive racial message within the difficult constraints of the time. <a href="http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2838/is_1_38/ai_n6148028" target="_blank">http://www.findarticles.com/p/ articles/mi_m2838/is_1_38/ai_n6148028</a> An interesting and lenghthy discussion of the controversy surrounding author Joel Chandler Harris -- the character Uncle Remus and Song of the South. Rebekah.
Originally Posted By Susie R I sent this back to Disney and I'll post their reply in my next message. ______________________________ Hello again! I have information that this movie was released on VHS Region 1 in the 1980's. Is that not correct? I just know that people are selling bootleg copies on eBay all the time and I'd rather do the "right" thing and buy a legal copy. Thanks.
Originally Posted By Susie R Here's their reply: Susie, Thank you for your e-mail regarding SONG OF THE SOUTH. We appreciate your interest. It has never been released on VHS/DVD in the USA. Again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. Regards, WDHE Consumer Relations US and Canada
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Well, as seems to be par for the course with Disney consumer products this month, they're wrong. The VHS was in fact released in this country, and I'm talking about the U.S., in the 1980's. Not a UK version, not a PAL European video, not a Japanese release, a plain old ordinary every day garden variety U.S. of A. VHS clamshell Disney Video for sale in the stores copy of "Song of the South." As usual, party line and facts are two different matters for Mouse House. The former being so much more important than the latter. *sigh*
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Unless, and this is a real possibility in the world of Disney Doublespeak, consumer relattions has decided to coin a new phrase " VHS/DVD" that means the simultaneous release of something on both VHS and DVD, and thus why they can insist on the accuracy of "...never been released on VHS/DVD in the United States." To paraphrase Shakespeare: "First thing we do is kill all the MBAs"
Originally Posted By patrickegan <a href="http://www.findarticles.com/p/" target="_blank">http://www.findarticles.com/p/</a> articles/mi_m2838/is_1_38/ai_n6148028 <---- No Zip-adee doo-dah day there That article could suck the joy out of any laughing place! I didn’t read that much into that simple movie I popped Song of the South in not Roots. Was I not supposed to enjoy it and is it wrong that I felt no pangs of guilt? Rubbish, I enjoyed the stories about the critters and really didn’t focus on anything else.
Originally Posted By Blackie Pueblo Here here Patrick. There was no intention to insult anyone, and this is really kind of a time piece film. The characters talk a certain way due to the lives they lived. Not to start any fights, but a lot of ethnic films today go to great lenghts to make have white people look ridiculous or stupid as a joke. Should we be mad, maybe... if it's done intentionally. And Song of The South is not made to intentionally make anyone insulted. Blackie Pueblo
Originally Posted By kmsandrbs Susie R- You can do what I did. I ordered the PAL version from Europe, I believe from a Disney store. They shipped it to me. I then took it to a video conversion company, who indicated they could legally make one VHS conversion copy. This was part of the wedding gift I gave my wife (along with about 25 other videos), as she and her family were fans of SOTS. It was expensive but not ridiculously so to do this. I think total cost (in 1995) was around $40. Our copy has played very well for many years. You may now even be able to convert it to a Region 1 DVD.
