Customer Reviews

Mary Poppins 45th Anniversary Edition

5 star:		(98)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is one of those films that has stood the test of time and is still entertaining now as it was 40 years ago. Everyone knows the tale of the magical nanny that blows in on the east wind and into the lives of the Banks family of 17 Cherry Tree Lane. Jane and Michael Banks have had a succession of strict nannies as well as a very strict father and a mother who is always out with her fellow suffragettes. Mary Poppins brings magic and fun into the children's lives, something that has been sorely lacking prior to her arrival.

Julie Andrews stars as the nanny and Dick Van Dyke as the lovable cockney Bert, (just forgive his dreadful accent) who always seems to be around at the right time for an adventure. The children find themselves having outings such as jumping into a chalk picture into a cartoon world, having a tea-party on a ceiling and dancing across the rooftops of London. Stuffed to the gills with songs such as 'Spoonful of Sugar', 'Chim Chim Cheree', 'Feed the Birds' and 'Jolly Holiday', this will have you tapping your foot throughout.

This 40th anniversary edition is on 2 discs and features lots of extras such as a documentary, commentary, footage of the premieres etc. The quality of print is very high, the colours have never looked so vibrant and the picture is razor sharp. Wonderful stuff.

This is a review for the new 2-disc Disney 40th Anniversary edition of Mary Poppins.
This is one of the best re-releases of this year.The movie is STILL(and will be for years to come) an aural and visual delight and designed for families and people of all ages.
Interweaving a wonderful story with some groundbreaking techniques and special effects Disney took/takes us on a magical ride in a recreated slice of life from 1910.
The story,by now familiar to many,involves the arrival to the Banks household of a nanny(Julie Andrews).In short order she manages to shake the prim and proper Banks household to its Edwardian core and teaches them,especially the "master" of his realm Mr.Banks(David Tomlinson),that there are more important things in life than strict adherence to schedule,rules and blind duty to ones'job.Bert(Dick Van Dyke),a friend to Mary,assists her whenever and wherever he can.
Julie Andrews plays her character with a wonderful reserve befitting the part and she sings beautifully.Whenever Mary gets too stodgy though Bert,played phenomenally by Dick Van Dyke,is always there to ease the atmosphere and put a smile on everyones' face.
The entire cast from the children,the servants to the admiral and the policeman all turn in a superb supporting job from beginning to end.
The restored print and accompanying sound track have been given the deluxe Disney treatment.Visually I have not seen as good a print of this film since I first saw it during its' premier in Toronto in late 1964.The versions I have seen over the years either on TV or on video just don't come close to this one.
My particular benchmark test was the colour and detail of the panoramic view(with special attention to the sky)when they climb the "smoke stairway" and gaze out over a late in the day city of London.
It is stunningly beautiful and was as I remembered it after all this time.That cinched it for me.
Aurally the liner notes tell us that the sound has been remastered into a Dolby 5.1 "Theatre Mix"(the original 2.0 theatrical mix is also included).
Translation:"Fantastic".
The movie never sounded as clean or as good.I couldn't help but to sing and tap my feet to all the numbers.
The set is loaded with a surfeit of extras that will satisfy even the most picky of movie buffs from footage of its' opening premiere in L.A. to a making-of special.
So grab the popcorn,get yourself seated comfortably on the sofa,turn down the lights and slip into the magical world of Mary Poppins like you've never experienced before.
Oh yes a heads up, grab the hankies for the "Feed the Birds" scene/number....you'll need it.

DVD came about a week and a half after being ordered. Was wrapped in paper; I would have preferred a bit more padding, but the DVD was in good shape, as described.

These days I am still not finding ANYTHING worth watching on TV so my husband and I are glad to have our video library for that. When this movie came on one of our cable channels -- of which I might add has a lot of commercials -- I was glad to go to my library and watch it WITHOUT all the stupid commercials!!!! This is one of the movies that I have seen many times since I bought it and have NOT gotten sick of it, like a person might with some....I enjoy it every time I play it!

My daughter loves this movie. Much more age-appropriate than some of the scary Disney movies / princess ones. She watches it whenever possible, and sings along. Great for the portable DVD player during long car rides or waiting at the doctor's office.

I ordered this 45th anniversary edition of Mary Poppins for my pre-school grandson, to see if he would delight in the scenes as much as his parents, his aunts, and his grandparents had done. The magic is still there, even for a kid exposed to the docile renderings on the Treehouse cable network. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke perform at the top of their game. The chimney sweepers fill the rooftops better than any computer-generated hocus-pocus.
The second disc in this set takes viewers behind the scenes of the recent Broadway production of Mary Poppins. This is a revelation that theatre-goers will love. Not everyone will enjoy the lengthy conversations about adapting the screenplay to the stage. Likewise,pointing out the distinctions between the original texts in England and the Disney version may seem somewhat academic if one is not familar with the books themselves. However, for those people who love this kind of exploration, the second disc is a marvel. Best of all, the disc contains a video version of the stage play's chimney scene, in which the actor climbs the proscenium arch and walks upside down across the top of the stage- spectacular!

I loved the movie the first time around. My three children loved watching it at home on video. Now our little David is enchanted. Hooray for Mary Poppins!

Much appreciated by my great granddaughter for whom it was bought after watching it again for the umpteenth time over the years. She was especially thrilled to have her own copy.

My son is three and half and it just held his attention, would probably be better 4 +. I find Dick Van Dyke's fake accent annoying, but he is charming. Julie Andrews is just wonderful.

I have not always been a big fan of this movie, but I realized that I was wrong. Julie Andrews performance is and always will be outstanding in this movie. I think all of us at one time wish we could make an interesting entrance via floating in from the sky through an umbrella. She makes work turned into fun when she gets the children Jane and Michael Banks to clean up the nursery. With the help from Bert, she uses her imagination when she, Bert and the children jump into a sidewalk drawing. Or when Mary and the children go to a tea party on the ceiling! This movie definately has plenty of special effects, especially when it was created in a time when there no computers. Not to mention lots of imaginative and creative ideas that would captivate both children and adults alike.

Mary Poppins is my favorite movie. I love the charictors, the singing, the dancing. It is fun for the whole family. When I was alittle girl I watched it over and over again. I love to dance with the chimeny sweeps; I can't do everything they do, but still. This is the best master piece Walt Disney ever created besides Micky and friends. I love it and I am a teen.

It is about a fun nanny who has magic. That is probobly why I like her. There is never a dull moment when Mary Poppins is around: fox hunting, laughing in the air, riding a merry-go-round without the going arout. One of the best parts of all, supercalafagilisticexpialadocious.