You have questions. I have some answers.
When I was 3 or so, my mother took me to see “Song of the South.” My mother passed away shortly after, and I always wanted to have that movie, but was never on sale, because of WHAT? (Finally my son ordered one from overseas and gave it to me on Christmas.) This movie cannot be as bad as some of the movies today.
“Song of the South,” the blend of animation and live action inspired by Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus stories, has been controversial since before its premiere almost 70 years ago.
The problem is the main character, Remus, who worked for a family in the post-Civil War South. As Walt Disney biographer Neal Gabler has written, before the movie was made, “members of the black community protested that any film version of the Uncle Remus stories was bound to portray black Americans in a servile and negative way.” Disney — not a racist but “racially insensitive” in Gabler’s account — tried to make a movie that would not invite criticism, but did so unsuccessfully.
As a result, and despite the presence of the hit song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” the movie has only occasionally been in theaters and not since 1986. There has never been a complete, authorized U.S. release of the movie on VHS, DVD or Blu-ray. (There are bootlegs, though buying any bootleg is a crapshoot; my copy of “Song of the South” is quite lacking technically.) According to www.songofthesouth.net, even overseas releases of the film on home video ended in 2001. The Disney organization has clearly decided that it is best served by keeping “Song” in the vault.
I was wondering if you have any knowledge about “Fantasy Island” being released onto DVDs. I loved that show and can’t find any information.
From what I can find, the first three seasons (out of seven total) are on DVD. If your local retailer does not have them, online vendor Amazon.com does.
My husband and I are huge fans of “The Walking Dead” and we were just wondering why this show has not been nominated for any awards. The production crew, writing, acting and especially the makeup and special effects are just amazing, yet it continues to get passed over every year. Any thoughts?
Well, one thought is that it has received 10 Emmy nominations in technical categories, winning twice for outstanding prosthetic makeup. “The Walking Dead” has not only a large viewing audience but some TV critics who are strong admirers, although I am not one of them. But these are highly competitive times when it comes to quality television, and a show has to be both well done and able to break through a lot of other admired shows.
Consider Hitfix’s TV critics poll in 2014; even though some critics put “Walking Dead” among their 10 favorite shows, it ended up ranking only 20th overall — behind “Fargo,” “The Good Wife,” “Game of Thrones,” “Transparent,” “True Detective,” “The Americans,” “Mad Men,” “Orange Is the New Black,” “Louie,” “Broad City,” “Hannibal” and other shows. However much you may like “Walking Dead” (and however little you may care for some of the shows I just listed), there’s a lot besides “Walking Dead” to admire on TV. So something’s going to get left out of the awards.
Will “Devious Maids” and “The Lottery” on Lifetime and “The Strain” on FX be back?
Yes, no, yes. Look for a third season of “Devious Maids,” possibly in the spring, and a second season of “The Strain” this summer. “The Lottery” is done.
