The Love Bug [Special Edition]

The Love Bug [Special Edition]

Director: Robert Stevenson Cast: Dean Jones
Dean Jones
, Michele Lee
Michele Lee
, Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
, David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
Robert Stevenson
The Love Bug [Special Edition]

The Love Bug [Special Edition]

Director: Robert Stevenson Cast: Dean Jones
Dean Jones
, Michele Lee
Michele Lee
, Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
, David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
Robert Stevenson

DVD (Wide Screen / Thx)

$14.99 
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Overview

"Walt Disney Pictures' production of The Love Bug, directed by Robert Stevenson, was one of the studio's most popular and enduring feature films of the 1960s, yielding three sequels and a made-for-TV remake a generation later, though it never got much respect on home video. There was one early laserdisc edition that was never upgraded, and that was it until May 2003, when Buena Vista issued this double-disc DVD Special Edition. The film-to-video transfer (done in a non-anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio to recapture the theatrical proportions of the image) is just beautiful. Every flesh tone and some of the smallest details (down to the petals of the roses that Dean Jones' character buys for Michele Lee) are presented about as well as they were the day the movie opened. So it's a pleasure to watch, especially compared with any presentation that the movie has had since 1969 -- and that alone is a selling point. The first disc also contains the 1951 cartoon Susie the Little Blue Coupe, featuring Sterling Holloway as narrator, but the real treat is the audio commentary track featuring Jones, Buddy Hackett, and Lee. Hackett is priceless in his recollections, funny and insightful within the limitations of his memory. Jones has the better memory, but is somewhat less entertaining, while Lee still displays a girlish charm in observing herself as an actress more than 30 years later. Surprisingly, none of them offers much in the way of recollections about director Robert Stevenson, though Jones has a wealth of memories concerning various members of the crew. Supporting the movie on the second disc are various featurettes, both contemporary and from the period of the movie's release, principally focusing on Herbie the Volkswagen, plus two deleted scenes, production stills, storyboards, and other artifacts from the planning stages of the picture. Nobody involved seemed prepared for the immense success of the movie, one of the last major successes of the ""old"" Disney. No one seems to have reckoned that, in addition to being extremely entertaining in its zany way and filled with characters who were fun to watch (with Lee sexy enough to draw the attention of older boys and men bringing their kids to see it), the movie had the good fortune to appear in the midst of the Vietnam War, and during a very tough, strife-filled year domestically. A fantasy about a clever car -- and a VW ""Bug"" at that (the most looked-down-upon vehicle on the road in America at the time) -- was just what the doctor ordered. The two discs on this set are both easy to maneuver , with straightforward menus and selections, that are entertainingly designed."

Product Details

Release Date: 05/20/2003
UPC: 0786936192445
Original Release: 1968
Rating: G
Source: Walt Disney Video
Region Code: 1
Presentation: [Wide Screen]
Sound: [Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, THX-Supervised Mastering]
Language: English
Time: 1:48:00
Sales rank: 30,853

Special Features

Audio commentary with Dean Jones, Michelle Lee, and Buddy Hackett; "Susie the Little Blue Coupe" cartoon ; "That Lovable Bug" featurette; "The Many Lives of Herbie" featurette; Herbie Mania; "Lost Treasures: Searching for Herbie" featurette; 1969 Disney studio album; Production gallery; Behind-the-scenes promo; Love Bug Day at Disneyland; The man who gave Herbie his voice; Deleted scenes; Theatrical trailer; DVD credits; Radio spots; Sound Studio 1: "Herbie on the Rocks"; Sound Studio 2: "Thorndyke and the Bear"; Production stills; Comic book; Biographies of Dean Jones, Michelle Lee, Buddy Hackett, David Tomlinson, and Robert Stevenson; Advertising material; Screenplay excerpt from "Herbie Goes Over the Edge

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Dean Jones Jim Douglas
Michele Lee Carole
Buddy Hackett Tennessee
David Tomlinson Thorndyke
Joe Flynn Havershaw
Benson Fong Wu,Man Carrying Herbie
Joe E. Ross Detective
Barry Kelley Police Sergeant
Iris Adrian Carhop
Andy Granatelli Himself
Dale Van Sickel The Driver
Regina Parton The Driver
Bob Drake The Driver
Hal Brock The Driver
Gerald Jann The Driver
Ted Duncan The Driver
Gene Roscoe The Driver
Charles Willis The Driver
Gene Curtis The Driver
John Timanus The Driver
Fred Krone The Driver
Jesse Wayne The Driver
Fred Stromsoe The Driver
Kim Brewer The Driver
Ned Glass Toll Booth Attendant
Gil Lamb Policeman at Park
Nicole Jaffe Girl In Dune Buggy
Russ Caldwell Dune Buggy Driver
Pete Renoudet Policeman on Bridge
Alan Fordney Actor
Gary Owens Announcer
Robert Foulk Bice
Wally Boag Actor
Max Balchowsky Actor
Stan Duke Actor
Chick Hearn Announcer
Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez Mexican Driver
Bert Convy Actor
Hope Lange Actor
Robert Reed Actor
Pete L. Renoudet Actor
Jim McCullough Sr. Actor
George Bruns Composer

Technical Credits
Robert Stevenson Director
Peter Ellenshaw Special Effects
Howard Jensen Special Effects
Danny Lee Special Effects
Eustace Lycett Special Effects
Alan Maley Special Effects
Robert A. Mattey Special Effects
Bill Walsh Producer,Screenwriter
Don DaGradi Screenwriter
Dean Thomas Sound/Sound Designer
Robert Cook Sound/Sound Designer
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