Jonno said:
Great additional info! Let's see if we can summarise then:
Theatrical release - 70mm 6-track and Dolby Stereo
1992 special edition laserdisc - Dolby surround (probably from Dolby Stereo master)
1995 THX laserdisc - 5.1 AC-3 and 2.0 PCM (based on 6-track 70mm master)
1999 DVD - 5.1 and 2.0 AC-3 (based on Dolby Stereo master)
2003 DVD - 5.1 AC-3 and DTS (new mix)
2010 Blu-ray - 5.1 DTS (new mix), 4.1 AC-3 (who knows? ;) ) and 2.0 AC-3 (presumably based on Dolby Stereo again)
I think that's a nice summary of what we know, the audio on the '99 DVD is a weird one... a 4.1 track disguised as a 5.1 and I just discovered (at least on my disc) that the English 2.0 Surround track isn't surround encoded at all, it's a plain 2.0 stereo track, can you please check the 2.0 track on your '99 release Jonno, want to know if it's just my disc that's faulty.
Jonno said:
The laserdisc is looking more and more important, but the lack of info on that 4.1 is deeply frustrating - I'll delve through HTF's message boards to see if something ever came up (and doesn't Charles DeLauzirika host a forum there?)
Not a bad idea, I'm pretty sure DeLauzirika host a forum there, at least he did. It's very strange that nothing is mentioned about that 4.1 track, I guess it could be the same re-worked track they prepared for the '99 DVD but with an improved LFE. And like Moth3r pointed out, where did the LFE come from when they produced that track on the anniversary DVD, the weak bass of that track suggest it wasn't derived from the Six-Track. With all this shit going on, I would also like to get the proper 35mm Dolby Stereo track preserved.
I will never understand why there is so difficult for the home video industry to provide the real theatrical audio mixes for their films, and when they seldom are, they are in lossy quality whereas the remix is always presented in lossless. I wonder if even the directors are aware of what many of these remixes do to their films.
There are of course many great remixes done on films but on those releases with only the remix available, which is often the case since the DVD era came along, we are stuck with lesser versions of the films where there is screw ups, missing sound effects, altered sound effects etc. Great care was taken when they mixed the films in the first place, why not alter the aspect ratio when you're at it. Sorry but I don't get this weird standard, remix a mono film to 5.1 or 7.1 surround is equal to colorize black and white films IMO. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest... sigh.