Info: Re-mixed audio tracks on video releases — Page 11

TServo2049 said:

It really confuses me when older movies have alterations in their mono tracks. It happened with The Wizard of Oz, it happened with Frankenstein, it happened with Dracula. I think it's because due to the age of these films, the mono tracks are now restorations/reassemblies, not just direct transfers of an original mono element.

Yeah it is very strange. For example the 2004 DVD of Dracula strangely uses the censored audio track that removes Renfield's death scream and Dracula's death groans yet the 1999 and 2006 DVDs and the Blu Ray use the uncensored audio. What was going through Universal's mind in 2004 is a mystery. I also wasn't fond how when E.T. was released on DVD that some of the new sound effects added to the 2002 reissue was added to the DVD of the original. An example would be when they police are running to the evacuated van and you hear walkie talkie static.

It depends. As I mentioned before there were some extra sound effects added to the 2002 enhanced version and some of these sound effects were added to the DVD of the 1982 version. I was hoping this would be corrected on the Blu Ray version. Since I don't have a Blu Ray player I bought the DVD version which has the print used on the BD. Except for the radio static I mentioned eariler the new sound effects still remain. One thing I also noticed on this version was in the scene where they take off at the end to escape the police there's a peculiar transition in audio during the close up shot of the cop raising the rifle. It almost sounds like mono but cuts back to stereo when it cuts to Elliot closing his eyes. Was there a cut and paste job done here when they were restoring the original footage? It didn't sound this way on the 2002 DVD of the 82 version. So in answer to your question it depends. On DVDs of the 82 version in the scene where the mom and Michael are arguing about his costume he goes 'Please?' and she goes 'No that is final. You're not going as a terrorist' and he responds 'All the guys are'. However none of the VHS editions I've seen have the terrorist line. I guess we can all say there's been alterations done to all the mixes of the film.

Well as some of you may know Wizard of Oz is being rereleased on video this year for like the 600th time!! :P Unlike the last couple releases which included a 5.1 track and the original mono track this release only features the 5.1 drops the mono track. Is this a loss?? Were changes made for this film's 5.1 track?????

captainsolo said: The classic Uni monster films are never going to have much fidelity, especially the early ones being typically poorly sourced from sound disc copies that were improperly stored. The restored lines from Frankenstein were found by a collector by picking up a sound disk and then finally convincing Universal to include them. I'd like to try the LD editions as some are digital sound, and the early Discovision releases are supposedly transferred from original nitrate. (These look like NOTHING else) And personally I love the way the old copies sound at full blast, complete with hiss and crackle-even VHS.

I'm a big Universal Monster fan and have been picky about the sound mixes of these films. The 1999 DVDs for Dracula and Frankenstein for me had the best audio of the 3 DVD releases of those films although Frankenstein was rather quiet. For the 2004 and 2006 DVDs Universal went with mixes that for me sounded hissy and a bit muffled. Then came the Blu-Rays last year. Dracula looked and sounded excellent. Frankenstein looked good too but they used the same soundtrack from the two previous DVDs. I was hoping they would revert back to either the soundtrack from the 1999 DVD and just increase the volume or another cleaner version like the one used on the 1991 VHS which I have. It wasn't just the sound quality that disappointed me. There were portions of the soundtrack missing as well. I made two videos demonstrating the differences between the VHS and the BD. One that demonstrates the clarity of the mix and another pointing out the missing bits. I posted these to Classic Horror Film Board and got a mix response. Here they are incase anyone here would like to take a look.

https://vimeo.com/56206935

https://vimeo.com/57318682

Speaking of ET, I've been meaning to revisit Close Encounters for a long time. If I got the 30th Anniv. BD would the mix there be anything like the theatrical? I know the original 70mm LFE was sourced for the Collector's Edition LD (via lddb forums)

AF, GBU could be saved by adding the LD PCM to the Mondo transfer and then replacing the edits in the torture scene and the few other tiny bits to conform to the 161 minute US/International cut. The Italian exclusive scenes would remain Italian mono for the longer cut, with the MGM SE exclusive scene being the grotto which was never shown outside the premiere.

From everything I've heard the blu-ray is the same as the laserdisc except the stereo surrounds. I have the laserdisc and it is on my list to copy and sync so we can compare. Same with GBU (my favorite film). I have the laserdisc and the Mondo but getting in sync will be a task. I want to get a little more experience syncing up soundtracks up before I tackle GBU. I just finished my first. I synced up Temple Of Doom's widescreen soundtrack to the blu-ray and so far it sound pretty good (big thanks to Jonno for helping test the finished track)

Avatar_Emil said:

Not really. The 5.1 mix is made of 3 parts: 

1. Restored mono track

2. Isolated orchestra angles

3. Isolated music and effects track

Out of all of these, there is but one change found only on the mono track and that is the removal of Judy Garland's stutter around when she says "Oh, Toto!" in Kansas. And really? They are removing the mono track for the 3d rerelease this year? What's your source?

I was lookin on Amazon.com at the packaging of the upcoming BluRay and DVD release and it said English 5.1. No mention of the mono track.

captainsolo said:

AF, GBU could be saved by adding the LD PCM to the Mondo transfer and then replacing the edits in the torture scene and the few other tiny bits to conform to the 161 minute US/International cut. The Italian exclusive scenes would remain Italian mono for the longer cut, with the MGM SE exclusive scene being the grotto which was never shown outside the premiere.

Would LOVE to see such a thing come to fruition. I've only watched the Italian cut, and it currently isn't my favorite movie in the Dollars trilogy. Hopefully, the INL/US cut gives a new perspective...

Is anyone planning on getting the new BD release of Halloween? I have the UK version pre-ordered but early reviews of the US edition suggests the mono track is not the original one and has missing/added effects. This is comparing to earlier DVD and BD releases.

But looking for a definitive answer. Does anyone have the LD or VHS release and compared it to the new BD?

Frustrating, isn't it? Pity it's coming from a label (Anchor Bay) that we simply can't trust, audio-wise (they have a history of downmixing their stereo-ised tracks to mono and calling it 'original', presumably to save the time of going back and re-syncing). Even if it is accurate it's only ever been presented in 192 kB/s DD.

The best course of action would probably be a rip and sync of the Criterion laserdisc's digital mono, but I can't see any of those for sale right now. Anyone got a copy?

I have already ripped the audio from the US LD of Halloween in anticipation of this, it seems Studio's can't get anything right anymore, oh well it keeps us busy.

I have this one,

http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/07270/CC1462L/Halloween-%281978%29

Here's a comment about the mono track on the new BD - http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=8149130&postcount=3346

Is that enough information to suggest the new track is a fold down? Someone questioned whether the older releases actually had the original mono as well.  The 2007 BD mono track is different to the new one, but that does that mean it's the original?

I suspect he compared it to the 7.1 track and found the same added/altered sound effects.

DJ, any chance of getting that rip?

This is sad, how hard is it to put the original mono on there in loseless. I wish Shout factory had Halloween. They put the original mono soundtrack on their Fog release. They have become what Anchor Bay was in the early days of DVD.

HALLOWEEN has been botched. 

http://chirb.it/cqIrdm

It astounds me that no one can get anything right these days. 

The new BD of The Fog looks far better than the old one.

_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

Finished to read (more or less) all the thread, and it seems no one has these ones:

Wizard of Oz - mono + isolated score & effect track

Dirty Harry - is AC3, but the other analog channel is mono, so it *should* be the original mono soundtrack...

Could be interesting to preserve?

Why not just get this Harry http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/10847/1019-LV/Dirty-Harry-(1971)