StarThoughts

The cover with the classic poster is excellent. That's exactly what should be on the cover of this movie.

The Criterion laserdisc had the soundtrack in both PCM and in Dolby AC-3. I don't know if the 5.1 track is a different mix than the DVD… if it's the same, the DVD delivers it at a higher bitrate.

jerryshadoe said:

 

Next, the Score track... f*ck, this one has been a little bit of a b*tch because the timing on the Score cds in reference to the actual movie doesn't always line up unless I change the speed of the track (without adjusting the pitch) but the changes is what puzzles me. on certain tracks (like the initial 50-second intro) the timing conversion I have to do is like when you adjust from NTSC to PAL (in other words I had to do a PAL speed up to adjust the timing to match the NTSC soundtrack) but in the very next track I had to do a PAL to NTSC timing conversion which makes no sense either. And some tracks require no adjustment at all. It is slowly coming together ( have about 30% done right now) but it will take me a little while longer to finish it so that everything syncs up perfectly and that the volume changes remain the same as in the movie where for most part I am using the Audio Commentary Track 5 as a reference for this. Once completed, I will include a 2.0 PCM, as well as a 5.1 upmix (in DTS-HD MA)

 It is not outside the range of possibility that the cues were sped up or slowed down in the film to accommodate last-minute trims or extensions. There is a long history of this sort of thing happening in last-minute mixing sessions, it was just more noticeable before pitch-correction entered the picture.

Are you suggesting they used the 4.0 master as the basis for the track? 35 mm Dolby Stereo was a matrixed 2 channel system.

The current versions of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are both 1.0. Harmy is working on new versions of those two films (you can check the thread for Empire for some clips of what he's done so far on that title). They will be ready when Harmy is finished.

Check the first post of this thread and you can sign up for the newsletter.

jerryshadoe said:

@StarThoughts: there are no differences other than delivery method (with the DTS track encoded from the PCM using SurCode DVD-DTS) The isolated score track was NOT on the bluray, per se, because most of the English audio commentary track 5 is an isolated score track in ac3 192kbps. a little bit of talking here and there but very little. I found a FLAC copy of nearly complete score on a Chinese forum (verified to be real CDDA lossless audio) and I have a FLAC copy of the OST as well. Then I looked up the artist and track name for the songs (like what's on neo's headphones at beginning of movie; for example) that are NOT on the OST and have found FLAC copies of those. Now it's a matter of syncing up all the separate tracks into one audio track, where I'm using the English audio commentary track 5 (which specifically focuses on the isolated score) as a reference. In doing it this way, I am able to reconstruct a lossless copy of the score which I will leave in PCM for the release. (Depending on how much of a pain it is, I might even up-convert it to a 5.1 [and end up with two isolated score tracks with a 5.1 and a 2.0], but this will depend entirely on the results, otherwise I'll just stick with the 2.0)

 Ah! I thought that the isolated score was just going to be the track from the original DVD release, but you're talking about assembling a new track from scratch for better sound quality! I heartily approve! If you do make an upconversion, I would hope you would include the original stereo version as well.

It sounds like your primary source for the score is the 2 CD promo of the score that was leaked in the early aughts, which I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this when I went looking for something with better sound quality than the compressed DVD AC-3 track. It has the advantage of not having Don Davis talking over the heads and tails of cues (and sometimes over them — as interesting as some of his comments are, they are intrusive if one is trying to listen to the music), and cues play out in full without the album edits.

Most of the songs can be slipped in with some edits made, but there are a few moments where the film has song remixes that don't appear on the album or the promo. The ones that spring to mind are “Clubbed To Death” and “Leave You Far Behind.” In those cases, you may be limited to the isolated score track. 

I feel Don Davis' scores for Matrix trilogy to be outstanding and unique. I was somewhat surprised for a while that more scores didn't start sounding like the Matrix trilogy. I guess I shouldn't have been, as one of the reasons why these scores work so well for their films is because, in the tradition of the best science-fiction scores, they have a very specific sound that relates to the subject matter.

Version 2.1 looks very enticing. Was the isolated score track in PCM on the Blu-ray?

Are there differences between the two cinema DTS tracks you're including other than the delivery format?

For the record, the tweet in question from Vince DiCola himself can be found here.

My understanding is that Intrada Records will be putting out a new edition of the score. I don't know what will be included, but chances are that they're going to be attempting a definitive edition (possibly including the original album as well). It may sound better than previous editions, or it may not. Even if it does, the original releases my still be useful because Intrada tends to crossfade adjacent tracks and mimic film edits.

Lowbacca said:

My only question is when do we properly remake Episodes I, II, and III?

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/forum.cfm/Star-Wars-Fan-Edits/forum/9/

The “no real visible difference” is the most important element. The Blu-ray 1080p transfers are roughly the same resolution as they would be at 720p. There is little to be gained but file size to go 1080p.

Just finished! Checking it out right now!

The Thing is definitely worth getting… the colors are better than anything else out there right now and the audio options can't be beat (I am a sucker for the original laserdisc PCM, it sounds fantastic in surround). I had some trouble writing it to disc (it always glitches during the helicopter scene — it may have been an error that occurred when I downloaded it because I've tried it on both my Mac and my PC), so I am very eager for V.2.

I believe the commentary from the 2007 version is the one that was recorded for the Criterion laserdisc, with John Carpenter, Debra Hill and Jamie Lee Curtis commenting separately.

This is on the queue right now. I am looking forward to watching this movie with the autumnal colors and the original mono track.

The music and effects track will also be a nifty feature.

Many years ago I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about DVDs that touched on how I never thought DVDs sounded very good because I was used to the richer, fuller sound of a laserdisc. I commented on a few 5.1 mixes that I felt were completely dire (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was brought up in particular). I mentioned that I often hated those remixes and he looked at me like I was strange because when he bought a movie, he would only ever listen to the 5.1 remix.

I have the original soundtrack release and the 2 disc ‘Till All Are One’ Botcon '97 set, which has the score on disc one minus what appeared on the original soundtrack presentation, and a live DiCola show on disc 2.

I tend to prefer the theatrical cut because I hate the revision to the final scrawl, which I feel ruins the tone of the narration, replacing a mysterious “…but that is another story” with “…but that's a sequel we're never going to make.” I do, however, enjoy the additional scene and alternate cut of the finale of the extended version.

The theatrical edition presents the original mono track (no restoration needed) along with several re-mixes to present the music in stereo, along with isolated score options. The only issue is that the Tower of Set sequence minimizes the choir heard in the film because there was no stereo version of that track (the choir was an overdub over an existing recording).

Is that the one in which the Ko-Dan Armada attacks the Peacekeeper fleet?

612 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn used to be a game bar, and on Thursdays they would screen films in the back. One night just before Hallowe'en, they screened a pretty good 16 millimeter print of Halloween. It was the first time I'd ever seen the film in scope (the Criterion laserdisc would not come out until the following year) and between discovering the effective use of the Panavision frame and seeing the film with an audience, which is always an advantage, especially with horror films — not to mention the fact that, being in a bar, I was able to drink a few glasses of wine over the course of the film — made it one of my more memorable cinema experiences.

I am looking forward to this presentation with great relish.

Flexicon9 said:

Carpenter and Russell were a perfect team.  This film represents both in their prime... for that reason alone I can't argue that it may very well be their best.  The Thing is damn good but Snake Plissken is the most iconic anti-hero of action cinema.

“Call me Snake.”

Excellent!!! I'm glad this project will have a chance to see fruition!

The isolated music and score track sounds like it is going to be entertaining. There have been so many differing releases of DiCola's score it will be nice to have something comprehensive.

coltonlolz said:

No I didn't, but it's a reference to just after the Millennium Falcon blasts out of Cloud City before they jump to lightspeed to where Alderaan was in the OT.

TV's Frink said:

Wait...those things weren't in the same movie!

Yes they were, go watch Ep. IV for proof.

Have you even watched these movies?

I can throw in another $20 (bringing my total up to $40), but that's all I could do right now.

I'd throw in a $20…