Sorry, I don't own a copy of the previous release, and have not seen it in a few years. It's 16:9 enhanced, fills the entire 16:9 frame, has a 2.0 pro-logic flagged stereo track, and shares space on the same DVD-9 with "Thunder Bay", so it is at least not a bit-identical disc.
This is slightly off-topic - I asked the same question in another thread but after several days nobody has answered.
Has anyone gotten the John Wayne Century Collection? If so, what is the packaging like and are the bonus discs from the special editions included as well?
The Thunder Bay DVD has the 3 channel track. I guess it is now "unlost".
It's one of those phony stereo tracks with only the sound effects coming from different directions. The music and dialog is centered.
I was watching my Charge at Feather River tape from TCM recently and it has the same kind of stereo effects.
Thunder Bay looks O.K. in 1.85 due to the medium and long shots as previously mentioned. But the color is very mushy.
The Glenn Miller Story doesn't look much better.
I think the Artists and Models transfer from the new Martin & Lewis set should be the new reference point for most of the 1950's color movies. It is beautiful. (If you don't mind the flickering in the high contrast shots.)
Ken says: "It's a little hissy in spots, but I'm pretty sure I heard discrete stereo effects including directional dialog throughout the first 20 minutes (all I watched)."
William says: " It's one of those phony stereo tracks with only the sound effects coming from different directions. The music and dialog is centered."
I've yet to watch the DVD yet, but it seems more likely that Universal has cobbled together a new soundtrack from stems. The music would absolutely have been recorded stereophonically, so if it's just being pumped out as a mono signal or just panned, it's not the original thing.
WB did the same thing with their HOUSE OF WAX and CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER tracks. They're not the original, stereophonic mixes. They just panned the dialogue and effects, and on HOUSE, used the optical surround track to create a 4.0 mix.