- Joined: November 1999
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Saw this as a child; looking forward to reliving it on DVD.
Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I seem to recall that Richard Bach was so displeased with the film that he had his own name stricken from the credits.
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- Joined: March 2004
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Just found this forum. I have been waiting years for a dvd of this beautiful movie, and just got my copy today, and low and behold MONO. While the picture quality is simply stunning I can't believe Paramount would not take this great musical score and go back to the elements and make this true stereo like they have on so many movies. I am really bummed today after this long a wait. AND CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? The French track is stereo and sounds 100% better, cleaner, better frequency response, everything... than the English track. Aside from all of this, my old VHS tape (studio released) is stereo.
I can't believe this, big disappointment today for me after such a long wait.
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
well, I just got off the phone with Paramount Home Video. She said the U.K. version is stereo but the US version is mono. Can you believe it? Such a great score too. I told her I would like her to pass this complaint along to the people in the home video department that decide the specs for releases and also mto anyone else this complaint might concern. She was very nice, but who knows where it goes from there.
I have been impatiently waiting for a long time for this title., only to feel this major disappointment. Picture is stunning, but the English track sounds like an old tv print soundtrack.
May I ask anyone else on this board who is a fan to call Paramount at the number below and ask for Paramount Home Video, and register a complaint? What good it will do I don't know, but you never know. I can't believe this from a studio that has given us so many awesome soundtracks on dvd, even many stereo discs that were mono movies.
Paramount Pictures
(323) 956-5000
Columnist for the GOLDEN HOLLYWOOD column on The Digital Bits.
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Is the rest of the soundtrack in the UK version any different from the US version? I got the VHS tape a while ago but haven't watched it yet, if I liked it I was going to buy the DVD but not if it's a stereo track in mono.
Sort of on a related note, has the 1989 version of "The Punisher" ever been fixed? That disc is in 1-channel Dolby Digital, but the end credits of the movie say Dolby Stereo!
Home video oddities, old commercials and other junk: http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeh8nbc
- Joined: March 2004
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Supposedly, the UK version is true stereo, ours is English mono. I am trying to find a message board of some kind from the UK where I can actually ask someone who has it, that may take a while. I did contact someone on the IMDB (Int.movie database) who posted on the bottom of the page, but she won't get that until she signs in there next time, who knows how long. I can definately tell you that the video tape was stereo, although not the greatest frequency response, the US dvd is English mono and terrible sound and the English version also has a French track, that sounds better than the English one by a mile. Sad, huh? Been bothering me all day. I will post here when I find something out.
Columnist for the GOLDEN HOLLYWOOD column on The Digital Bits.
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Looks like it has region coding region 2, but it's also in Pal format, you would have to get an open region player, which I am now considering. Pioneer's dv-400 1080p upscaling player is only about 120 in the open region stores. I am waiting for confirmation that the movie is actually stereo there. Take a look on the Internet Movie Database. At the bottom of the page for this movie, you will see posts from members (link to page below), one says PARAMOUNT DVD...click on that and read what she says, sher specifically mentions the stereo, so I wrote her but as I said she has to sign in to get the message, who knows how often she visits IMDB. Any other ideas on how to find out?
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0070248/
Columnist for the GOLDEN HOLLYWOOD column on The Digital Bits.
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Just my opinion, compared to what Paramount"could" have done, it sounds terrible. They must have the masters, they have gone back and made mono movies into stereo from stems, more so than any other studio, why not this one that really would have benefited? To me, this was a lazy attempt, especially when they spent the time making the picture transfer so beautiful. The movie was stereo in the first place. While the IMDB says mono, I have the add supplement for the original Paramount pressbook that has "stereo" on the ads for those theaters equipped for stereo.
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Re: Hope for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL?
Jeff, I enjoyed seeing it again as well, and the picture quality is great. I can't imagine why contractual reasons would prohibit stereo sound. If this were Neil Diamond's decision, I know it would have been stereo. I am sure he isn't pleased either, and neither am I. This still sounds like an old tv print to me, but doesn't look like one as far as picture. This is by no means the mono master either. Heck, the French track is 100% better, as far as the musical score.
Of course I am glad this came out, but with stereo dvd's in the U.K., and being it one of my all time favorites, I guess the only way now is to get a PAL player (my 1080 Epson takes Pal signal) and order the REAL STEREO disc from Amazon UK. Theirs is 5.1 stereo (confirmed).
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