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A few words about...™ An American in Paris -- in Blu-ray

#31
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4/6/09 at 9:02pm
  • Joined: March 2004
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Re: A few words about...™ An American in Paris -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet
Lossless really makes a difference, even for "old mono" movies. So many DVDs that sound "dead" that most folks just assumed is the sound of old mono soundtracks, open up with shockingly life-like clarity and realism on my old (lossless) PCM laserdiscs... really ticks me off that WB stuck with the low bit-rate Dolby on this. Even must maxing out the mono lossy track with 640 or even 448 would have made a big improvement.

We've been told that this title was "already in the pipeline" when WB finally got their act together with setting a studio-wide policy for supplying lossless on all BD titles. Let's hope this gets revisited at some point... and let's hope that WB really sticks by its word on future BD releases... yes, even "old mono" movies.

p.s. all sources have indicated that this title has lossy only, and that's what several reviews have indicated. I should have my screener (running late obviously) this week and will check myself and also compare against the "That's Entertainment" clips which have TrueHD.


I couldn't agree with you more David. If anyone doubts your statements, all they need do is pop in their dvd of the last release of South Pacific and then listen to the new blu-ray with DTS MA. Every aspect of the soundtrack is improved. The richness, the tonal quality, the dialogue, the soundstage comes alive at last. While laserdisc did provide some good lossless, the problem then was that they were not mastering the soundtracks like they are now. We have come a long way with sound remastering since those days. And there is absolutely no reason to think that a single channel film would not benefit from lossless audio. Those who think that just because a film contains one channel and it's ok to simply do a lossy transfer are mistaken.

If this release was planned and prepped prior to Warner's decision to use lossless all of the time, then why is Gigi in Dolby True HD? They both came out at the same time so I would assume they were prepped around the same time as well. I could be wrong, but I basically feel that any studio taking the path of using lossy because a film is mono is doing a great dis-service to the track of those films.

Columnist for the GOLDEN HOLLYWOOD column on The Digital Bits.

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#32
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4/7/09 at 11:18am
  • Joined: March 2002
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Re: A few words about...™ An American in Paris -- in Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by MattH.
According to the liner notes on the Rhino soundtrack CD of AN AMREICAN IN PARIS, there were some multidirectional recordings done but not for the entire score. Some of those recordings have not survived, but the ones that have were included on the soundtrack CD. Warners opted not to use any multidirectional audio tracks for the audio track of the Blu-ray.

According to the liner notes for the CD, the 18 minute ballet was NOT recorded using multidirectional mics! I find that absolutely shocking! What were they thinking!

Yes! Of all the musicals they planned, developed and produced...to do this type of recording, especially for the ballet, is just a terrible blow. I'd have loved to be on the sound stage to hear that orchestra's sessions!
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#33
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11/1/09 at 3:08am
  • Joined: September 2009
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Watched the blu of An American in Paris with Gene Kelly. Wonderful film. Great pq in blu. I thought the Oscar Levant character was very funny. What an amazing pianist and comic he was! Oscar Levant supposedly once said, "There's a thin line between genius and insanity. I've erased that line." My 8-year old daughter loved the film, from beginning to end, and started dancing around the house in the end in imitation of the surreal epic climax.
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#34
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11/2/09 at 12:06pm
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Levant also supposedly once said..."I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."
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#35
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11/3/09 at 12:31am
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another funny one~
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#36
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11/3/09 at 8:15am
  • Joined: June 2000
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If you enjoy Levant's humor, you should try to track down any of his three books: "A Smattering of Ignorance," "Memoirs of an Amnesiac" and "The Unimportance of Being Oscar." They are hilarious, and ultimately heartbreaking.
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#37
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11/3/09 at 12:17pm
  • Joined: September 2009
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Thanks for the recommend! The titles are hilarious on their own!
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