A Few Words About A few words about...™ Halloween -- in BD (2 Viewers)

[TravisR]

^I've seen conflicting reports about the mono track. Some people are saying that is on there and some reviews are only mentioning a 5.1 mix (maybe that's because they don't care about the mono mix or maybe because there's only a 5.1 mix).

 

[Nick Graham]

There is a two channel 192k mono track confirmed for Halloween.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Nick, that's excellent news. Where was this confirmed if you don't mind my asking?

 

[David Ruiz]

Excellent news if true. Again, severely disappointed that it's encoded at such a low bit-rate when they made the the 5.1 track uncompressed... I don't see why they couldn't make the mono track uncompressed as well. But hey, I'm not going to complain. If it's there, it'll be the ONLY track I ever listen to, despite its low-bitrate. I'd much rather have a low bit-rate version of the correct track than the awful uncompressed out-of-sync 5.1 track.

Can we get a scan of the back cover?

 

[Douglas Monce]

192 kbps is the 2 channel equivalent of of 448 kbps for 5.1.

Doug

 

[Vincent_P]

Tell that to Criterion, who encode their one-channel Dolby Digital soundtracks at 192 KB/S on DVD (see VIDEODROME for an example).

Vincent

 

[Jeff Adkins]

They've done some 2-channel stuff that way as well. Their Robocop DVD was 192 and sounded lame compared to the PCM LD.

 

[Jordan_E]

Watched Halloween last night. Since I've seen this upconverted recently, the upgrade wasn't startling, but the subtle details that are seen (I've watching this movie so many times I can't recall the exact number of viewings) did make me go: "Oh wow, never seen that before." And you truly appreciate the artistry that went into Dean Cundey's cinematography, especially considering the budget ($300K) of this movie, even in the night scenes you can see way down the block. While the soundtrack isn't as aggressive as I expected from an uncompressed disc, I did hear a few things within Carpenter's score lost in the mix on other editions. Overall, this Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment release of Halloween shines. A must have.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Jordan, care to share your thoughts on the color-timing of the BD release vs. the DiviMax DVD and prior ABE releases?

 

[Jordan_E]

This one seems to be right in the middle, color-timing wise. It isn't as startling in changes as the Divi edition, but also isn't like the so-called "Cundey approved" edition. Yes, I own all the DVD editions. But also, the very nature of HD makes all the green in the daylight scenes POP, and for a movie that takes places on Halloween it is a bit distracting. But it doesn't seem as "sterile" as the Divi version either. Others with better eyes for such things will soon chime in, I'm sure, but considering that other major players have screwed up titles with the format, Starz Entertainment did an admirable job right out of the gate.

 

[Nick Graham]

Reputable confirmation:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=30580


The Audio:
Anchor Bay provides three audio tracks for this release: The original mono, Dolby Digital 5.1, and an uncompressed PCM 5.1 track. Now, I'm sure some home theater junkies will kill me for it, but out of the three, I actually preferred the mono track. After all, it is the original mix that the crew put together for theatrical exhibition. Also, the surround mixes just don't sound much better. In fact, the dialogue actually sounds worse in the multichannel mixes, because they're using the same mono sources, but putting them up against remixed versions of the score and the sound effects, making the dialogue sound thin and artificial. The best part of the 5.1 tracks is the score, which spreads effectively across all channels. The Dolby Digital and the PCM tracks are almost indistinguishable, and they just can't hide the fact that they're using elements from a low budget 1978 film.

 

[Jordan_E]

The back of the case does not even list the mono track, simply Dolby Surround and PCM 5.1, so does that mean it was a last minute addition?

 

[Paul Arnette]

Jordan, thanks. It looks like I can finally retire the '98 ABE Halloween.

 

[Nick Graham]

I was debating it, but I think I'm still gonna hold onto my old '98 LE set. It's got a lot of sentimental value, plus the TV cut, which although nothing special is nice to have as a completist.

I can't wait to tear into these Blu-Rays tonight.....

 

[Greg Conti]

WTF!?! Evil Dead II is out on Blu Ray? Where have I been hiding? I'm picking up both these titles

 

[Jordan_E]

I wouldn't get rid of my other editions of Halloween either, and am thinking of grabbing that Divi edition of Halloween 4, as I actually don't own anything past Halloween III.

 

[Dave Mack]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, boys, but I just A/B'd ALL the scenes in question with the color timing and to me, this looks just like the Divmax DVD timingwise. The scenes in Haddonfield look like spring in LA. The blue light at night is pale like in the divimax. Especially the scene where Laurie is barricaded in the kitchen and the shape puches through the door. Looks just like the divimax. The door is whitish grey, not blue. I compared the BD to the divimax to the cundey THX transfer. Same input/ HDMI splitter. PS3 and oppo player.

Someone like Xylon at avs will confirm but that's how it looks to me.

It looks AMAZING detail-wise but I fear the colors are once again, off. Whoever said they would probably re-time the master I think just said that.
Now I may be wrong, but that's how it looked to me.

 

[Jordan_E]

Read your post over at AVS, Dave. Going to watch this one again tomorrow morning (with the original track) and watch that kitchen in particular. But like I wrote earlier, to me it seems right down the middle on the two mentioned versions, but the fact it is HD could disguise the Divi-look to an extent; I seem to remember that the thin shaft of light from the bedroom when Laurie approaches to find Annie did look more like from the Divi version than the THX edition, where it almost had a laser-like quality.

BTW, did you catch the hair fluttering in the lower right hand side in Laurie's bedroom scene?

 

[Dave Mack]

Just skipped around so far.
The detail and clarity is indeed jaw-dropping but I was looking specifically for the color timed sequences in question.
I believe that this is pretty much how an original print probably looked at the time and for the Cundey supervised DVD, he simply increased the color and tweaked it for certain scenes. It all looks VERY natural but spring in LA to me looks like, spring in L.A.

 

[Jordan_E]

I've never been to Illinois, but I really doubt there's that much green left by the time October 31st arrives! Those trees were downright lush!