A Few Words About A few words about...™ E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

The 2.0 track is lossy. Would a lossless track have sounded better or would there be no difference?

In a blind test? No.

 

Thanks, Bruce. So the lossy track will sound similar to how it did in the theater?

 

[Ethan Riley]

Any store exclusives for this one?

 

Walmart has a plush, Best Buy has the digibook, Target has the steelbook.

 

A 1982 Dolby soundtrack wouldn't have been digital, so wouldn't it sound similar to a lossy blu ray track?

 

[haineshisway]

A 1982 Dolby soundtrack wouldn't have been digital, so wouldn't it sound similar to a lossy blu ray track?

Yep.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Absolutely terrific presentation!

 

[Ethan Riley]

Walmart has a plush, Best Buy has the digibook, Target has the steelbook.

Thanks, Eric! I checked the BB website and they don't seem to mention the digibook format. I'm gonna have to hunt that one down.

 

[David Norman]

Best Buy E.T.
The first list shows the digibook, but for some reason when you click on the item, the picture goes away
SKU 6499319

 

[Tom Brennan]

I'm surprised more hasn't been said about the sound since it's such a well known movie. The audio quality is excellent... but the sound is an epic fail. For the most part it is taken from the 2002 version!
The spaceship taking off is thunderous instead of how it was in the original, and immediately after that you can hear the movements of the CG E.T. overlooking the cityscape even though visually we see the original little puppet just sitting in one spot. Much of the dialogue in the first scene with the kids playing Dungeons and Dragons has different takes/performances than was heard in the original. Unfortunatly you have to go back to the laserdisc to hear the original and compare. The worst part comes in the medical scene where the 2002 changed the entire mix and put in all of this obviously looped scientific dialogue and got rid of the eerie echo-y quality of the original. The old DVD had the right mix there. Compare the two and it's obvious. At one point, right after Peter Coyote talks to Elliot, there is a female doctor screen left who speaks a line about a drop in E.T.'s blood pressure. The dialogue was prominently heard in the original, but in the 2002 version (and on the new release) the lips move but we hear nothing.
One fix they did do: even though the guns are shown, the old DVD of the original version retained the walkie-talkie chatter added in as mom and the government guys run over to the van, just before the bike chase starts. This has now been fixed. But a few minutes later there's another problem - a bump and quality change at the point where the infamous shot of the rifle being raised, deleted in 2002, has now been put back in. It clearly sounds like a badly done insert but again the old DVD was seamless.
So while the terrorist line is retained and obvious things like the "jumping CG E.T." sounds during the opening chase were left out, by and large the audio seems to be the 2002 mix. This is very disappointing. The picture is indeed flawless but the audio was completely botched.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I'm surprised more hasn't been said about the sound since it's such a well known movie. The audio quality is excellent... but the sound is an epic fail. For the most part it is taken from the 2002 version!

Interesting; I never noticed all those differences (although I don't think I've watched the 2002 version straight through since it was in theaters). That is disappointing that the 7.1 seems to be a hybrid, but at least the 2.0 track sounds like it's the original (echo-y medical scene and all).

 

[Kevin EK]

I've asked Tom in the review thread if he was referring to the 7.1 or the 2.0 track. I'm assuming he was talking just about the 7.1 track, which of course is a new mix, approved by Steven Spielberg. I didn't have a problem with it, particularly with the original mix also included for those who want it.

 

[Tom Brennan]

Okay, so the 2.0 on the BD is actually the original track. So it is there... but as with Superman: The Movie I can't get the original mix in a discrete format. On the E.T. DVD the 5.1 is the same mix as the BD 7.1... but the 5.1 on the OLD DVD was fine (apart from the "talking" guns) and that should have been the basis for the new 7.1, not the 2002 mix. Keeping things like the sounds of the CG E.T's movements and the jarring edit on the rifle closeup at the end of the bike chase are very sloppy.

 

[SamT]

Okay, so the 2.0 on the BD is actually the original track. So it is there... but as with Superman: The Movie I can't get the original mix in a discrete format. On the E.T. DVD the 5.1 is the same mix as the BD 7.1... but the 5.1 on the OLD DVD was fine (apart from the "talking" guns) and that should have been the basis for the new 7.1, not the 2002 mix. Keeping things like the sounds of the CG E.T's movements and the jarring edit on the rifle closeup at the end of the bike chase are very sloppy.

Wow you are right. It's disappointing and makes no sense to include audio from the 2002 Special Edition into the new mix of the 1982 version!!
The sound movements of the CG E.T. overlooking the cityscape is real bad.

 

[Duke23]

What about the DVD on the new Blu-ray release? Does that have its original 2.0 mix or just the new 2002 mix placed on top of the original film?

 

[Kevin EK]

I can go back and look at it, but I thought the 2.0 on both the Blu-ray and the DVD were identical.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I can go back and look at it, but I thought the 2.0 on both the Blu-ray and the DVD were identical.

Hi Kevin!

I just picked up this Blu-ray/DVD combo set at our Wal-Mart this afternoon. Did you ever check the 2.0 soundtrack on the DVD to hear whether this matches up with the Blu-ray?

CHEERS!

Tony

 

[Kevin EK]

That was a mistake on my part. There is no 2.0 mix on the DVD - just 5.1 downmixes of the 7.1 in English, Spanish and French.
The 2.0 on the Blu-ray is the original mix. The 5.1 on the DVD is not.
That said, I did not find it egregious listening to it myself.
The sounds of E.T.'s movement in the brush near the beginning feel intentional to me - we do see E.T. moving down the hill a bit, and the sounds lend themselves to this. It explains why he isn't there when the agents scour the area moments later.

 

[Tony Bensley]

That was a mistake on my part. There is no 2.0 mix on the DVD - just 5.1 downmixes of the 7.1 in English, Spanish and French.
The 2.0 on the Blu-ray is the original mix. The 5.1 on the DVD is not.
That said, I did not find it egregious listening to it myself.
The sounds of E.T.'s movement in the brush near the beginning feel intentional to me - we do see E.T. moving down the hill a bit, and the sounds lend themselves to this. It explains why he isn't there when the agents scour the area moments later.

Hi Kevin!

Thank you very much for your kind and helpful response!

CHEERS!

Tony

 

[Lord Dalek]

How do you know said sound effects weren't there in the 6-track?