A Few Words About A few words about…™ The War of the Worlds (1953) – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Reed Grele]

Just so this doesn't get too obtuse: The "let me now rain on the parade" quote above is about the Intrada CD. And Chris (Malone) is responding about the CD and the elements he had. Here's what began this on the FSM board - the original poster, a very knowledgeable fellow, said:

"I heard a lot of praise about this new re-master. It's got its good points. The clarity of the image is phenomenal, the color rich and vibrant, but the sound? The sound was much clearer and brighter on the 2005 DVD remastering. Also, that DVD used the original version of the main title as heard in the film. The main title on the Blu-ray is missing a brass chord overlay as the the title THE WAR OF THE WORLDS changes from red to green. At that same point it is also missing the beginning of the percussion track. After a rather noticeable edit, the percussion track eventually comes in, but is WAY out of sync with the orchestra. (if you don't believe me, compare it to the two DVD releases.)

In one of the bonus features, someone mentions that they wanted to get this restoration right, as this is the way people would see the film from now on. Oh, I hope not!"

So, what happened is a bit of an enigma.

Thanks for the explanation. I always knew that something wasn't quite right.

Perhaps this will be addressed on a future (4K UHD BD?) release.

Then I'll have to get used to the way its supposed to sound all over again.

 

[AlexNH]

Just so this doesn't get too obtuse: The "let me now rain on the parade" quote above is about the Intrada CD. And Chris (Malone) is responding about the CD and the elements he had. Here's what began this on the FSM board - the original poster, a very knowledgeable fellow, said:

"I heard a lot of praise about this new re-master. It's got its good points. The clarity of the image is phenomenal, the color rich and vibrant, but the sound? The sound was much clearer and brighter on the 2005 DVD remastering. Also, that DVD used the original version of the main title as heard in the film. The main title on the Blu-ray is missing a brass chord overlay as the the title THE WAR OF THE WORLDS changes from red to green. At that same point it is also missing the beginning of the percussion track. After a rather noticeable edit, the percussion track eventually comes in, but is WAY out of sync with the orchestra. (if you don't believe me, compare it to the two DVD releases.)

In one of the bonus features, someone mentions that they wanted to get this restoration right, as this is the way people would see the film from now on. Oh, I hope not!"

So, what happened is a bit of an enigma.

I actually said that the quote I posted is from a discussion on the soundtrack release of War of the Worlds. But I guess I can't post on here without being corrected by Mr Haines.

 

[BobO'Link]

Just so this doesn't get too obtuse: The "let me now rain on the parade" quote above is about the Intrada CD. And Chris (Malone) is responding about the CD and the elements he had. Here's what began this on the FSM board - the original poster, a very knowledgeable fellow, said:

"I heard a lot of praise about this new re-master. It's got its good points. The clarity of the image is phenomenal, the color rich and vibrant, but the sound? The sound was much clearer and brighter on the 2005 DVD remastering. Also, that DVD used the original version of the main title as heard in the film. The main title on the Blu-ray is missing a brass chord overlay as the the title THE WAR OF THE WORLDS changes from red to green. At that same point it is also missing the beginning of the percussion track. After a rather noticeable edit, the percussion track eventually comes in, but is WAY out of sync with the orchestra. (if you don't believe me, compare it to the two DVD releases.)

In one of the bonus features, someone mentions that they wanted to get this restoration right, as this is the way people would see the film from now on. Oh, I hope not!"

So, what happened is a bit of an enigma.

I'd like to know just which version of the BR he's talking about. I noticed nothing missing, odd, or percussion being out of sync with the rest of the orchestra when I watched my new Criterion BR. To be sure, I got it out again and ran the open on the Criterion BR several times, with both audio mixes, and nothing sounded out of place or odd. So... I got out my DVD of that first Paramount release (it was the easiest to get to - I also have the Special Edition release somewhere) and gave it a listen. It matches *exactly* with the audio on the Criterion BR release. Nothing missing, late, odd, or out of sync.

 

[cb1]

Here is information from Film Score Monthly on the issue (it's from a discussion about the movie soundtrack release but it's the same issue).

Let me now rain on the parade by saying that the percussion track in the Main Title of WAR OF THE WORLDS is out of sync. Although it eventually falls into sync by the end of the piece, it starts out very noticeably behind, at least in the sample on the Intrada site. A true shame after waiting so long for a legitimate release of this score, to have such a glaring error incorporated into the final mixing and mastering.

Blame me. The elements we worked with included a mixed "Main Title" for WAR OF THE WORLDS. That is to say, the percussion overlay was already mixed in. Within the bonus section, we have provided listeners with an orchestra-only version, which we did have, and the "Prologue and Main Title", as heard in the film itself. So, there are three versions of the "Main Title" on this disc. Thanks for your interest.

Chris

Ok, I'm just a consumer schmo. What exactly does this mean. Is "main title" referring to the isolated soundtrack?

Is the out of sync soundtrack part of the actual film beginning?

I get my copy of the film sometime today.

 

[haineshisway]

I actually said that the quote I posted is from a discussion on the soundtrack release of War of the Worlds. But I guess I can't post on here without being corrected by Mr Haines.

Wasn't correcting you at all - just clarifying so there was no confusion. that's all

 

[haineshisway]

I'll ask him which disc he has.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, I finally was able to sit down and watch the new Criterion disc of The War of the Worlds last night. I used the 5.1 audio because it was new and I thought I'd try it. I was surprised how much surround that ben Burtt was able to produce. It was fun to hear it this way. The image looked great! I didn't think it was soft at all and it looked great to me.

I posted this in the other WotW thread. Thought I'd repeat it here for fun regarding the color of Mars. These are screen caps I made off of various sources. It seems only the iTunes version has the colors of Mars shifting more cooler for some reason :

1993 laserdisc


1999 DVD


2018 iTunes (Crude shot from a phone camera off the screen as iTunes won't let make a screen cap)


2020 Criterion blu ray


And finally, there was a post that Alan (Carabimero) had made on the War of the Worlds fully restored 4K thread in which he was dissatisfied about some banding issues he saw in one scene. (IIRC what he said) I happened to notice it too on this blu ray in the same shot. It maybe be hard to see in the screen cap, but in the sky, I could see banding as it went from light to dark. I viewed this on a plasma display.


The Criterion supplemental on the restoration of the film with Andrea Kalas was very interesting and the description of the three strip film. So I was surprised to learn of the later prints made would get lighter and the effects shots would suffer as a result, showing the wires. When the film was originally processed the wires were very hard to see, if at all. And she said she used the IP print as reference. So that was great stuff. (Maybe To Catch a Thief does look right?) The other supplement with Ben Burtt and Craig Barron was also very worth your time about the effects and sound.

I really hope that Miss Kalas will be able work on the restoration of Star Trek The Motion Picture. And soon!

By the way, I collect movie soundtracks of my favorite films, I didn't know about the Intrada release of The War of the Worlds. Its OOP and very expensive on the secondary market. Maybe they will do another pressing?

For now, very glad to have this new War of the Worlds disc!

 

[AlexNH]

Ok, I'm just a consumer schmo. What exactly does this mean. Is "main title" referring to the isolated soundtrack?

Is the out of sync soundtrack part of the actual film beginning?

I get my copy of the film sometime today.

The "Main Title" starts with the opening credits at 49 seconds, not the intro with Paul Frees narrating the stock footage. You get horns blaring, then nothing instead of a crash of other instruments. The music continues, but the percussion isn't quite synced. One of those things that if you don't expect it, you won't miss it or notice the sync problem.

 

[Robert Harris]

The Criterion supplemental on the restoration of the film with Andrea Kalas was very interesting and the description of the three strip film. So I was surprised to learn of the later prints made would get lighter and the effects shots would suffer as a result, showing the wires. When the film was originally processed the wires were very hard to see, if at all. And she said she used the IP print as reference. So that was great stuff. (Maybe To Catch a Thief does look right?) The other supplement with Ben Burtt and Craig Barron was also very worth your time about the effects and sound.

Possibly I missed this. Where was the discussion of "the IP print as reference?"

 

[Nelson Au]

Mr. Harris, I went back to the Restoration featurette and at the 9 minute 40 second mark, Miss Kalas is discussing the efforts to bring back the original Technicolor look and she specifically says they referred to an “ib tech print”. So my mistake for thinking I heard “IP print”. At this point she was referring to the restoration and fixing some of the effects shots. You might want to back up a few minutes from the 9 minute point to hear what they are referring to. I’m certainly not technically knowledgeable enough to know what they were talking about regarding the chemical processes.

 

[BobO'Link]

Just to be clear on what I heard on both the original Paramount DVD *and* the new Criterion BR. I listened to both again, with the "Stereo" track on the DVD (the only one it has) and the mono track on the Criterion (I'd also listened to the 5.1 track earlier and it is identical to the mono track other than the mix). Outside some minor clean up on the BR, those audio tracks sound identical.

Following the Paul Frees narration over the stock footage you get the initial blaring of horns over the main title. The title font changes color from red to green via a wipe with the blaring ending as the color fully hits green. It's silent for a half second and then a brief fanfare after which the credits and main theme begin. Percussion is synced properly with the orchestration. The theme continues over the credits sequence with the music increasing in tempo as it continues.

 

[Robert Harris]

Mr. Harris, I went back to the Restoration featurette and at the 9 minute 40 second mark, Miss Kalas is discussing the efforts to bring back the original Technicolor look and she specifically says they referred to an “ib tech print”. So my mistake for thinking I heard “IP print”. At this point she was referring to the restoration and fixing some of the effects shots. You might want to back up a few minutes from the 9 minute point to hear what they are referring to. I’m certainly not technically knowledgeable enough to know what they were talking about regarding the chemical processes.

That‘s what I thought I heard.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I thought Gene Barry was just fine. And I always loved him in 'Bat Masterson' ! A legend of the West ....

Yes I think actually was better suited to TV than movies. He was good in Bat Masterson and Burkes Law

 

[haineshisway]

I'd like to know just which version of the BR he's talking about. I noticed nothing missing, odd, or percussion being out of sync with the rest of the orchestra when I watched my new Criterion BR. To be sure, I got it out again and ran the open on the Criterion BR several times, with both audio mixes, and nothing sounded out of place or odd. So... I got out my DVD of that first Paramount release (it was the easiest to get to - I also have the Special Edition release somewhere) and gave it a listen. It matches *exactly* with the audio on the Criterion BR release. Nothing missing, late, odd, or out of sync.

He's comparing the 1999 DVD audio - to what, I don't know, as he hasn't responded whether he has the Criterion or the overseas issue. But someone put up a back-to-back comparison of the 1999 DVD and Criterion main titles and to my ears there are issues along the lines of what Mr. Doherty is saying. They're not horrendous. If you go to the thread (the current one about the Blu-ray) you can hear for yourself.

 

[cb1]

dupe reply oops

 

[cb1]

The "Main Title" starts with the opening credits at 49 seconds, not the intro with Paul Frees narrating the stock footage. You get horns blaring, then nothing instead of a crash of other instruments. The music continues, but the percussion isn't quite synced. One of those things that if you don't expect it, you won't miss it or notice the sync problem.

Thanks for the clarification, great job.

 

[moviebuff75]

CHACE did the stereo remix back then, and also collapsed it back to mono. Who knows what elements they used, or what changes they made to the music. I trust Paramount on this, and believe we are hearing the original mono with no changes.

 

[AlexNH]

This is a great release. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I'm not loosing any sleep over this audio thing. Please buy the disc everyone as it will encourage Paramount to do more of them!

 

[BobO'Link]

OK... I listened to that track posted on the Film Score Monthly site. The "issues" are solely due to more dynamic range applied to the new mix. The quiet orchestral bits are much quieter on the Criterion with the 1999 mix sounding a bit "muted" of "muffled" - like you get with too many generations of copying. The tempo is the same as is the percussion mix with the main orchestra. I heard *no* "sync" issues at all (FWIW I'm a classically trained musician and notice things like that). If anything, the Criterion sounds better due to everything being a bit "brighter" and the dynamic range of the orchestra expanded.

**EDIT**
I'd liken the sonic difference to a CD that was pressed using the LP master vs. a "remastered" version that went back to the master tapes without the LP EQ applied. You'd likely be quite happy with the original until you hear how clean and clear things are with the remastered version. It's like a layer or two of gauze has been removed.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

Thanks for the explanation. I always knew that something wasn't quite right.

Perhaps this will be addressed on a future (4K UHD BD?) release.

Then I'll have to get used to the way its supposed to sound all over again.

I don't have the new Blu-ray (was never a fan of this film, sorry) but I was a producer on that Intrada CD set and I saw a YouTube video today of the main title and as soon as I heard it I realized they used the incomplete mix for the main title, but it's all that survives in any usable condition, I'm afraid. One can always stick with the mono, I guess.

Neil