Finally, CONAN THE BARBARIAN in DD 5.1!!! (1 Viewer)

[Brian Cleary]

CD Japan is advertising that their upcoming R2 version of this 1981 classic boasts an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GXBA-1806
This sucks for R1 fans without an all-region player though. But it's good to know that there is a DD 5.1 version out there for those that want it. CONAN THE BARABARIAN, with its regal score, is a movie that screams out for DD 5.1 or DTS soundtrack. Universal released it in twice with mono sound claiming they could never had the resources to do a DD 5.1 sound mix. Looks like somebody in the industry did it and now they look like fools.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

Count me in on this one! Any reviews on the new soundtrack would be great!

mike.

 

[TheBat]

I have read some reviews for conan the destroyer.. it could be done the same way, and it an okay 5.1 but nothing like gladiator anything.

JACOB

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Looks like somebody in the industry did it and now they look like fools.

talk about making assumptions.

You know...anyone could take a mono singal, route it to all five channels with some of the bass directed to the .1 and call it "5.1".

Unless you know they found source elements and were able to remix from scratch chances are likely they just processed the mono signal to death and recorded the result in a 5.1 configuration.

-dave

 

[Jeff Kleist]

That's probably what happened. There have been several DD 5.1 tracks released in Japan that are not really 5.1 remixes.

 

[Rolando]

this might sound silly but what does the red arrow pointing to the thread mean?

back to subject, back when the Conan CE was release i was happy it was a new anamorphic transfer but really dissapointed we were getting mono sound. I mean They are re-releasing it, it's a Collector's Edition heck there was even going to be an Ah-nold commentary track. But we were given crappy mono!

Well I have changed my point of view on sound since then. It was originally mono in theatres therefore we are not being robbed of anything, it was always that way.

I still enjoy re-mixes, I have not become an OSR or OSP advocate were it HAS to be mono if it was before but I don't mind it if it was the original recording and it is at least given the best possible presentation (cleaned up, low compression etc).

However a good re-mix like Jaws and Evil Dead (Elite 5.1) and a few others I can not only live with but would not listen to the mono track if it was there unless I was watching the movie on a mono TV.

Conan still sounds pretty good on my HT set up even if not all 5 speaker are blaring...

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

Although Conan was and has always been presented with a mono soundtrack, it is a movie screaming for a six-channel remix. I believe anyone who has listened to the absolutely astounding score by Basil Poledouris can attest to this. Adding in the stereo soundtrack as well as some tastefully re-done sound effects would elevate this movie even higher in my eyes. However, if all that is done is a 5.1 remix of the mono track (ala Rhino's Transformers releases) then you can count me out. And yeah, I think any and all future releases should include the original mono track as well.
mike.
btw, the red arrow signifies the thread has been moved to a different forum.

 

[Ken Stuart]

This is why there are such things as soundtrack albums...

 

[Douglas R]

Picked up the 20th Century Fox Region 2 Conan the Barbarian SE whilst in Barcelona this weekend (it comes to the UK in May). The DD 5.1 sound is great! The music score in particular can at last be heard in all it's dramatic force and splendor. This is not a "tweaking" of the original mono soundtrack - it is clearly a genuine re-mix from the original elements. No problem with the disc being designed for the Spanish market either because the menus default to English language! The extras are the same as those on the Universal disc but what a pity Universal could not have re-mixed the soundtrack for R1 (I believe they said they could not trace the original stereo music tracks).

 

[rutger_s]

The extras are the same as those on the Universal disc but what a pity Universal could not have re-mixed the soundtrack for R1 (I believe they said they could not trace the original stereo music tracks).

What could have happened is that Universal Home Video could not find the original elements in the U.S. or did not look hard enough. Or the international distributor who had enough of the elements did not want to share it with other distributors.

This happened to Image Entertainment when they wanted to release Dances With Wolves to DVD. They could not source the original elements to do a 5.1 remix of the extended cut. Kinowelt is the only known distributor to have enough of the sound elements to do a 5.1 remix for the extended cut. And so far, Kinowelt is not sharing this with anyone.

 

[Bob Partovi]

Well the 5.1 for the Extended Dances with Wolves is available exclusively in Italy as well. As said I'm pretty sure France/Germany have a much cheaper 5.1 DD Conan release already out.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

Well, it's looking like I'm going to have to import this one. As long as the transfers are basically the same, I think I'll stick with the japanese import (and thus, ntsc). Anyone have good luck with site importing Japanese discs? I've never imported from Japan and would like to know which site is the best/most reliable.

mike.

 

[Bob Partovi]

it's probably gonna cost you around $45 total to get it from someplace like cdjapan. I would go for the european version preferably since it would cost around $25 total.

 

[Douglas R]

As said I'm pretty sure France/Germany have a much cheaper 5.1 DD Conan release already out.

Beware the German version on the Concorde label which came out a couple of years ago. It claims to be DD 5.1 but is not a proper re-mix and sounds totally phoney.

 

[Didier]

According to the french site "DVDrama" : http://www.dvdrama.net/fiche.php3?2167 , the french release of "Conan the Barbarian" features both french and english soundtracks in DD 5.1, the english one is rated as excellent.
Image is also rated excellent with its original 2.35 aspect ratio in 16/9 anamorphic.
The french release of "Conan the Destroyer" has only a DD 5.1 english soundtrack, the french one is only mono. This english DD 5.1 soundtrack is not well rated. According to "DVDrama" it sounds only as a processed mono.
Didier.

 

[Douglas R]

The french release of "Conan the Destroyer" has only a DD 5.1 english soundtrack, the french one is only mono. This english DD 5.1 soundtrack is not well rated. According to "DVDrama" it sounds only as a processed mono.

Didier - Yes, I have the recent R2 Conan the Destroyer SE (from Germany) and it does not have a properly re-mixed DD 5.1 soundtrack. The music is essentially mono unlike the new R2 Conan the Barbarian SE.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Boy this thread is very educational. Guess my next DVD player is going to be an Region-free NTSC/PAL compatible Malta

 

[Richard Waller]

I haven't seen this movie in quite a few years. Any chance the UK version coming in May will be edited for any reason?

 

[Ronald Slender]

Both Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer came out last week in The Netherlands. I picked them up today and was completely blown away by the sound of Conan the Barbarian! It's a huge improvement over the mono soundtrack of the R1 release. The R1 release of CtB is one of my most watched DVD's but I don't think I'll be watching it anymore. Especially the music has been improved immensely and sounds crystal clear. The effects even have been mixed through the surrounds and it's very well done considering it's mono origins. It won't ever sound as good as Gladiator of course but in my opinion this is a very well done remix which doesn't sound gimicky at all.
The picture quality is from what I've seen at least as good as the R1 version with a very solid black level.
If you're a huge Conan fan like me there's no way you can live with yourself without owning a copy of this new version.
I didn't spend much time with Conan the Destroyer but it seems to have about the same picture quality but the sound is disappointing compared to CtB. You can really notice it's from a mono source, especially if you listen to the music. It does sound better than the R1 release of CtB though and is acceptable in my opinion.
Both disks are probably the best versions you can get anywhere so if you're a fan of either of the Conan movies these are definitely must haves.
Ronald

 

[Malcolm Cleugh]

Richard,

I am pretty certain the UK versions of both films will be cut, the current cinema and VHS are cut and Fox have not applied to get them recertified (see BBFC website). This is for animal cruelty (horse falls etc) so unlikley to be allowed uncut as this is still illegal although you can now have violence to humans uncut eg Robocop and Terminator 2 !

Also unsure if we will get Destroyer in the UK as a SE. Although Fox have the rights to Barbarian (as confirmed by my VHS copy) rights to Destroyer were held by a small independent distributor called Castle (I have their plain DVD already) so not sure if Fox have gained control of the title. I am waiting for both to come out in Australia in May as will be cheap and should be uncut based on previous experience.

Malcolm