HTF REVIEW: "A Hard Day's Night" (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Ken_McAlinden]

The stereo track contains the original mono. The songs have been dubbed in from the original masters (since the same thing was done originally.)

Nope. It was around 1982 that they substituted the stereo masters of the Beatles music tracks for the original mono versions. The absence of an isolated sound effects track at the time is why they lost some of the foley effects during the songs. They have re-added the foley in the new awkward 5.1 mixes of the songs, but they should have just included the original mono track for the whole film.
The original mono was released on video more than 20 years ago (today ), and has not been on video since. The AMC broacasts of the Paul Rutan restoration apparently featured the complete original mono soundtrack, but the subsequent (and short lived) MPI DVD still had the stereo version except for the foreign language tracks.
Regards,

 

[Jack Briggs]

Watched my copy last night. It's one of my all-time favorite DVDs.

 

[Ricky Hustle]

Mmmmm, Beatles, received my copy yesterday, will pop it in tonite for some good ole fashioned Beatlemania fun!

"Aye, aye, the liverpool shuffle."

 

[Rob Willey]

Just to clarify the discussion of the audio tracks, there is a 5.1 English track and a 5.1 French track. That's it. No stereo, no mono.

Rob

 

[Clinton McClure]

After picking this up, would there be any reason to keep my original MPI version of A Hard Day's Night which I bought back in '97?

 

[greg_t]

Anyone have the Criterion laserdisc to compare the dvd to?

 

[Gui A]

HMV.com gives a Canadian release date of October 1st.
(but I preordered from amazon.com and got it today)

 

[NickSo]

Awww man, $26.99??? :frowning:

 

[Matt Butler]

Im unemployed right now. :frowning: So ill have to add this to my list.
But my birthday is next month and Im seeing McCartney two days afterward!!

 

[george kaplan]

I have just watched this and enjoyed it tremendously. I also compared the framing with both the previous dvd and the criterion ld.

Both the ld and previous dvd are 1.33:1. The new dvd is matted on the top and bottom and 'loses' picture. However, the sides open up. The opening and closing credits now fully fit all the names without cutting off. The previous dvd actually went to 1.66:1 for the closing credits. The ld did not, but clearly chops some of the titles off.

So from a framing pov, I'd say the current dvd is the best.

My only 'complaint' is that the musical numbers seemed bass-heavy to me.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Just watched the movie tonight, the picture is beautiful and even the 5.1 soundtrack didn't bother me too much UNTIL the concert sequence at the end. The fake 'theater acoustics' effect they put on the soundtrack is horrendous, in my opinion. (My roommate, who has seen this in every release since 1964, agrees.) I will not find myself watching this version often. I would call the concert sequence on this DVD unwatchable. Yes, the picture is better than the Criterion LD but I think the music is very important to a film such as this. The back cover states simply "Digitally Restored Soundtrack". Yet another misuse of the word "restored" when they should say "remixed" or "reprocessed" or "this soundtrack has been modified to fit your speakers".

Is there any reason why the mono track was not included? Do the people who make these DVDs not realize that for material before the White Album, the UK mono mixes are the definitive versions*, period? Does AMC still show their (truly) restored version with the mono track? Would anyone be willing to sell me their old MPI disc for a reasonable price? I understand it has a better picture than the Criterion LD and the same stereo track (which is still not the original of course, but at least it's what I'm used to.)

On a side note, does this forum advocate a policy for original soundtracks? I know that in regards to widescreen, pan & scan is forbidden and even "open matte" is frowned upon unless your last name is Disney or Kubrick. I would guess that colorization of B&W films, or dubbing of foreign films would not go over too well. But what is the forum's position on a mono film being "gloriously remastered" into 5.1?

* The only versions (of 62-67 material) mixed by George Martin and the Beatles are the UK mono mixes. Stereo mixes were done by lowly engineers and the US versions were otherwise modified.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Taken from today's dvdfile

too bad I cannot be there

Attention Beatles fans, mark Sunday, September 29th on your calendars! To celebrate the recent release of Miramax's two-disc reissue of the pop classic A Hard Day's Night, actors Victor Spinetti and John Junkin will be on hand with DVD producer Martin Lewis to sign copies of the disc. The trio will sign up to two items per person, one of which must be a copy of of the DVD purchased in-store, and a portion of the proceeds will go to a charity of the participants choice. The signing will take place from 1pm to 3pm at Dave's Video, 12144 Ventura Blvd., in Studio City, California. For more information, you can contact Dave's at 818-760-3472.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

An update: Upon closer listening, the sound during the Beatles' songs is mono re-processed to 5.1. They did not use the stereo masters (a la previous MPI and Criterion DVDs and LDs) or re-mix from the original tracks where they existed. They did add the foley effects back in that were missing on the previous DVD and laserdiscs.

I would hold onto my MPI DVD if only for the supplements since none of them are reproduced on the new release. Most of them are also on the MPI Help! DVD, though.

Regards,

 

[Paul Case]

Fantastic dvd! This movie is pure joy on film and I can't get enough of it. The sound on the final concert sequence is a bit jarring, but nothing that ruins the experience for me. I'm just glad to finally have this movie on dvd!

 

[LarryDavenport]

Some people think the mono version of the White album is the definitive version too.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

BTW, while the stereo mixes were usually done quicker and subsequent to the mono mixes, they were almost always supervised by George Martin and they had the mono mix to use as a reference. The Beatles Recording Sessions book by Mark Lewisohn documented this pretty well. I like both and wish they were commonly available.

Regards,

 

[Anthony Hom]

If you have the MPI version of AHDN, keep it. As a rule, there has been virtually nothing by the Beatles that has not eventually been collectible in time and rise in value. Some make take longer than others. The same goes for the laser discs, especially Yellow Submarine MGM LD, since that is now the "rare" version of the film.

IIRC, Mark Lewisohn noted that even though "lowly engineers" mixed the stereo versions of the Beatles albums, George Martin was there at the EMI studios to oversee the mix when they were done.

 

[Louis C]

...patiently awaiting the "Beatles Anthology" dvd box...

 

[Gui A]

You know the overscan on your RPTV is bad when you don't see any black bars on the sides...

 

[NickSo]

Yellow Submarine MGM LD

Is this the MGM LD with the white border around it? I got that version. I saw ONE website said it was worth $200
Is there a site that shows the value of these beatles collectibles?