Issues with Scream Factory's HALLOWEEN II UHD... (1 Viewer)

[Kaskade1309]

Finally got around to picking up Rick Rosenthal's Halloween II on 4K UHD Blu-ray after sitting on the fence about replacing our old Universal anamorphic DVD that served for quite some time; a local record/DVD shop had it on sale for 20 bucks, with the hard slip box, so my wife and I grabbed it as part of the birthday gifts she was getting me over the weekend. We already picked up Season of the Witch in 4K with the Scream slip box when it came out, but I wasn't certain about getting the others because the DVDs served us well up till The Return of Michael Myers (I even have the original THX DVD of the first film that was released in 1999, and that remains my go-to standard every October 31 because of the color timing).

I digress.

After popping in the 4K disc of Halloween II (which bothered me because I never watch these films outside of October 31) to test it, I noticed a couple of things that rubbed me the wrong way, and I am hoping someone here with any experience (perhaps Josh) could clear them up. Firstly, we were running the HDR10 layer of the disc (because our display doesn't support Dolby Vision), and in the opening titles, I noticed that the colors kind of morphed from yellow to orange and then back again, as if the display was "searching" for the right color to show. I'm referring to the opening credits, where we see the Moustapha Akkad Presents and other bits on the screen as the pumpkin appears on the left side; this sequence seemed to have a weird color-changing characteristic with regard to the names on the screen, and I'm wondering if anyone else experienced this.

Secondly, we were running the Dolby TrueHD mixdown track of the Atmos option, and in the opening flashback sequence from the first film when Loomis shoots Michael off the balcony, there seemed to be a missing audio element -- just before Loomis shoots him, we see Michael standing in the darkness, looking back at the doctor, and in all other releases of this film you can hear Michael breathing heavily and loudly. This was totally gone running the Atmos/TrueHD audio. Did anyone else notice this? I can try running the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track next time to see if it occurs there, but I KNOW that on my DVD version in Dolby Stereo Surround, you can hear him breathing loudly.

Also, there is a moment when Loomis shoots the window out of the car towards the end (when he's ordered out of Haddonfield) and the vehicle does a 180 to screech back in the other direction -- when viewing this scene, there seemed to be a nasty bit of distortion or static through the center channel when the car zooms off and the scene ends. Someone on YouTube mentioned hearing this as well, under a video review of Halloween II, and he said the replacement disc he got from Shout did the same thing. Has anyone heard this?

With regard to the much-ballyhooed "digital pixelation distortion" during the scene with Bud and Karen in the hydrotherapy pool -- I didn't see it on my 65-inch display. Many people on the cancerous Blu-ray.com are saying that this issue DOES exist on all copies of the disc, not just the copy that was reviewed by a certain site. I don't see anything happening on the copy of the disc that I got in that scene (nothing that would distract from Pamela Susan Shoop's magnificent breasts, anyway), but I'm wondering if anyone else did, and, if so, what I should be looking for if it's definitely there.

 

[JimJasper]

Fascinating little changes here and there.
I rented this film only once on DVD years ago, and always thought it was a solid, entertaining sequel. Always thought Jamie Lee was awesome for reprising.

I might guess the changes in the audio seem like they may have been tweaked when constructing the Atmos mix. Yet either way, seems like someone should have caught the distortion with the vehicle. But I can't imagine them removing his breathing in that scene you mentioned. Wonder why that happened? Strange.
Evidently, this release is from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, so it's surprising about the hydrotherapy scene, & that the opening colors with the credits didn't seem to resolve. Leaves one curious.

 

[Dave H]

I have it a spin on my 120" scope screen and thought it looked quite good all things considered. I listened to the original mono and viewed in DV (LLDV).

 

[Kaskade1309]

Thanks fellas.

I was just trying to get any insight on the issues I reported when watching it; has anyone experienced any of what I detailed?

 

[WillG]

Yes I did notice the credits as you describe. Also the ending credits are more yellow than orange which I did think was strange. I put in the Shout Blu-Ray in to compare and the BD had the more familiar orange colored credits (opening and closing). So yeah not sure what happened there. Didn’t really notice the other things you mention

 

[Kaskade1309]

Yes I did notice the credits as you describe. Also the ending credits are more yellow than orange which I did think was strange. I put in the Shout Blu-Ray in to compare and the BD had the more familiar orange colored credits (opening and closing). So yeah not sure what happened there. Didn’t really notice the other things you mention

Thanks very much for responding and confirming these things; is it possible that the colorists were going for a "flame effect" with the weird orange/yellow "fading" in the credits (as if to mimic a candle burning in the jack o lantern)?

I'm going to have to look at the closing credits once more to see if they're more yellow than orange, as you describe; I totally take your word for it, though.

Were you viewing it in Dolby Vision or HDR10? My display doesn't support DV, so I was forced to view it in HDR10...

When you have any free time, can you please double-check for me the audio spot I referenced -- that is, in the beginning flashback scene to the end of the first film just before Loomis shoots Michael off the balcony?

I could SWEAR Michael was always breathing very heavy in that moment before Loomis shoots him, but running the TrueHD mixdown from the Atmos track yielded complete silence on the 4K on my system. It could be that I am confusing his heavy breathing with the very end of Halloween, but I could swear he does the breathing thing in the beginning of the sequel, as well...

As for the "distortion" when the car peels away after Loomis shoots out the window...can you also confirm that for me, if you have a chance? I only ask because I know of at least one other person who mentioned hearing this on their copy.

Thank you very much, once again; I appreciate your input.

 

[WillG]

I’ll try to get back to you if I have time. As for how I viewed. Most of the times I have watched the disc (near halloween) it was on my Samsung frame so no DV support. I think I’ve only watched it once on my LG OLED in DV.

 

[Kaskade1309]

I’ll try to get back to you if I have time. As for how I viewed. Most of the times I have watched the disc (near halloween) it was on my Samsung frame so no DV support. I think I’ve only watched it once on my LG OLED in DV.

Thanks very much -- yeah, I'm viewing it on a Samsung, as well, which is why I wasn't running it in DV.

Traditionally, we watch this right after the first film on the night of the 31st (and then I move on to the fourth one, as it sort of continues with the timeline); it was very weird watching it in the beginning of the summer.

 

[WillG]

Ok I did a few checks. Yes the 4K does the opening credits thing. The closing credits are yellow as opppsed to the earlier releases that were orange

Went back as far as the Universal BD and in every case I heard some of the recap breathing after MM being shot

Oddly in old editions the “Haddonfield October 31st” cards has a slight orange tinge. In the Shout 4K transfers those titles are pure white.

 

[WillG]

.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Ok I did a few checks. Yes the 4K does the opening credits thing. The closing credits are yellow as opppsed to the earlier releases that were orange

View attachment 253111

Went back as far as the Universal BD and in every case I heard some of the recap breathing after MM being shot

Oddly in old editions the “Haddonfield October 31st” cards has a slight orange tinge. In the Shout 4K transfers those titles are pure white.

Thanks very much for this...I appreciate it.

I guess the "pulsating/changing" colors is something we'll have to live with on the 4K; surprising no professional reviews mentioned this, at all -- and I think I've read every one of them!

With regard to the audio: So that moment before Michael gets shot IS accompanied by his heavy breathing on previous releases? If so, what happened here to the Atmos/TrueHD audio mix on the UHD? That's SO odd that they would remove it...

I'm going to have to go back and rewatch it to look for the title card in white you mentioned -- again, so weird, and I didn't notice it when I first watched the 4K the other night.