Laserdisc question: anyone have Yellow Submarine? (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Reynolds]

I'm curious as to how the 1999(ish) Laserdisc of Yellow Submarine looks and sounds. Anyone have any impressions to share?

Thanks.

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

See the laser disc review at www.dvdlaser.com ;
http://www.dvdlaser.com/search/detail.cfm?ID=20044

 

[BrentPollard]

I own that disk, haven't watched it for awhile, I'll get back to ya about it later today.

 

[Derek Miner]

Aaron,

Are you asking for opinions on the edition that was done at the same time as the DVD, or the 1987 version? The review link is most likey describing the 1987 edition, which was not remixed from the original stems as the newer edition was.

 

[NickSo]

I have the older version of YELLOW SUBMARINE, the 1987 one...
Cant tell ya how it is coz i dont have a working LD player

 

[BrentPollard]

My copy as it turns out is the older 1987 version. It looks nice the transfer is very decent, but the sound is weak. It's very distracting when the sound track switches from the movie to the songs.The songs being full stereo to the very thin monosounding movie track.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Are you asking for opinions on the edition that was done at the same time as the DVD, or the 1987 version? The review link is most likey describing the 1987 edition, which was not remixed from the original stems as the newer edition was.

I'm looking for opinions of the newer disc, or of the Japanese disc from the same time.

Thanks for the help so far, everyone.

 

[george kaplan]

What am I missing here? The dvd of Yellow Submarine seems fantastic to me. Is there something about the ld that's better? I still own a number of lds and am enough of a Beatle fan that I'd buy the ld if it has something the dvd doesn't.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Is the LD PCM track the ORIGINAL track, or a downmix from the 'improved' 5.1 mix?

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

What am I missing here? The dvd of Yellow Submarine seems fantastic to me.

I don't believe that the DVD has PCM audio on it.
I don't currently have a DVD player -- my system is set up entirely around sound (my TV is a 29" Hitachi from the late 80s, aging not so gracefully), and I do not wish to sacrifice sound that I can (and do) appreciate now for a video improvement I may appreciate later. When I upgrade to an anamorphic capable TV or when my want-list of titles unavailable on LD but available on DVD reaches critical mass, then I'll revisit DVD, but for now I'm an LD junkie. Gimme that two channel PCM! Mmm mmm.
I should probably just preface every LD question with this explanation to avoid the obligatory "why not just buy the DVD" question.
Michael, even the 1987 recalled LD has 'improved' audio, since (as far as I recall) the film was originally released in mono, and that LD has the songs dropped in in stereo. I suppose I'm looking for the best "bad" disc. I've heard that the mono sections of the 1987 disc are pretty murky.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

The 1987 laserdisc also features the theatrical cut of the film without the "Hey Bulldog" number. This would be of interest to completists.

Regards,

 

[Derek Miner]

I did get the 1987 laserdisc for the non-"Bulldog" version of the film, which also has slight differences in the "All You Need Is Love" sequence. The "Beatles to Battle" section is only on the old version as well.

Is the LD PCM track the ORIGINAL track, or a downmix from the 'improved' 5.1 mix?

The disc shown here: Link Removed shows a Dolby Digital logo and a "Multi-Audio" logo. I would assume the digital tracks have a 2-channel version of the 5.1 mix and possibly the commentary on the analog channel without AC3? Perhaps the single analog track carries the original mono soundtrack.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

What's the Beatles to Battle sequence? I haven't seen the new version, just the old one (off old VHS and on public TV when I was younger). What's different about the All You Need Is Love sequence?

 

[Charlie Essmeier]

The 1999 laserdisc of "Yellow Submarine" looks fabulous, and the Dolby Surround tracks provide sound that is substantially better than its DVD counterpart. Good luck finding one, as they pretty much vanished overnight upon release.

Charlie

 

[Derek Miner]

Aaron,

Just to clarify what I'm explaining, the version that we are all familiar with from the previous MGM release and TV over the years is the second version of the film. The original version which premiered in England had "Hey Bulldog" in it, but King Features wanted to make alterations before the film premiered in America. If you have any interest in the actual conception and production of the film, a book was just released called Inside the Yellow Submarine by Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus. Most of the book is quoted verbatim by the actual producers, directors, writers and animators themselves.

When the film was altered, they removed some Beatles dialog from the end of "All You Need Is Love" and altered a few of the shots of the Meanies retreating that followed. Then, an entire scene featuring the Sgt. Pepper's band freed from the "big glass bowl" was completely taken out. This Sgt. Pepper's band sequence led right into "Hey Bulldog," which ended with Ringo rescuring Jerermy Hillary Boob.

To cover the loss of the Sgt. Pepper's band sequence AND "Hey Bulldog," two bits were added in. First, the freeing of Sgt. Pepper's band was changed to include a bit of "Baby You're A Rich Man" (which, even though the DVD includes a bit of this song in the 5.1 mix, was NOT originally in the film). Then they put in Paul shouting "Beatles to Battle" followed by a further sequence of the Meanies retreating to a new, jazzy bit of score. This became the common version of the film for many years. But when Bruce Markoe at MGM spearheaded the cleanup and release of the film, the negatives of the final reels they found included "Hey Bulldog" and all the animation as originally seen at the film's premiere.