Some observations about the A/V on the new Escape From New York SE (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

Last night I decided to do a complete side by side comparison between the LD and DVD versions of EFNY and I found something rather disturbing...well perhaps that is overstatement but it is disconcerting...anyway I found that the main title music on the DVD actually has missing and/or muffled music cues. You don't have to own the LD to hear this, just switch between the French track and the remixed 5.1 track on the DVD, the difference is obvious...as for the rest of the film soundtrack (at least when compared to the LD) it seems to be pretty much on track..so to speak, although IMO the 1994 LD's PCM tracks had much more punch in the gunshot's (that Jason Perez had such problems with in his now archived review) as well as better directionality and general sharpness in the higher frequencies(...well that's the way it goes with PCM vs. DD I guess).

This music issue probably won't mean much to the casual viewer but as a fan of the film's music I was very disappointed.

As far as the image goes..well, the DVD is obviously superior in sharpness but I noticed that the new transfer seemed to have something of a green hue to it, especially noticeable during the orientation scene early in the film as Snake is being led down the hallway ("..No talking, no Smoking, follow the orange line to the processing area.."), the LD doesn't have this green hue as the hallway in that transfer is quite white and antiseptic looking (intended I'm sure), MGM is to be commended for their effort but this isn't the first time I have noticed a Colour Correction discrepancy when comparing their transfers to other studios (Silence Of The Lambs anyone?).

Speaking of the LD, in regards to "Reel 1", has anyone else (who has seen it) noticed that the clips of the deleted bank heist from the 1994 Image LD are MUCH sharper than the print used on the DVD? Odd.

Also, as has been mentioned before, why the hell did MGM put this two disc set out on two DVD-5's? Soaking us fans for some extra bucks? Hell, if The Howling gets a nice dual layer side of a DVD-14 for it's presentation why not a cult fave like EFNY?

I'm not really trying to bash MGM here as I still think they have made a tremendous turnaround in quality in the last few years but I think some of these things should be pointed out nonetheless.


Any pro or con opinions on any of these observations?



Edited for correct DVD class.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Actually, it's 2 DVD-5s, with a combined size of just under 7 GB, so they could have fit the whole thing on one DVD-9.

Chris

 

[Kevin M]

Arrg...DVD-5 is what I meant.

 

[Mark_TS]

well, I got it at the usual price for many a bare bones set-$17.99 so Im not complaininig.
I did notice that on the LD reel #1 is not only sharper, but its in its correct OAR-2.35!
This must be something that Image wouldnt let MGM have, so Carpenter used his own shot on camcorder copy?

 

[Randy A Salas]

When I interviewed Carpenter recently, he quickly explained the image quality of the deleted reel:

"That's because we got it off computer. It was not on film. You know, we can't find the film on that. It's one of those things."

I didn't ask for further clarification because I knew I really wouldn't have the space to get into that aspect for my write-up.

 

[GregK]

There's a few instances where I hear the "hollowed out" sound one reviewer complained about. Two examples off the top of my head include when Snake gets his injection. Compare the DVD injection sound effect to the LD version: Very different. Another was the very brief rape sequence in the theater basement. Again the DVD has a hallow tin can sound when compared to the LD. These are minor instances, but still worth noting. The surrounds are sometimes different, where we have sound effects now in the surrounds that were originally kept up front. (The "clanking" announcing the coming of the Crazies.)

MGM's new 5.1 doesn't overtly bother me, but it's sad the original Dolby Surround mix wasn't included on the disc. A 2-channel DS mix would have been a very minor addition to the overall bit-budget of the DVD.

I too noticed the difference in quality from the very brief LD deleted snippet vs the complete DVD deleted open. The LD certainly being superior in every regard... except it's not complete.

 

[Mattias_ka]

interesting info you got Kevin M.
I don't have the DVD yet but have the LD.
Now, what kind of laserdisc player do you use when compare these two?
I will get the DVD and compare it to the Ld myself too.

 

[rich_d]

Agreed. I also think that the French track shows some instruments/sounds that were mixed out or reduced in the opening theme. IIRC, this happened in the Thunderball mix as well. No original mono provided and the French track shows audio that is missing in the 5.1 track.

 

[Matt_H]

weird i was under the impression that the audio was mixed up on the old laserdiscs? Well i/ don't have it on hand so I'll take your guys word for it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

For a film that old, it's surprising that any part of it would have been on a computer for editing!

I know when I use an AVID today to edit film, the edits are done using a low-res digitization of the transfer, and then when the final cut has been made, we go back and the computer uses its data to re-digitize that final cut in hi-res. Even still, that only gives you a video copy - if you were doing it for theatrical distribution, the edit notes would go to the negative cutter, and the actual film would be used. Now, for more recent films, I understand some deleted scenes are taken from computer rough cuts, where they never made it into a print, but again, it seems odd for them to have a computerized edit of the scene for an older film but not have the film. Just when did it get digitized in the first place?