Sound of Music 40th, Oklahoma 50th, State Fair 60th and Two for the Road in November (2 Viewers)

[GerardoHP]

Great job, Brian, thanks!

Those captures look 2.20:1 to me, which is great.

But the filtering looks heavier than ever.

So, the faded sequences are spliced into the rest of the movie? Is there a way to watch the movie without those scenes?

 

[Brian Sharp]

It comes as a two dvd set; dvd 1 has the roadshow version with faded bits and dvd 2 has the shorter version. Extras are split between the two dvd's. You can watch the movie without the faded scenes on dvd 2 which also has 5.1 sound. I think the picture on this dvd may be a little crisper as well but this is purely subjective.

 

[TedD]

It's definitely 2.20:1.

Actually, it's the other way round, at least on the region 2 set. Disc 1 has the theatrical version with 5.1, and disc 2 the extended version with 2.0 audio. But, I do believe the extended version has slightly more detail. The two were obviously encoded by different entities, the video bit rate is actually higher on the theatrical version.

Ted

 

[Patrick McCart]

Wow, I didn't expect the faded scenes to look that good. Obviously far from perfect, but I'm amazed Fox could pull out that much color.

 

[john a hunter]

This is shaping up to be another f--- up, if not of Oklahoma proportions, near to it. Why on earth would you release a visually superior version with only 2 channel audio instead of 5.1. That plus the missing extras means that I will probably wait for the NTSC version in the hope that Fox sort out the mess.Once we find out the quality or lack of it on all these releases,I suggest we start lobbying Fox.

 

[GerardoHP]

Indeed, and I suspect the Region 1 version will be the exact same.

 

[Paul Linfesty]

As a side note, the American Cinemateche at the egyptian Theatre in Hollywood is running a SOUTH PACIFIC double feature in May. First they screen the standard version with a new 70mm print (DTS sound) followed by the 171 original print (faded to pink but in 70mm mag).

 

[DeeF]

I'm a little surprised they're not using seamless branching for the DVD -- the two versions of the movie could easily fit on one disk. I think the roadshow version is only about 15 minutes longer -- isn't that right? Why bother with two separate versions of the movie on two separate disks?

 

[Howard S]

I thought that the original Roadshow was presented with 6 discrete tracks of audio? If so, and a high fidelity version of these sound tracks still exists, then wouldn't it have been desirable to try to represent this as closely as possible using all the available audio channels available on DVD, rather than just two? When and why would this stereo track have been created - for Roadshow venues without the equipment to play 6 tracks?

This has set me wondering whether the 5.1 sound on the shorter film on the DVD is a re-mix of the 6 track (hopefully it is), or has been artifically generated from the same stereo source.

If the former, then does the explanation for not using it on the Roadshow version of the film on the DVD lie in the fact that the 6 track masters for the recovered scenes no longer exist, and that the only source is the magnetic tracks on the recently discovered film, which if used wouldn't match the much better quality sound during the rest of the film?

Curious to know.

 

[Joe Caps]

Yikes !!
First, the 5.1 sound is generated from the six track masters- five channels behind the screen and one mono surround. The five behind the screen are mixed to three channels for home vid purposes.

The restored roadshow version also had a 5.1 master but Fox in the U.K. mixed it to 2.0 (this takes less bits than a 5.1) because they put almost all the extras on the roadshow disc.

 

[Dennis.Kr]

The question is: will a possible rc1 release be any better ?

 

[john a hunter]

Is there any way then,Joe,that we could put pressure on Fox in the U.S.to release the NTSC extended version in 5.1 ?

 

[Joe Caps]

Fox in the U.S. will do whatever it wants to.

 

[RobertSiegel]

"Fox in the U.S. will do whatever it wants to."

So true Joe. It's sad to think Fox, in order to fit all the extras on disc 2, would compromise a classic film's 6-track masters. The really sad part is that Fox should be grateful they exist.... for many films they are lost forever, and they should make no compromise and present them in the way they should be. I don't like the process of downgrading the movie in ANY way just for the extras. The first and most important thing I want is the movie presented as best it can be and as close to the original as possible. I'd gladly give up all the extras for that. Of course, we all know that as Fox starts releasing the classics, these films should be among the first classic titles (we can only hope). Maybe then will they restore the roadshow to 5.1.

It seems insane to me for them to give 5.1 on the short version, yet a restored-roadshow gets the soundtrack degraded. Just charge us for the cost of an extra disc and give us a 3 disc set already, exactly what they should have done with The Sound of Music.

Does anyone know if there is a way to email Fox? Or the address of the Home Video department? At least if we let them know, they will be aware of what we want. Whether it means anything is another story, but I am always for trying.

 

[Joe Caps]

I'll bet the 2.0 has a higher bit rate than the 5.0 and probably sounds better because of it.

 

[Ray Ruggaurs]

Just bought em! I rediscovered why i loved the Sound of Music all those years ago!

 

[RobertSiegel]

I would rather have a slightly more compressed soundtrack (and the difference between 2.0 and 5.1 isn't an awful lot in bit rate) of a 5.1 track than turning it into a 2.0, which at times leaks the wrong material into the surrounds, and gives us a slight amount of less stereo separation in the left/right (when breaking it down to dolby surround).

 

[ScottR]

The recent Sound of Music disc omits the sound of Julie Andrews slapping her dress during the opening number ("My heart wants to sing every...") Why do they make these careless mistakes? Also, the shot of Austria ("In the last golden days of the thirties") should be a golden hue, not purplish red. This is FOX's crowned jewel (not including the Star Wars Saga). They need to treat it with more respect.

 

[john a hunter]

When I saw South Pacific on sale for AUD$20 last Friday, I couldn't resist and wait until the NTSC version is released sometime later this year.
Immediately I put it on and pressed chapter1, I was amazed-NO STUPID VISUALS, just a blank screen.Someone at Fox has at last woken up as to how to present roadshow films properly. Are you listening Warners?.
I found the PAL speed up noticable but not too distracting. I was listening for it, I suspect most would not notice anything.
PQ is gorgeous. The rich colour palette is well transferred including Shamroy's infamous colour filters and his beautiful day for night photography. I quite enjoyed the over the top colour sections and thought they worked well!. There is some noise, especially were dup negs were used. It tends to be more noticeable on the general version, but to be frank, on my 61 inch dlp with an upsampled image, the difference beween the two , was hardly noticeable.
SQ is disappointing. The stereo track on the original version has a nice top to it with more air and sparkle. This disappears on the 5.1 track on the regular version. The MC mix is poor. No surround save the obvious aircraft flyovers. The magical effects of the chorus spreading from the centre across the sound stage is missing. It should have been better.

I trust this is of assistance.

 

[MatthewA]

Don't get mad at me for suggesting this; I was wondering if it would be offensive if the previously missing scenes could be colorized to bring it to match the rest of the film.