Which laserdisc titles are better than the DVD release?

My friend got a DVD recorder, and he has a laserdisc player. We were wondering if some laserdisc releases have better picture or sound quality than the DVD release. He wants to copy those laserdiscs to DVD-R. Can anyone give me some titles we should be looking for?

 

I highly recomend the THX version of the wizard of Oz. Also the original WB release of Woodstock with the original movie soundtrack. Best Todd.

 

Well, I'd definitely make a copy of the THX non-SE Star Wars discs from the mid-90s, as those will probably never show up on DVD.

Beyond that, the Criterion Chasing Amy has some framing problems on the DVD that are absent on the LD. (Check the scene in the train station -- on the DVD, foreheads are cut off in an ugly way. The funny part is that the commentary, which was ported over from the LD, notes how the framing was off on some prints but correct on the LD!)

Ryan

 

Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii!

 

Magical Mystery Tour (picture is better on DVD, but the LD has a soundtrack that was specially mixed for Dolby Surround by George Martin that is now "lost")
Mamas & Papas---Straight Shooter (DVD is edited & picture is much worse than the LD)
Simon & Garfunkel--Concert At Central Park (DVD is out of synch)
Death Becomes Her (LD is OAR, DVD is P&S)
The Last Picture Show (extended director's cut on Criterion box set, theatrical version on DVD)

 

Puhleese!! Aside from the subtitles, this is one of the MOST improved over the LD EVER. Totally new sources for much of the video & audio (just check out Some Other Guy, for example), one of the greatest remixed soundtracks ever (stereo AND 5.1), an extra disc w/ extras (including the missing-from-the-LD Real Love video). The only reason I kept my LD was for the cover & original Pro-logic mix, and because I'm a Beatle fanatic. PLUS the LD cost $150 & the DVD $45!

This was NOT the theatrical cut, but a new LD only extended version (different from the new "director's cut" DVD).

Please elaborate. I have both. What's the difference?

 

I have to agree about the LD of Magical Mystery Tour. The music is also in the right places, as in some scenes, it's out of synch with the picture on the DVD....

 

Don't forget the Criterion LD of Blade Runner. The only way to get the original (superior, imho) version of the film in widescreen.

 

I think some of these posts miss the point of the original question. He asked about LDs with picture and/or sound superior to DVDs. Many of the mentioned titles are helpful for OTHER reasons why someone may prefer the LD versions, but they don't address the original question...

 

The Elite SE laserdisc version of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is supposedly better than any of the various versions released on DVD - based on knowledgeable testimony, I haven't seen all of the DVD versions out there. Elite used nicer source material.

I have THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN on laserdisc and DVD, as the picture is noticeably better on the ld, due to the source material. (I have the DVD for the great extras.)

I've read that knowledgeable fans of SUSPIRIA were disappointed with various audio flubs on the DVD.

Several "public domain" films got nicer releases on laserdisc than DVD. For instance, ROYAL WEDDING - which was issued by MGM/UA Home Video on laserdisc - and PENNY SERENADE, which was issued by Image. The Lumivision ld release of THE AMAZING MR. X is also preferable - warts and all - to the Alpha DVD release. Lumivision used a pretty battered 35 mm version of this almost noir, starring the ever suave Turhan Bey as a confidence man and photographed by noir master John Alton, but Alpha's DVD is worse.

There are also films inexplicably released full-frame on DVD, when they should have been widescreen as they were on laser: FEARLESS, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, and BACKBEAT, with FEARLESS being the most compromised.

Re. some of the other posts:
The version of TOUCH OF EVIL that was released on laserdisc may not have been the original theatrical release, but it was the version I saw several times at college and revival theaters in the mid to late 70s.

The comment about THE FISHER KING looking better on laserdisc was news to me. I was never tempted by the DVD, as I really liked Terry Gilliam's audio commentary on the Criterion laserdisc. That and the Criterion version of THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN are special gems that don't have a big enough fan base (unfortunately!!) to get the SE treatment on DVD.

 

I would have to recommend the Criterion LD of The Beatles HARD DAY'S NIGHT. The sound is so great, I can not believe how they ruined this title for DVD release.

 

I disagree with Last Picture Show. The DVD version is better. Criterion censored Cybill's naked butt in the motel room scene (at her request, apparently). It is restored on the DVD, and was also there on the regular Columbia/Tristar LD.

 

PCM is pretty much guaranteed to sound better than dolby digital. Dolby digital is unnecessary on many DVDs where it is used. PCM should be the standard for stereo, but isn't apparently. Even music video DVD's, for example the recent Erasure and Devo DVDs suffer from a non-PCM soundtrack.

 

If you can find the Criterion LD version of Zulu, its soundtrack is in stereo compared to the current DVD which is mono. However, I understand the DVD released in some parts of the world is stereo-Go Figure!

 

The DTS LD version of Casper is considered by many to be one the best soundtracks ever. As is the same with Saving Private Ryan.

 

I've not seen any comparisons of the DTS "Casper" DVD to the LD. As for "SPR", this seems to imply that folks really like the DTS LD. If that's what you meant, you're wrong - there wasn't any DTS LD. "SPR" got a DD release on LD - a DTS one didn't appear until the DVD...

 

I picked up an LD of Cream over the weekend but haven't checked it out yet. Can anyone comment on the sound quality? I don't think this is one that has made it to DVD yet.