A couple of films that the movie studios have never released on Blu-ray with the original mono mix are Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Terminator. Are there any others that you would like to see with an original film mono mix?
Every movie that originally had a mono or stereo mix, should have that option on the BD reissue. I'm disappointed whenever a compressed and/or recent 5.1 or 7.1 remix is the only option.
The theatrical mono mix of Halloween is a rare beast, but it has been released on home video twice - for Criterion's laser disc in the 1990s, and the blu ray included with Scream Factory's Halloween box set about a decade ago (this is not the recent series of 4K discs for the first five films, also released by Scream Factory, but an un-separated box set of all of the films made up to that point - Rob Zombie's second film was the last one included). Both are long out of print now. Every other home video edition, from VHS to blu-ray to 4K, uses a stereo mix that was created specifically for the original VHS cassette, and uses sweetened sound effects for some scenes (and, yes, the difference is noticeable, even to a non-tech head like me). The "mono" mix added to the recent 4K is a fold down of the stereo track. It's weird that Scream Factory had the foresight to request the theatrical mono track for the film when they assembled their box set, but not again when they created the 4Ks, but that's what happened. You want the as-is audio heard by theater goers in 1978? You need the Criterion laserdisc or the Scream Factory box set (or just the disc for Halloween, separately, if you can get it). I own a copy of the latter, so I consider myself lucky.
Of course, sometimes they claim the original theatrical mix is included but it's actually a fold of a remix. Looking at you, Texas Chain Saw.
h t t p s : / / a r c h i v e . o r g / d e t a i l s / m a g i c a l _ m y s t e r y _ t o u r It's slowed down, but nothing a little Audacity/Virtual Dub can't fix.
Cool, thanks. I made myself a video clip of "Blue Jay Way" using the audio from the Beatles In Mono CD, Audacity, and Shotcut.
The inclusion of the original mix should be mandatory, a golden rule (preferably with tape hiss untouched), anything else is disrespectful to both the original creators and movie fans. Modern remixes should be seen as a mere supplement.
I know this will be hard for some people to accept, but that's not the exact mono mix used in the original print of AHDN. On the Criterion edition, it's missing the foley effect during the intro to If I Fell, when Ringo sets down his high hat.
I agree 100%. Film collectors and purists deserve to hear the original, restored mono theatrical mix. Nobody should be forced to listen to a stereo or 5.1 surround remix if they don't want it. And there are some terrible surround remixes out there.
Was it that? I thought it was the noise made when George leans on his amp and it falls backwards. It’s in some and not other releases.
Stupid question to the group (not the first, won’t be the last): When a film originally had a mono mix but was later released in stereo, that puzzles me. Maybe it’s easier to break these out: Older films where the presumption would be that *only* mono would be available, how are stereo mixes achieved? Middle period films, where stereo is definitively established itself, why was the film released in mono? Modern films (“The Terminator”) why was that in mono? Was it simply because it was more cost effective to release everything in mono rather than make two different sets of prints? If not, when we’re the stereo mixes done?
This is what I thought as well. It (amp falling over) is on the most recent criterion Blu ray. But... The only original mono source is on the original film. Paul Rutan's (sp?) AMC restoration I don't think was completely original and I think the criterion version is not completely original either. It's documented somewhere out there.
IMDB says that the mix was mono due to the budget. The Terminator budget was 6-7 million, which isn't super low, but kinda low for as sci-fi flick with special effects.
The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations There was a long interview done with Paul Rutan Jr., it featured more technical detail. I just can't find it anymore.
I'm going to break down your answers into three groups; pre-Cinerama movies besides Fantasia; post-Cinerama but pre-Dolby (1953-1975) and post-Dolby (1975-1988). So, how does a movie like Snow White or Gone with the Wind get a stereo mix? Well, it's because someone found the scoring session tapes and realized the microphone feeds could be synced with the mono mix to create a suitable stereo spread. 1953-1975, the studios tried to force four-track magnetic stereo on the theaters but they balked so mono won but mag stereo was saved for certain films and also certain places (New York, LA). After Dolby, if a movie is mono, it's because the studio didn't want to pay for the Dolby certification and license. (Last major film with a mono mix? The Naked Gun.)
Have any of the original mixes for Sergio Leone's westerns been released? The released Dollars films mono mixes are fold downs, Duck, You Sucker is a remix with the wrong music in scenes and censored dialogue. Once Upon a Time in the West I believe is fine.
