| *EXTRA* DIGITAL CINEMA *EXTRA* |
| WARNER BROS COMMITS "SUPER-BLUNDER" |
| SOUND ON ORIGINAL CLASSIC SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE PROBLEM EVEN WORSE THAT IMAGINED. THOUSANDS AFFECTED! |
| BY SCOTT MICHAEL BOSCO |
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| Stated on various websites, and even in USA Today the audio problem on the release of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE is known. Although it was never really a recall WARNERS opted for a replacement program in which the consumer could call an 800 number reprot their disc and would be sent a mailer to return said disc for an exchange of a “corrected” one.
Something most don’t know is how horrible the out-side company was who conducted these exchanges – wrong instructions sent to consumers as which disc was to be returned. Or mix-ups as to which box set they belonged to – not to mention the length of time some had to wait for the exchange; or like myself, never received until I contacted WB to intervene. Worst however is the fact that the replacement was in itself defective! |
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| BACKGROUND
DISC ONE of the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE didn’t contain the ORIGINAL DOLBY SURROUND 2.0 MIX. The only option was the new 2000 5.1 re-mix. Although it was meant to be included an error was made and it was left out in the disc production phase. The original DOLBY SURROUND mix is different in terms of sound effects and music cues which is why it was to be included. Before the days of DOLBY DIGITAL (which for the home translates to 5.1) films were mixed in 4.0 (front right, center, front left, and a MONO surround or rear which would be heard in the theatre via side and rear speakers) The 4.0 mix would be “encoded” via a Dolby encoder which would, in lack of better term, compress the mix into a 2 tracks (2.0) which would allow it to fit onto 35mm film as an optical track. In the theatre the sound would be played thought a Dolby Decoder which would expand the 2 tracks of sound back into the original 4 (4.0) – DOLBY SURROUND. When this technology entered the home it was dubbed DOLBY PRO-LOGIC on receivers. Like 5.1 mixes it has full range front channels (Left, Center, and Right) – the rears, or surround channel is MONO instead of the full range stereo surrounds found in 5.1. In all logical respects 5.1 is an upgrade offering better dynamics and with it higher quality. So what’s the big deal then? Well as stated the original mix has different music and sound effects so that soundtrack was re-mixed for this version it really wouldn’t be a problem. But it wasn’t. So what we have here are two very different soundtrack mixes; which is why WARNERS should make both available. |
| QUALITY IS THE ISSUE HERE
Not only did WARNERS not include the original mix with the original version but now that they’ve “corrected” the issue with the replacement discs it seems they’ve botched the way the mix was transferred! As stated above, DOLBY SURROUND has the same set-up as 5.1. Dialog is mix in mono being strictly centered, except when panned to the left or right for off screen presentation, or to move with a character seen on screen. On this “corrected” version dialog is shared amongst the front three speaker locations. But more horrible is that it leaks into the surround creating a slight echo effect. It was never mixed that way except an effect with Marlon Brando’s disembodied voice as Jor-el. This is sloppy mishandling which dates back to the early 80’s when studios didn’t care or fully know how to properly transfers stereo films to the home video market. At that time those who had home theaters decoding were few and the equipment was too expensive for most. This error is typical know as a “Phase” issue – mean the mono dialog was “out of phase” causing it to be thrown into the wrong channels. If WARNERS really wanted to present this original mix proper they should have used the separate 4.0 tracks as a digital source (Front Left, Center, Right and the MONO Surround), saving the process of 2.0 decoding into 4.0. It would have made a cleaner and more direct sounding and proper 4.0 mix by-passing the 2.0 mix down. It would have made a better presentation more akin to the original bumped up 35mm to 70mm with 6-track stereo was used (in that case many 4.0 mixes added an extra bass track, one major the other called “baby boomer” to fill out the dynamics for a large theatre. I have held off from reviewing the SUPERMAN films due to this in hopes WARNER would fix the problems but no I realize I was wrong and should have faced this issue on a consumer level. Most other review websites haven’t even address this sound problem or even knew of the complexities and level of the screw-up. Now, as of this writing it will be announced that WARNERS is re-releasing the silver box SUPERMAN set in May – reportedly with the fix sound issue. However, I just notified them last week, (April 3rd). I know wait to see if they will address the issue for that May release. But if they will need to replace ALL versions of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, Disc One that have been sold from November 2006! I personally don’t have access to either High Definition formats (HD or Blu-ray) so I can’t say if those formats have been affected. If they have it’s ironic that those “high quality” formats have not alerted anyone, consumers or reviews to this problem – which makes one wonder who’s dummer, the techno geek who thinks he/she is getting higher quality of a fledging format. Or the reviewer who’s supposed to inform the consumer of it? Either way it would be interesting to know – so if anyone reading this had either of those afore mentioned formats now that you know what to look for please let me know. I will intern pass that info on to WARNERS. In the mean time if you haven’t purchased SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE I would suggest to wait until this is sorted out. If you have, COMPLAIN! I will post updates as they become available. |
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