The Exorcist III: Legion coming to Blu-ray

[DMRI2006]

Sounds like a pretty uninspired effort from an older HD master. The audio wasn't very good on the DVD either and if this is the same track, then it's a disappointment. I remember preferring the laserdisc audio which was better balanced over the bass-heavy DVD 5.1 track.

I'll live with it...hopefully one day we'll get something more.

[Marv Inc.]

The LFE is dialed down some what on this new release compared to the dvd.

[Bumblefeet]

Originally Posted by The Fallen Deity

I honestly would settle for a crappy VHS quality transfer as long as the footage is avaliable in some shape or form.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the footage was found not long after the BD comes out.

Well let's start the "Occupy Georgetown" movement!

I'm still thankful that Warner/Morgan Creek decided to release the Paul Schrader Dominion cut though I suspect had the Renny Harlin version not tanked as heavily that might not have happened. Let's face it, the only way that they'd even consider doing a new DC for Exorcist III if there was huge demand and they knew they could make money from it. Also, I'm not sure if the DC would hold up as the better movie per se, some of the changes made to the picture did benefit it greatly (switching between Dourif and Miller, Scott's tirade at the end). The only thing for me that did not work was the whole exorcism angle that was added on with Nicol Williamson who looked terribly out of place in the movie; he was great in Father Ted, but Exorcist III... not so much IMO.

[RancorKeeper]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Exactly - Exorcist III could be like Nightbreed - the Nightbreed footage has been thought long gone for years, but was found with an intensive search. Morgan Creek says they can't find the Exorcist III footage, but it's highly unlikely they have the same tenacity to find this stuff like Cliff and co have.

You gotta ask yourself with that search - what else did they find in the process? I would love to know if anything else was unearthed.

I'm imagining the warehouse from Raiders of the Lost Arc.

[CrowBluman]

This movie is highly underrated. To bad it got a cruddy transfer. I can almost quote the script at this point. lol

[tommynorcal]

welp, at least its an upgrade from dvd........ ;(

[DMRI2006]

Just watched more of EXORCIST III Blu tonight -- I actually believe this 5.1 DTS MA track is downright bad. As in defective.

You don't even need the laserdisc or ancient video release to tell either. Just select, say, the Portuguese track at any point during the film and compare it to the 5.1 DTS MA English mix:

-There is actual stereo separation on most of the foreign tracks. Left/right balance, especially evident during sound effects and music. To cite just one example, Check out the moment at 99:00 when a door opens and closes behind George C. Scott. The audio pans from left to right as it should -- but not on the English track!

-The 5.1 English track is all CENTERED, to a fault. There's little stereo separation, sometimes none, where there ought to be. Not just dialogue but the bulk of the audio comes driving out of the center -- and that's not how the original mix was recorded (which you can tell on most of the foreign tracks). Something just isn't right here.

-There's an overpowering amout of bass-heavy LFE on the 5.1 DTS MA track as well to a ridiculous degree. Switch back to the Portuguese track or most of those foreign mixes and there's little comparison on how unbalanced the 5.1 English track is.

Warner should recall this disc and give us a proper stereo track of the actual soundtrack...I have the old laserdisc and its stereo audio is 10X more satisfying and balanced than this Blu-Ray mix (which is the same, ineffective 5.1 audio from their DVD too).

Bottom line is we shouldn't have to put on a foreign dubbed track to hear the proper mix of the film. Given it has taken this long for this Blu-Ray to be released, and this may be the only one we ever get, I can't stress what a disappointment this disc is.

[Brett C]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Just watched more of EXORCIST III Blu tonight -- I actually believe this 5.1 DTS MA track is downright bad. As in defective.

You don't even need the laserdisc or ancient video release to tell either. Just select, say, the Portuguese track at any point during the film and compare it to the 5.1 DTS MA English mix:

-There is actual stereo separation on most of the foreign tracks. Left/right balance, especially evident during sound effects and music. To cite just one example, Check out the moment at 99:00 when a door opens and closes behind George C. Scott. The audio pans from left to right as it should -- but not on the English track!

-The 5.1 English track is all CENTERED, to a fault. There's little stereo separation, sometimes none, where there ought to be. Not just dialogue but the bulk of the audio comes driving out of the center -- and that's not how the original mix was recorded (which you can tell on most of the foreign tracks). Something just isn't right here.

-There's an overpowering amout of bass-heavy LFE on the 5.1 DTS MA track as well to a ridiculous degree. Switch back to the Portuguese track or most of those foreign mixes and there's little comparison on how unbalanced the 5.1 English track is.

Warner should recall this disc and give us a proper stereo track of the actual soundtrack...I have the old laserdisc and its stereo audio is 10X more satisfying and balanced than this Blu-Ray mix (which is the same, ineffective 5.1 audio from their DVD too).

Bottom line is we shouldn't have to put on a foreign dubbed track to hear the proper mix of the film. Given it has taken this long for this Blu-Ray to be released, and this may be the only one we ever get, I can't stress what a disappointment this disc is.

I agree, it sounds inferior to the original mix contained on the PCM track on the Laserdisc.

[DMRI2006]

Originally Posted by Brett C

I agree, it sounds inferior to the original mix contained on the PCM track on the Laserdisc.

Good to know it's not just my ears. Maybe they don't care, but there's something really "off" with this mix. It's almost like mono with garbled LFE thrown on top of it.

Is there anyone at Warner we can contact?

[Brett C]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Good to know it's not just my ears. Maybe they don't care, but there's something really "off" with this mix. It's almost like mono with garbled LFE thrown on top of it.

Is there anyone at Warner we can contact?

I doubt anyone at Warner would even care, especially since it is the same 5.1 remix that was featured on the DVD release for the last fifteen years.
I had seen all previous home video versions including seeing it in theaters and I remember being bummed out about this remix when the DVD came out in 1999.

[recS-12]

Disappointing to hear about this audio issue. Can anybody give at least one good reason to upgrade my DvD now? If not, I'll probably hold off till it's below the $9.99 price range.

[Brett C]

Originally Posted by recS-12

Disappointing to hear about this audio issue. Can anybody give at least one good reason to upgrade my DvD now? If not, I'll probably hold off till it's below the $9.99 price range.

The BD is still a decent upgrade over the DVD. The audio is the same as the track featured on the DVD, although in lossless form. It will bother those that were use to hearing the original mix, more than anyone else I would think.

[recS-12]

[QUOTE=DMRI2006;9778801]Just watched more of EXORCIST III Blu tonight -- I actually believe this 5.1 DTS MA track is downright bad. As in defective.

You don't even need the laserdisc or ancient video release to tell either. Just select, say, the Portuguese track at any point during the film and compare it to the 5.1 DTS MA English mix:

-There is actual stereo separation on most of the foreign tracks. Left/right balance, especially evident during sound effects and music. To cite just one example, Check out the moment at 99:00 when a door opens and closes behind George C. Scott. The audio pans from left to right as it should -- but not on the English track!

Things like this bother me. I wasn't necessarily expecting a re-master, but is it too much to ask for even a properly mixed stereo mix? wtf?
Looks like it's wait till Black Friday for this title...

[DMRI2006]

Originally Posted by Brett C

The BD is still a decent upgrade over the DVD. The audio is the same as the track featured on the DVD, although in lossless form. It will bother those that were use to hearing the original mix, more than anyone else I would think.

Even if I hadn't heard the original stereo mix I think it's plainly evident there's something wrong with the audio. It's that bad. Most Dolby Stereo films don't have all of their effects pouring out of the center channel. It's like the film was mixed back into mono with LFE poured on top.

[Brett C]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Even if I hadn't heard the original stereo mix I think it's plainly evident there's something wrong with the audio. It's that bad. Most Dolby Stereo films don't have all of their effects pouring out of the center channel. It's like the film was mixed back into mono with LFE poured on top.

I agree with what you say, but like I said previously, it was that way for close to fifteen years and even though I was not happy with it, I did not see much of an uproar at any point in all that time and as much as I would like to see it fixed, I do not think there is any real incentive for Warner to redo it. Unless at some point a small miracle happens and it is subbed out to a indie label, I do not see it ever happening from Warner.

[cash_black]

mine shipped finally

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by RancorKeeper

You gotta ask yourself with that search - what else did they find in the process? I would love to know if anything else was unearthed.

I'm imagining the warehouse from Raiders of the Lost Arc.

Last thing I heard was that they might've hinted at finding other stuff in the midst of their search for the Nightbreed footage but couldn't say what it was.

Maybe...just maybe they did find the lost Exorcist III footage but are legally unable to per Warner Bros.'s request for the time being.

[Rich65]

That would be awesome if they found the footage.

[cash_black]

Originally Posted by Rich65

That would be awesome if they found the footage.

not gonna happen

[ditcin]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

Just watched more of EXORCIST III Blu tonight -- I actually believe this 5.1 DTS MA track is downright bad. As in defective.

You don't even need the laserdisc or ancient video release to tell either. Just select, say, the Portuguese track at any point during the film and compare it to the 5.1 DTS MA English mix:

-There is actual stereo separation on most of the foreign tracks. Left/right balance, especially evident during sound effects and music. To cite just one example, Check out the moment at 99:00 when a door opens and closes behind George C. Scott. The audio pans from left to right as it should -- but not on the English track!

-The 5.1 English track is all CENTERED, to a fault. There's little stereo separation, sometimes none, where there ought to be. Not just dialogue but the bulk of the audio comes driving out of the center -- and that's not how the original mix was recorded (which you can tell on most of the foreign tracks). Something just isn't right here.

-There's an overpowering amout of bass-heavy LFE on the 5.1 DTS MA track as well to a ridiculous degree. Switch back to the Portuguese track or most of those foreign mixes and there's little comparison on how unbalanced the 5.1 English track is.

Warner should recall this disc and give us a proper stereo track of the actual soundtrack...I have the old laserdisc and its stereo audio is 10X more satisfying and balanced than this Blu-Ray mix (which is the same, ineffective 5.1 audio from their DVD too).

Bottom line is we shouldn't have to put on a foreign dubbed track to hear the proper mix of the film. Given it has taken this long for this Blu-Ray to be released, and this may be the only one we ever get, I can't stress what a disappointment this disc is.

This has become a very common problem with films bumped up to 5.1.
The process is one from a mixing board either. The sound is pumped though a processor that electronically spreads out the sound to all channels without actually analyzing what goes where. Instead it delivers a crushed down mix with ruined separation.
FOX ruined the original PLANET OF THE APES and like with EXORCIST III it's noticeable on the alternate language mix (French for the APES).
Another terrible things that been happening to film sound have to do with the original MONO mixes. Sometimes when a film is bumped up to a 5.1 mix the studio might offer what seems to be the original MONO but it's actually the new 5.1 flattened out. The same holds true for a 4.0 mix with Dolby Surround when it's been bumped up to 5.1 they offer what they say is the original 4.0 but it's actually the 5.1 crushed down to 4.0, when then is brought down to 2.0 to be decoded back to 4.0. Separation is lost and the sound field is corrupted.
CASE IN POINT - Universal's FLASH GORDON on BD and the last DVD releases of XANDAU.