Halloween 4K UHD (1978)

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by hungrywives

And now we know better.

Exactly. Halloween 4 & 5 have been missing their Original Ultra Stereo mixes since the DVD releases in 1999 and fans thought all subsequent releases were good enough... until they were not listed as a spec feature on the new 4K releases this July. Fans raised the issue and Shout Factory dealt with it accordingly, they provided an explanation and an update on the audio sources and finally added them to the spec sheet. Why are we not allowed to raise an issue with the audio of the first film alongside H4 & H5?

[y2jman]

so is everybody on here who already has the Halloween complete collection boxset shout factory bluray going to either rebuy 1st movie 4k just 2-5 4k or wait for a bit

i'm trying to decide not sure if I want new 4k 1st movie or not if I want to get 2-5 4k's skip trying to get universal monsters 4k or not

oct is very busy month I can't get everything due to have to get birthday gifts 3 folks

currently watching invisiable man on peacock since don't remember it much it's ok

again just trying to figure out what's better Halloween 4k's or monsters 4k

[Vixen of the Night]

I just uploaded my comparison video about the audio issue.

https://youtu.be/S_MFsbkm9b4

[hungrywives]

Originally Posted by Vixen of the Night

I just uploaded my comparison video about the audio issue.

[Show spoiler]https://youtu.be/S_MFsbkm9b4

Very nice job!

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by Vixen of the Night

I just uploaded my comparison video about the audio issue.

https://youtu.be/S_MFsbkm9b4

Awesome work, thanks for doing this! Everything about the Laserdisc mix is better than the 2014 Blu Ray mix, especially the dialogue having much more weight and clarity.

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by hungrywives

And now we know better.

Should’ve known better a few months ago when Cliff was in these threads!

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by JCRW82

Awesome work, thanks for doing this! Everything about the Laserdisc mix is better than the 2014 Blu Ray mix, especially the dialogue having much more weight and clarity.

I agree, the dialogue is really what stands out for me. If you watch the part where Jamie is singing at the end, you really can hear the difference when you play that line back to back. It sounds like the difference between a boom mic and a lavalier.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Should’ve known better a few months ago when Cliff was in these threads!

No one here is preventing him from replying with more details about the releases either then or now. I see the issue raised the with mono mix in July when the 4K titles were announced and the responses from Cliff were specifically focused on H4 & H5. When he gave an update about the audio sources used for both of those films, forum members also politely asked for an update on the audio source used for H1 and it was met with silence.

Again, I don't expect him or anyone at Shout Factory to fix the issue now because the product is completed. But a quick and simple reply as to why they did not use the best possible audio source would be appreciated and would close the book on the matter. I don't even care if he confirms the points that SF Customer Support provided: "The filtered mono mix was the best source we had licensed to us and legal restraints prevent us from discussing the matter further." Done, we can then look forward to the next release to see if they correct the issue.

[mad_max2000]

Originally Posted by Vixen of the Night

I just uploaded my comparison video about the audio issue.

https://youtu.be/S_MFsbkm9b4

Yeah, there's no disputing it, the track from the Laserdisc sounds much, much better. This is the clearest I've heard the original Mono sound since probably VHS (?).

Thank you for editing this comparison video together!

[hungrywives]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Should’ve known better a few months ago when Cliff was in these threads!

JCRW82 brought it up in July in the complete collection thread.

Originally Posted by JCRW82

The main thing that confuses me regarding the original mono mix for Halloween is what's the difference between the mono mix included in the SF Boxset in comparison to the Criterion laserdisc release? I have seen a few people out there thinking the Criterion track being the superior choice... but aren't they the same thing in the end?

To which I responded:

Originally Posted by hungrywives

I can't find any comparisons between the two mono tracks but this video gives you a taste of how good the Criterion was and how bad the 5.1 is. The lossless mono on the boxset sounds similarly over-processed.

Halloween (1978) - Original Mono vs. 5.1 Remix - YouTube

As did SpazeBlue who posted a link dating back to 2016 referencing the issue.

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

https://blah-ray.blogspot.com/2016/0...ween-1978.html

JCRW82 brought the issue up in this thread on July 14th linking to my post.

Originally Posted by JCRW82

It does, with some caveats explained in this post: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=33884

"The recent Shout Factory disc (which has the remastered 35th anniversary video) thankfully has a proper version of the original mono mix. But, it’s been nuked hard with noise reduction and sounds quite murky as a result (the 5.1 is similar, actually).

The LaserDisc mono track sounds miles better than the SF mono track."

Then you have this post with a link to a comparison of the Criterion Mono track vs the 5.1 mix we have had for years and years: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=33887

Halloween (1978) - Original Mono vs. 5.1 Remix - YouTube

And I asked Cliff directly in this thread on August 30th, the day he was answering some questions and got no reply.

Originally Posted by hungrywives

Is the mono on the original film the same as from the 2014 sets? I don't want it to look like I'm trying to find something to complain about but compared to the Criterion laserdisc the 2014 mono sounds badly filtered. I've already ordered all five sets either way and appreciate all you've done for these.

[Jay H.]

Hindsight is 20/20.

[mad_max2000]

Without trying to sound too sycophantic, I have to say I got the strong impression cmac doesn't like to post on the forums here based on the reply he left for me when I complimented Scream's effort on these releases.

Originally Posted by cmac

Thanks! It's nice to get a positive comment on here.

I can't say that I blame him, despite my own deep investment with the audio on these releases. Frankly, I think we were lucky to get confirmation on the audio sources for H4 & H5.

Perhaps when the releases finally street, he'll post again and we can get a concrete answer. Either way at this point, what will be will be.

[moviebuff75]

It still sounds like the difference between hearing it in the theater in 1978, and hearing it on television in 1978. I don't have the best hearing, but that faraway sound is what I associate with the movies back then, especially the ones in mono.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by mad_max2000

Without trying to sound too sycophantic, I have to say I got the strong impression cmac doesn't like to post on the forums here based on the reply he left for me when I complimented Scream's effort on these releases.



I can't say that I blame him, despite my own deep investment with the audio on these releases. Frankly, I think we were lucky to get confirmation on the audio sources for H4 & H5.

Perhaps when the releases finally street, he'll post again and we can get a concrete answer. Either way at this point, what will be will be.

Honestly I think that comment is more pointed at the negative responses tied to the new artwork for all 5 films. They got absolutely flogged on the web forums and social media for that decision alone. I saw nothing but polite, civil comments tied to the sound issues here and when we got the updates for H4 and H5 everyone gave him a thumbs up and polite replies in return.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by hungrywives

And now we know better.

You knew better then, because people complained about the exact same thing 7 years ago. Nothing changed.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by moviebuff75

It still sounds like the difference between hearing it in the theater in 1978, and hearing it on television in 1978. I don't have the best hearing, but that faraway sound is what I associate with the movies back then, especially the ones in mono.

I get what you are saying about the audio, but if we put that perspective to the picture quality then are you saying you want the 4K release to have all the clicks, pops, judder, scratches, dirt, debris, hair follicles and color/light imbalances that people would have experienced watching the film back in 1978? Of course not, and that's why they paid for Dean Cundey to oversee the new 4K scans for this release (some have complained that they want him to be as far away from the process as possible even though he was the Director of Cinematography for the film).

[moviebuff75]

Of course I would like to hear it in the best possible quality. Absolutely. But, I also don't know what the conditions of the masters are in. 1994 was almost thirty years ago. The masters are probably not in the same condition. We also don't know what Criterion may have done to make it sound brighter.

[BobSimms]

Originally Posted by moviebuff75

Of course I would like to hear it in the best possible quality. Absolutely. But, I also don't know what the conditions of the masters are in. 1994 was almost thirty years ago. The masters are probably not in the same condition. We also don't know what Criterion may have done to make it sound brighter.

We know they’re fine because they were used to make the master for the 2018 mono vinyl soundtrack.

They’re accessible, they’re in good condition, it wouldn’t take much time or money to create a new master from them. There’s no point in speculating further. Scream Factory assumed the 2007 mono was good enough.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by mad_max2000

Without trying to sound too sycophantic, I have to say I got the strong impression cmac doesn't like to post on the forums here based on the reply he left for me when I complimented Scream's effort on these releases.

I can't say that I blame him, despite my own deep investment with the audio on these releases. Frankly, I think we were lucky to get confirmation on the audio sources for H4 & H5.

Exactly. I got the same impression.

I mean, imagine if you are someone that works on these titles, and then you come here and read a bunch of angry ranting people who constantly say your company sucks and is full of morons, is incompetent, lazy, and/or puts out crappy releases.

Not that some criticism isn't justified, but there are posters who consistently take it too far, and I don't believe stop to think that their off-handed comments about the releases or the company in general probably are the biggest reason we don't get more interaction here.

I don't know if a lot of folks remember, but there used to be far more "insiders" who prowled these boards. I'm sure many of them still read, but most of them just don't engage any more. I don't think there is a mystery as to why.

[vailsy]

Originally Posted by JCRW82

I get why some don't think the filtered mono mix is an issue, but there are also many out there that complain "why have the mono mix in the first place? It's just one channel that sounds dated for its time and obviously will be inferior to a surround mix with all those extra channels." I would have even said something like that if I didn't remember how powerful the soundtrack was when watching this movie on VHS way back when. The Criterion laserdisc release and the 2018 vinyl release confirm that the mono mix is the definitive mix and sounds fantastic. Is it too much to ask that the audio quality match up to the efforts made for the video quality?

exactly, the older audio versions are much more impactful and scary, which for a movie like Halloween is very important