Halloween 4K UHD (1978)

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by K9 Mark V

If your son uncontrollably vomits over the absence of an original mix, boy I'd hate to see his reaction to this site.

The Movies sub-forum gives me diarrhoea.

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

How was I not aware of this? Omfg.

I wasn't aware of it either.

[BobSimms]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

Would like to see some early beauty shots of the cases for these 4Ks.

Gonna need a heavy filter to make those “beauty shots” work.

[cuzzin]

Originally Posted by hungrywives

Okay, I raised the volume of the 2014 audio 3.8dB like you said and I have to admit it does sound much better. In fact I can't even hear much difference in the opening credits.

Yet Another Halloween (1978) Laserdisc-Blu-ray Mono Comparison - YouTube

Hmm. After finally getting around to listening to these back and forths properly on my HT speakers, I gotta say, I much prefer the way The Shape Stalks sounds on the laserdisc. It's louder, for one, and also has much more of a bass presence. Dammit. Why do you folks have to go pointing out things I was blissfully unaware of? lol

[BobSimms]

Yeah, even if you turn up the volume so that it’s at the same db level as the Laserdisc, the low frequencies are just all squashed to nothing on the blu ray.

You “Just turn it up!” people really thought you were gonna pull one over on us. Not so fast…

[BluProofie]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CM7o8NtRgRQ

[JPLeon]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CM7o8NtRgRQ

Lmao

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by BobSimms

You “Just turn it up!” people really thought you were gonna pull one over on us. Not so fast…

When audio quality is compromised I usually keep it as low as possible where I can still enjoy it to try and mask it, cranking it only makes it worse imo, you want to crank GOOD audio not bad audio

[Vixen of the Night]

Originally Posted by BobSimms

Yeah, even if you turn up the volume so that it’s at the same db level as the Laserdisc, the low frequencies are just all squashed to nothing on the blu ray.

You “Just turn it up!” people really thought you were gonna pull one over on us. Not so fast…

I agree! This is why people could just turn up the volume themselves while listening to the clips vs me bothering to bump up the volume of the 2014 mix.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by L'armée des ombres

What about the mono on the original DVD release ? there´s no Chace Productions logo on there
https://www.blu-ray.com/dvd/Halloween-DVD/116834/

This was posted in a different thread.

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

The Criterion Laserdisc and the original DVD were unfiltered. Probably the VHS releases too.

If it’s true that the original DVD had the unfiltered mono, I wonder why no one complained about later releases having the filtered mono. Or maybe some people did but they were ignored.

[SpazeBlue]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

This was posted in a different thread.



If it’s true that the original DVD had the unfiltered mono, I wonder why no one complained about later releases having the filtered mono. Or maybe some people did but they were ignored.

Actually, my post was referencing the other post you quoted.

It does seem likely though. If anyone here has a copy and could make a comparison, that would be very helpful.

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

Started watching this the other day and my son asked why it didn’t have the original mono track. He was so disappointed he started vomiting uncontrollably. I tried to tell him the new release would have it but the night was already ruined.

I hope your son's constant regurgitation has subsided. Nothing can f*** up your weekend quite like vomit.

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Idk what to tell you! If only they shot in Illinois in Autumn.

Most movies aren't shot where the story is set. It's not a documentary.

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

The Movies sub-forum gives me diarrhoea.

It makes Mos Eisley look like Naboo.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by hungrywives

Okay, I raised the volume of the 2014 audio 3.8dB like you said and I have to admit it does sound much better. In fact I can't even hear much difference in the opening credits.

Yet Another Halloween (1978) Laserdisc-Blu-ray Mono Comparison - YouTube

Halloween (1978) Opening Credits Laserdisc-Blu-ray Mono Comparison - YouTube

The bottom end is butchered on the Blu-ray release. Although it is more subtle on the opening credits with the volume matching done, you can still hear the low end affected in the synth tracks. Donald Pleasance' voice is greatly affected in the car scene, it's thin and artificially bright on the Blu-ray.

The big difference is in the scene where The Shape is going after Laurie. Listen to the piano, it actually sounds like a piano on the Laserdisc release. It's powerful, and the notes ring out. The Blu-ray by comparison makes it sound like a keyboard was used. This is why new viewers of the film don't get scared anymore, the audio mix (BOTH the 5.1 and the Original Mono) were tampered with too much and they just don't bring the added tension to make the viewer sit on edge.

Remember that John Carpenter got criticized for this film not being scary at all because he showed a version of the film with no music score. When he completed the soundtrack and showed the film again, the execs finally got it. That's how important the soundtrack is to this movie and it's disappointing we don't get to hear it properly.

Again, I want to thank hungrywives and Vixen of the Night for working on these comparison videos.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

Actually, my post was referencing the other post you quoted.

It does seem likely though. If anyone here has a copy and could make a comparison, that would be very helpful.

Your post was from The Thing thread in response to someone else who asked about the Halloween mono.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by Vixen of the Night

I agree! This is why people could just turn up the volume themselves while listening to the clips vs me bothering to bump up the volume of the 2014 mix.

I think it's beneficial to have both comparisons in place (level matched and untampered) because it has the ability to show the true impact of what was done to the mix. So we are seeing a 3.8dB difference in volume between the two sources. It does not mean that the Criterion Laserdisc is louder than the 2014 Blu-ray, rather the opposite: the Blu-ray is quieter than the Laserdisc due to the tools they used to create the filtered mono track.

I think everyone can agree that the Laserdisc has more bottom end weight in the mix, you can hear it in the dialogue and the music score. To me it sounds like they used a high pass filter to shave off the low end and by performing a practice like this it could easily shave off 1-2dB in perceived volume. They also used compression/limiting which again lowers the volume and performs a level match of sorts between the dialogue, music and effects tracks. That can easily shave off 2-3dB more of perceived volume.

Then you have the Noise Reduction which will impact more of the high end (it's why we have the thin, tin can sounding voices and the stinger effects not being as audible). It could certainly play a part in volume reduction but normally if a tool like this is used the engineer will try to compensate for the loss of treble frequencies by adding some back with EQ adjustments. Really it's the low end filter and the compression/limiting used on the Blu Ray source that is causing that 3.8dB reduction of volume. I don't think anyone will disagree that when they watch a movie, they want the impact and the added volume. The Criterion mix delivers while the Blu-ray is wimpy. These issues are also prevalent on the surround mixes we have received through the years for Halloween because they continue to go back to the same audio sources created in 1999. I am speculating that Shout Factory are using the exact same sources to create their Atmos Mix so I am not expecting any miracles from the new release.

[Energy Crisis]

Originally Posted by JCRW82

This is why new viewers of the film don't get scared anymore, the audio mix (BOTH the 5.1 and the Original Mono) were tampered with too much and they just don't bring the added tension to make the viewer sit on edge.

This is just silly. The reason new viewers don't get scared anymore is it's a 40+ year old movie that time has rendered rather tame. That doesn't mean it isn't a great film still because it is, but of all the reasons it doesn't have the power to scare now that it once did, the sound quality of the mono mix doesn't even register.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by Energy Crisis

This is just silly. The reason new viewers don't get scared anymore is it's a 40+ year old movie that time has rendered rather tame. That doesn't mean it isn't a great film still because it is, but of all the reasons it doesn't have the power to scare now that it once did, the sound quality of the mono mix doesn't even register.

I agree that the film is old and has lost some of its luster due to its age and how a new generation of viewers perceive the film overall. But the significance of a music soundtrack is still very important to the success of a film (especially in horror movies). You get the same viewers to sit down and watch a movie like Jaws and they will complain how long and boring the movie is, but get them to the sunken ship part of the film and they will still jump out of their seat. It's the soundtrack that makes the jump scare in that part. It's still important to have a great sounding audio source no matter the age of the film.

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

Most movies aren't shot where the story is set. It's not a documentary.

When did I say that? I was trying to say that the movie shouldn’t have revisionist color timing just because it’s supposed to take place during Fall. That’s it. If that THX color timing stuck around with no other options, it would be just as bad as what happened to the original Star Wars trilogy or Terminator 2.

Originally Posted by Energy Crisis

This is just silly. The reason new viewers don't get scared anymore is it's a 40+ year old movie that time has rendered rather tame. That doesn't mean it isn't a great film still because it is, but of all the reasons it doesn't have the power to scare now that it once did, the sound quality of the mono mix doesn't even register.

It’s getting ridiculous lol. Lament the lack of a new restoration of the original track all you want, but to claim that people aren’t scared of a 43 year-old movie because of added sound effects? Some people thought it was already dated 3 years after release, due to every slasher rip-off that followed increasing the gore and body count.