Dreadnaught (1981) - Eureka Classics (April 2022)

[Sommerswerd]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Is there ever a ‘right’ audio track to choose, or is it down to personal taste? Does Cantonese ever make more sense than Mandarin, or vice versa? I never listen to English dubs (unless they’re the only choice on the disc), but I’m sure they can vary from being really professionally done to shoddily and quickly put together.

For me, it is whatever primary language the film is shown in its native land to its target audience. In the case of Hong Kong, especially for films made in the post mid 70s, that would be Cantonese

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Is there ever a ‘right’ audio track to choose, or is it down to personal taste?

Usually, there's a "right" audio, and that would be the the language the film was intended for (i.e. the language the actors were told to speak on-set).

Does Cantonese ever make more sense than Mandarin, or vice versa?

Not really sure what you mean by "make more sense"? but some films were intended for Cantonese, some Mandarin. Most of the time they were shown in those languages. It's not as complicated as some make out. Almost anything Golden Harvest released after 1977 was Cantonese.

Originally Posted by elite

I think Cantonese is always the way to go. Even though they didn't record sound on set for these movies, to my own ears at least, most times it sounds like the actors are dubbing themselves (Jackie Chan being the obvious exception to this of course). They are the ones who have the greatest understanding of the role so it's the closest approximation to the original performance which is what I look for in any subtitled movie.

Action stars rarely dubbed themselves. You would be more likely to hear the real voices of actors doing comedy and drama. Chow Yun-Fat and Stephen Chow are the biggest names who usually (but not always) did their own dubbing.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Is there ever a ‘right’ audio track to choose, or is it down to personal taste? Does Cantonese ever make more sense than Mandarin, or vice versa? I never listen to English dubs (unless they’re the only choice on the disc), but I’m sure they can vary from being really professionally done to shoddily and quickly put together.

Oh, Canto vs Mandarin isn't what I'm griping about, it's whenever they put tracks that have one music score vs another music score, a 'home video mix' (which I'm not sure if anyone ever actually explained what it was derived from and why) vs the original mix, a 'hybrid' mix that has elements from different tracks etc. For hardcore fans they'll know all this stuff but for someone like me who's loved these movies for decades but didn't immerse himself hip-deep in the lore it's baffling. Utterly baffling. And I don't ask for chapter and verse as to what the differences are, just some kind of brief explanation for each one on the disc's menu would be amazing and VERY much appreciated. Or if not on the menu then in the booklet that usually accompanies these, but then Eureka don't go in for any of that "About the transfer" stuff in their booklets which is a shame.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

...but then Eureka don't go in for any of that "About the transfer" stuff in their booklets which is a shame.

If they did, there would be grumbling about how this vital info is being only doled out in ltd premium price booklet editions.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by ravenus

If they did, there would be grumbling about how this vital info is being only doled out in ltd premium price booklet editions.

I know, but at least it'd be out there in some form or another. Most people buying these are hardcore enough to know what all the options are so I don't think it'd bother them either way, but for clueless types like myself it'd be an even greater incentive to get the first run (but I usually do anyway ).

[Irongod2112]

Audio options are not complicated original audio is always set to default.

Just press play and you are good to go.

If you are feeling adventurous you can try watching with the Home Video Mix.

A Home Video Mix is exactly what it sounds like a mix done for the Home Video version of the film. These mixes always use original sound effects but could possibly contain an altered score in many cases they are higher quality but levels of sound effects, dialogue & music will be a different mix from the original theatrical audio.

Again if you want all original audio always go with the first track on the menu or just press play.

[Drunksnake]

Originally Posted by Irongod2112

Audio options are not complicated original audio is always set to default.

Just press play and you are good to go.

If you are feeling adventurous you can try watching with the Home Video Mix.

A Home Video Mix is exactly what it sounds like a mix done for the Home Video version of the film. These mixes always use original sound effects but could possibly contain an altered score in many cases they are higher quality but levels of sound effects, dialogue & music will be a different mix from the original theatrical audio.

Again if you want all original audio always go with the first track on the menu or just press play.

I really like the Home Video Mixes and prefer to use them (providing the soundtrack is pretty much the same, maybe a few alternate cues here and there but I always prefer the original score).
They just have a sharper, clearer sound and I find the music levels are at a more satisfying level.
I particularly noticed the difference during the car chase at the beginning of My Lucky Stars. The original mono was good but the music levels were rather low, the Home Video Mix gave it a much needed boost.
Please keep including this option where possible. Thanks.

[chen lung]

I think this is (roughly) how it works: After editing the visual, the audio mixer will have had access to three elements to produce their final mono mix: dialogue, effects, and music. Decisions are made on what to include/exclude, including the volume of each.

Let's use 'Dragons Forever' as an example: There were dialogue and effects in the stems during the montage with Jackie and Ling, but the personnel producing the final mix for its 1988 release presumably opted not to include it; they also borrowed from the Mandarin dialogue track during Sammo's singing. I believe Miramax (as heard on iTunes and possibly some US TV stations) was sent stems by Media Asia but failed to reference the original mono mix when mixing and mastering the audio, so you've got bits that shouldn't be there. I recall Fortune Star's remix got the montage right but failed on the Sammo bit (and other things!). If I'm not mistaken, the remix on 88's release referenced everything.

Licensors and licensees in recent decades opted to create new mixes, and I can only speculate the reasons:

• The original mix was unavailable, lost, or of sub-par quality
• To produce 5.1 (being the rage in the DVD era)
• They sound higher quality (no generational loss; magnetic superior to optical, I'm told)

In relation to 'original' and 'home video' for recent releases:

• No matter the efforts in being faithful to the original, the latter is guaranteed to sound as intended and should be considered the safe and purist option, especially if a remix fails to include (a bit that cannot be located) or reproduce (e.g. special effects) aspects properly, or as a matter of taste.
• As a curiosity, in taking advantage of technology that was perhaps unavailable during the original production, some studios opt to make new mixes that are of a higher fidelity but also to combine with stereo music (perhaps from an external source).

As a policy, people should hopefully be happy as long as there are options and they understand the history and advantages of each.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Drunksnake

I really like the Home Video Mixes and prefer to use them (providing the soundtrack is pretty much the same, maybe a few alternate cues here and there but I always prefer the original score).
They just have a sharper, clearer sound and I find the music levels are at a more satisfying level.
I particularly noticed the difference during the car chase at the beginning of My Lucky Stars. The original mono was good but the music levels were rather low, the Home Video Mix gave it a much needed boost.
Please keep including this option where possible. Thanks.

Damn, I tried the home video mix on Lucky Stars and couldn't stand it, the music was far too 'forward' in the mix.

Originally Posted by Irongod2112

Audio options are not complicated original audio is always set to default.

Just press play and you are good to go.

If you are feeling adventurous you can try watching with the Home Video Mix.

A Home Video Mix is exactly what it sounds like a mix done for the Home Video version of the film. These mixes always use original sound effects but could possibly contain an altered score in many cases they are higher quality but levels of sound effects, dialogue & music will be a different mix from the original theatrical audio.

Again if you want all original audio always go with the first track on the menu or just press play.

Didn't know that about the OG being the default every time, thanks.

[Irongod2112]

Eureka has posted on thier Twitter account that
this has passed uncut.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Irongod2112

Audio options are not complicated original audio is always set to default.

Just press play and you are good to go.

I tried that on a Studio Ghibli film, think it was the one with the character that became the studio's mascot, expecting it to be in ORIGINAL Japanese with subs but as soon as the first character opened their mouth & out came the voice of one of the two Faqnning sisters I had to restart the bloody film & change the audio. Why do some companies think dubbed audio is the correct audio when it is NOT.

[mmarczi]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

I tried that on a Studio Ghibli film, think it was the one with the character that became the studio's mascot, expecting it to be in ORIGINAL Japanese with subs but as soon as the first character opened their mouth & out came the voice of one of the two Faqnning sisters I had to restart the bloody film & change the audio. Why do some companies think dubbed audio is the correct audio when it is NOT.

I don't know that they thing it's 'correct' or not, just that's what they chose for it to default to. At least some of the 88 Shaw films I have also default to the English dub.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by mmarczi

I don't know that they thing it's 'correct' or not, just that's what they chose for it to default to. At least some of the 88 Shaw films I have also default to the English dub.

It is bloody annoying when that happens. My DVD copy of Crimson Rivers also starts with the English dub instead of the original French.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

I tried that on a Studio Ghibli film, think it was the one with the character that became the studio's mascot, expecting it to be in ORIGINAL Japanese with subs but as soon as the first character opened their mouth & out came the voice of one of the two Faqnning sisters I had to restart the bloody film & change the audio. Why do some companies think dubbed audio is the correct audio when it is NOT.

^This may perhaps have happened with a Disney release of a Ghibli film? Since they personally prepared and released the dubbed versions theatrically, they may consider those as the preferred presentation. Also many non-cinephile "push disc in and play" parents buy Disney discs blindly for their kids, and may be shocked to see a foreign language version with subs.

Not language related, but I understand Disney received a lot of complaints from parents for their release of Spirited Away because they felt that scenes like the one where Chihiro's parents turn into pigs were too scary for their precious kiddies and how dare Disney put out movies like that.

[CelestialAgent]

88’s Italian Collection releases historically default to English audio

[Drunksnake]

Anybody know if 5here are any deleted scenes or promos for this movie?

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Why do some companies think dubbed audio is the correct audio when it is NOT.

They don’t think it’s “correct,” they do that because there’s a broader audience for the film and they’re just streamlining the experience for that audience.

It’s not hard to change it, it should be common practice to check the audio options to know what you want, even aside from the language issue.

[The Mole]

Any news on the censorship front for this one?

[Pochacco]

Originally Posted by The Mole

Any news on the censorship front for this one?

If you scrolled up...

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...8&postcount=30

[The Mole]

Oh. Missed that post. Thank you. Great news.