What is this website?

My rationale for keeping this site.

Midnight Run (1988)

The 5.1 remix doesn't contain any new effects, as far as I can tell. Its fidelity is also fine.

Comparing only 2.0 tracks:

1989 MCA LaserDisc [40810]: No issues. Detailed, clear, pristine.

2003 R1 Universal DVD: Like the LaserDisc, though its high end is slightly rolled off.

2023 Shout Factory UHD Blu-ray: A downmix of the 5.1 with strong limiting, but no actual clipping.

Real Life (1979)

The Paramount DVD, Amazon download, and Criterion UHD all sound basically the same.

The dialogue-heavy scenes sound a bit muffled, but without a better sounding comparator (e.g. the 1986 Paramount Hi-Fi VHS), it's difficult to say if this is due to mastering or the mix itself.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

 Added the Criterion LaserDisc, Republic Pictures LaserDisc, and Kino Lorber UHD.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

198X Paramount LaserDisc [LV 6830-2]: Not bad for an analogue track - fairly natural sounding - but this lacks detail and is at times quite distorted.

1994 Paramount LaserDisc [LV6830-2WS]: Excellent. Seems to be an unfutzed-with transfer of the original magnetic mono track.

2003 R1 Paramount DVD: The 5.1 has strong noise reduction over everything. The music is spread to the surrounding channels. I spotted a few minor missing sounds, like some gasps and background foley. There is at least one new modern gunshot (58:34 - UHD timecode). At 2:04:36, the cymbals in the score have been mixed so low that they're nearly inaudible compared to in the original mix. The music in some, but not all, sequences is very limply mixed with too much reverb and doesn't mesh well with the rest of the film. 

The mono track is a downmix of the 5.1, or perhaps a new mono reduction with all the above problems. It sounds extremely murky next to the '94 LaserDisc.

2011 Paramount Blu-ray: Identical to the DVD mono.

2024 Paramount UHD Blu-ray: Identical to the DVD mono but with some further filtering at 13.9 kHz.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Added the Orion LaserDisc and Arrow UHD.

8/27/2024: Added the Criterion LaserDisc.

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

1991 MCA LaserDisc [41018]: This sounds excellent. Crystal clear, no distortion, no issues whatsoever.

2000 R1 Universal DVD: Strong high-frequency attenuation. Very muffled.

2024 Arrow UHD Blu-ray: Fairly close to the LaserDisc overall, but there's an unnecessary constant noise gate throughout that removes background detail from quiet moments - more easily seen here: 1, 2.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Added the Columbia TriStar DVD and Sony UHD.

Predator (1987)

1988 CBS/Fox LaserDisc [SF078-1445]: A different mix than the 4.0/5.1 on the UHD - the dialogue/music/effects are aligned differently. It all sounds rather dead and undetailed.

1991 Fox Video LaserDisc [1515-85]: The same mix as the 1988 LaserDisc but significantly more detailed. Quite natural sounding. 

2018 20th Century Fox UHD Blu-ray: The 5.1 is ostensibly the same mix as the 4.0, just conformed to 5.1. More dynamic range than the LaserDisc mix and more aggressive, but perhaps a bit bright. 

Holiday Inn (1942)

1985 MCA LaserDisc [40288]: Pretty unimpressive. It's an analogue track, but I think it sounds muffled due to some form of noise management. I suspect the 1986 Hi-Fi VHS uses the same transfer.

2003 R1 Universal DVD: Decent. More detailed than the LaserDisc.

2014 Universal Blu-ray: Like the DVD but with some additional light noise gating and limiting.

2022 Universal UHD Blu-ray: More noise reduction than the DVD and blu-ray - it sometimes sounds worse than the LaserDisc. Additional automated crackle removal has lopped off high-frequency peaks indescriminately: 1, 2.